1996 Mitsubishi FTO GR 2.0

Summary:

Fast, reliable, and looks like a true sports car

Faults:

Driver's side window motor.

Piston went through the sump.

General Comments:

Simply the best car I have ever owned.

Performance and handling are amazing. It is low to the floor, and just feels like a sports car.

Then you also get a stylish motor, which seems to turn more heads the older it gets.

Reliability is amazing too; most cars this age would have fallen to bits by now, but these have the typical Mitsubishi build, which makes it very robust. Even the trim and switches have passed the test of time.

What other cars give you this at such a cheap price?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th May, 2010

1996 Mitsubishi FTO GPX 2.0 V6 mivec

Summary:

Excellent handling sports coupe with great looks and a glorious sounding engine

Faults:

Owned the car myself for around 3 months, but the car has been 'in the family' so to speak for the past year, and flew through its last MOT (not bad for an old car).

Only noticeable fault is the clock and reverse beeper have stopped working in the past month... think the clock has a dodgy connection as it sometimes does not illuminate at night (one thing I need to look at).

Bar that the car has been (touch wood) 100% reliable.

General Comments:

Overall I am pleasantly pleased by the FTO GPX.. it looks a lot more expensive than it really is!

And as for looks, well you either love it or hate it... I personally I think it looks great... even at 13 years old it still looks the part and will still turn heads!

Now onto the handling... mine is still running the standard setup, which I find to be very positive, and it really does inspire confidence in the corners, you can take corners at stupid speeds... I have yet to reach its limit... but it does have a little too much body roll... I will be investing in a decent suspension setup soon, as I do believe this car can be made to handle a lot better.

Tiptronic invecs autobox - I initially wanted a manual FTO, but this tip came up at a good price and to be honest it is a very good box. Admittedly it does rob it of a little performance, but I don't really think you would notice it in real world driving.. the semi auto 'tip' part of the box is excellent, but I do tend to find the normal auto mode to be a bit annoying as it's forever up and down the box trying to learn your last driving style... it's either revving its nuts off or changing up too early... main reason for a proper manual... but don't let this put you off a tip... Overall it's a very sporting box and better than most auto's you will come across... but for performance use the tip mode :)

Now onto the engine - the 2.0 24v v6 mivec engine really is a gem... it will rev upto 8250rpm and sounds utterly glorious when the mivec (vtec) kicks in around 5500rpm, though it does feel a bit flat under 3000rpm, it pulls well for a small capacity V6 and really comes alive over 5500rpm mivec form... it definitely is not slow.. my last car was a 1998 Vectra V6 GSi, and although the GPX is not an awful lot faster in a straight line, it would absolutely destroy my old GSi point to point around some good B roads.

All in all I highly recommend the FTO GPX... I have owned a fair few performance cars in my time, and I rate the FTO as a good one... a lot of bang for your buck!!

Just check the insurance before you look as if you're under 25; you may get daft quotes with 99% of FTO's being grey imports :)

Last thoughts - service this car and keep on top of it, and I do believe it will stay reliable... Just keep an eye out for the lemons out there... get a bad one and you will hate, it but find a good one and :) :D ..

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th July, 2009

27th Dec 2009, 02:04

Just a quick update from the author :)

Still have the FTO, and I'm happy to report that I have had absolutely no trouble with it at all, and I haven't exactly been giving it an easy time!

The fault with the clock etc turned out to be a simple blown 15 amp fuse... what a car!!!

This car still puts a grin on my face, and still feels fast, fitted a mongoose stainless exhaust to it and along with the ITG filter it sounds awesome.

In fact the only real problem I have with it is that the paint laquer is flaking off the drivers wing, and with it being red, the paint is starting to fade a little. This I'm going to sort as I feel the car deserves it for being so damn reliable :)

Go get one before the boyracers kill them off!!

25th Mar 2010, 11:37

Another update from the author :

Owned the FTO for a year now and it hasn't missed a beat, it's just gone through its 2nd MOT with only one advisory (track rod end), which I have just changed... cracking reliability, only issue I have is the lacquer has started to flake off the drivers side wing, which I will need to sort!

Cracking all round sports car... go get one :) :)

7th Jul 2015, 22:49

I was a little bit undecided till now. I found one for sale 2 days ago. Today I asked, it is still for sale? Lucky me, because in the morning I will go to buy it. I will let you know my first experience with this car. My previous one was a Toyota Celica 1994. A Toyota Celica GT-Four.