2007 Mitsubishi 380 SX 3.8 V6 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Bargin reliable large car motoring

Faults:

Driver's side rear window came off track and fell into the door cavity.

Transmission jerks a little at low speeds when shifting up.

General Comments:

Fantastic car to own and drive. I purchased two of these for our business, each with 33K on the clock, barely 18 months old and for half the original price when new! Being ex rentals, they certainly wouldn't have had the most cosseted life, but at least they were serviced religiously.

In the 18 months we've had them, they've been faultless really. The only issue being a rear window collapsing into the door. Strange, but both cars did this, and on the same door!

Very smooth and quiet to ride in, with very comfy seats and plenty of power.

Handling is also excellent for a powerful front wheel drive car, however traction is easily lost in the wet.

Plenty of standard equipment being the SX model - 17" alloy wheels, climate control, 6 stack CD with MP3, auto lights off, traction control, steering wheel controls, plenty of airbags, electric drivers seat, plus a host of customisable options through the on-screen menu at the top of the dash.

5 speed automatic with tiptronic is great.

Average 550km per tank at around 60L.

The only real let down is the plastics used in the dash construction and on the door tops, which in my eyes looks almost malformed. It's quite different from conventional patterns used in many other makes, although the texture is soft to the touch. I guess a dashmat could address that issue. They also put a large rubber strip around the instrument cluster, which looks rather cheap and fitted as an afterthought.

A split fold rear seat would have been preferred, and of course large objects tend to hit the bottoms of the speakers in the boot when you try to load them.

As far as company workhorses go, these cars have been great, and have been an excellent bargain to boot. Would thoroughly recommend, especially now as prices are stupidly cheap.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th September, 2010

1st Oct 2010, 22:07

Forgot to add to original post:

Good:

Excellent headlights both low and high beam.

Very solid build quality feel.

Instrument cluster itself is attractive and has been commented on by friends.

Bad:

Poor turning circle makes parking more difficult.

Rear vision is compromised with the high boot line.

2007 Mitsubishi 380 GT from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

If we can get the current driveline issue sorted, the car may end up being quite good

Faults:

Incomplete ventilation system from the factory (missed quality controls).

Warped plastic on dash.

Badly fitting plastic on driver's A pillar.

Faulty rear demister.

Driveline noise than cannot be identified by dealer (after 6 visits).

CD player failed to eject disks - fixed myself.

General Comments:

Solid build but niggly quality control issues, and interior quality not as good as it should have been.

Engine has good torque and reasonable power. Handling is excellent for the size of the car.

However, a few too many issues to make the ownership experience positive. Luckily most people seem to have had a better run than us.

Should have bought a Toyota, but the 380 had the better handling. An Aurion with the 380s handling would have the perfect front driver.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 21st October, 2009

11th Feb 2015, 11:55

I have read that the driveline noise could be the tyres at a certain distance traveled; change them to new tyres and the problem is fixed, I am now driving my second 380; the first did over 90,000km without any issues at all, none. The new one I bought a month ago has 36000km and drives beautifully, no issues whatsoever. I love the 380, it is the best Australian car ever built.

10th Mar 2016, 10:40

This ended up being a worn wheel bearing. Had to pay for it to be fixed by a third party mechanic as the dealer refused to look at it again. Has been fine since (another 60000km) apart from 3 failed window regulators. The 380s regulators have close to a 100% failure rate, but are cheap and easy to replace DIY.

The car has aged well. Just a shame about the terrible dealer experience and the useless warranty we ended up getting.