1998 Mitsubishi Carisma Reviews

Nothing! The car has been totally reliable.

Only slight complaint is the car idles quite slowly when warm, and a slight hesitancy on part throttle when not fully warmed up. Believe this is a characteristic of the GDI engine.

Engine a bit tappety when cold.

Good sized family car, large boot. Performance is superb, car pulls strongly. MPG is excellent; averages 38 round town, and have seen near 50 on a run.

No rust anywhere, and the paint still gleams.

Light, precise gear change and progressive clutch.

Feels a bit under-braked for performance.

Ride OK, and the handling is safe but uninspiring.

Feels far better put-together than our previous Carisma, a 2003 car. All electrics still work, and the A/C still blows reasonably cold.

One of the cogs on the central locking started spinning (still worked and was easily fixed by myself).

My Mitsubishi Carisma was in prestine condition and had very low mileage due to its 1st two owners being the car dealership (DEMO CAR) and a disabled lady.

I have had my car for just over two years, and apart from the above, have had no faults to report.

With the GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection) my Carisma gives me optimum performance and minimum fuel consumption!

The interior is of the sturdy japanese specifications, however it sadly manages to obtain the blandness of the japanese interiors too.

All in all, I would describe this car as: The perfect budget family car with some good refinements!

Absolutely nothing, the car has been totally reliable.

I had my doubts when purchasing a carisma because every review I read suggested it was boring to look at and drive.

I think it is a very stylish car, but I do agree the drive is uninspiring and hard.

Acceleration is good and the automatic gearbox is extremely smooth and responsive.

Computer program had to be re-written, which the dealer did free of charge, although I had not bought the car from him. This fault appeared after I had an alarm fitted to the car, I think he must have caused a spike by disconnecting the battery with the ignition switch in the on position, but I could not prove it, so I said nothing!

One hydraulic valve lifter is slow to pump up in cold weather, i`m told this is a common fault.

Clutch center bearing gets noisy after a good run, which is another common fault, so i`m told!

Acceleration is OK to good, top speed for an 1.8 is great, I drove to Romania in it so I had a chance to test this.

Comfort is good, but suspension is a little soft for very hard cornering, but you don`t buy a car like this if you want to drive hard round twisty lanes all day.

I drove 7000 miles on holiday at very high speeds through Germany ETC, and you could not see any change in the oil level, very good engineering.

But parts can be very expensive £150 per side for front wheel bearings, fitted by main dealer, but so far mine are OK.

Not as well built as the Galant, noisy.

Changed dealer 3 times in search of better service. In Belgium service seems to get worse by the minute. I'm not isolated in my experiences with dealers, my father owns Lancer (they still have not found the source of the problem on his car after 2 years).

Galant was a very nice car.

Carisma is a bad car trying to live on a good reputation.

Seats are VERY uncomfortable.

Not very good with turns in high speeds (reasonably high... not racing).

Fire extinguisher on the loose, accelerator stuck at full throttle, (external) rear view mirrors could not be adjusted from the inside.

Nice car with acceptable performance for a turbodiesel. Good handling in all conditions. Lousy front seats, especially for people with long legs. Only one airbag as standard.

One insignificant little problem with plastic button for ventilation system, but it was replaced instantly by the dealer.

It's my first time I have owned a Japanese car and I have to say, I'm really satisfied with it.

I've had a used Alfa Romeo 155 1.8 before, a nice, sport looking car ...

Never have had so many troubles and expenses as with that car!