2001 Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin 2.0

Summary:

Undependable

Faults:

Wheels of my Pajero Pinin (called Shogun Pinin in some countries, it has 2.0lt petrol engine) started rusting in three months.

The car broke down two times. It has only 12,000 km.

Gas pedal broke down at 8,000 km.

The second time it broke down was last week, the dealer said they have encountered the same problem on five or six different models of Mitsubishi. They talked about a magnet of something called "gas butterfly" being displaced or broken. Mitsubishi is said to have accepted the fault on vehicles produced in previous years, but mine was a later version. Instead of a costly repair (of over $2,000), the shop had to glue mine and they said they never encountered the same problem on other ones that they fixed this way (I just paid a few bucks). Doesn't sound much dependable does it? I wonder how this car managed to win the Dakar as they mention in the ads.

Interior plastics look kind of cheap.

Air conditioner does not really cool the car of such small size that much.

The catalog said it had a rear spoiler, mine never had it.

I had to take it to the shop after having a flat tire because I could not screw the spare tire back in once I removed it.

General Comments:

I really liked the car when I bought it. I preferred it due to its compact size and off-road capability. I live on a hill that Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV and Nissan Xtrails sometimes fail when there is a lot of snow, but I never had any problems with its off-road performance at all. Its compact size is a plus in driving or parking in the city. But it is not a comfy car.

I have driven two-door cars before, but I never thought trying to climb up to the back seat would be that much difficult. This time I am considering a dependable four-door SUV.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 21st September, 2004

19th Sep 2014, 20:44

I bought the car in Istanbul, Turkey and had the same problems. Both the rust on the wheels and the gas butterfly, which the mechanic in my country said was experienced in earlier models and another model called Carisma. My car only had 20000 km when that piece broke and they said it was not under warranty. Could never trust the car to drive again. Replaced it with a full-size American SUV, but still miss it because I never had a car like it that drove so well on ice and in snow.