1987 Mitsubishi Magna GLX review from Australia and New Zealand

The seats are old and worn.

My rocker cover started to leak dramatically at 310,000.

I replaced the front springs and struts at 300,000 (due to going over speed bumps too fast with too many people in the car).

I bout the car with no service history, no log books or anything. I bought it off a dealer who was friends with my dad, and I was either going to buy the Magna or a Volvo.

The first day I got it, I changed the oil, the coolant, the oil filter, air filter, and fuel filter. Since then it has run like a charm, and has not really given me trouble at all.

There were a few things wrong with it when I bought it, the roof lining had come unglued, the rear view mirror was, and still is loose, the centre console is very brittle and is broken in several places, and the fuel gauge and temperature gauge didn't work.

Besides from the fact that my friend rammed into the back of me, and some guy at work turned into the front of me, and another guy sideswiped me, it has held its shape very well. All those have been fixed now and from that, the only rust I've had to fix is at the bottom of the doors.

The car presents problems when it comes to steering, acceleration and fuel economy. No power steering is damn hard to get used to, but once you get used to it, it builds your muscles well.

Acceleration. You have all been wondering why the carburettor doesn't do its job, its because on most models, the second stage doesn't open at all. I have done some research and this is because of a small valve located on the inlet manifold and the vacuum tubes which wears over time and eventually stops working. For more information email me at: Pacban123@hotmail.com.

Fuel Economy is another issue. Due to a very worn cat, a poor exhaust and a non-tuned carburettor, I get about 450 kilometres to a full 64 litre tank. If you fix these then you'll average about 500 to 600 kms per full tank. I did find however that once the car is going, it doesn't stop and I used 20 litres over 340 kilometres on a non-stop drive down south.

The car handles better than a lot of other cars of the same size. I have put Pirelli P400s on the car and it handles and stops very well.

The brakes are exceptional for such an old, heavy car, and it stops with no hesitation at all. Maybe the previous owners had just replaced the brakes, but as far as I know, I have four other friends with Magnas in their families and they all stop very well too.

I think it's a great car and I have done a lot of research on it and if you would like to know more than email me.