1989 Mitsubishi Lancer EL review from Philippines

Car always overheated, even with a brass radiator.

Intermittent A/C (leak). A problem we really had was trying to keep cool in heavy Manila traffic.

Suspension bushing was already going, said my dad (I had no clue back then). So we had it changed. I think this was around 130,000km.

Clutch went after three years of school-home use. It was already slipping. This was around 155,000km I think.

For some reason I always had a flat tire (nails--bad roads?).

Resonator broke! Couldn't drive higher than 40KPH. If memory serves, this was around 145,000km.

Muffler started rusting out, so we had it changed.

Always hit the ramp, curb, or a speed bump due to its ride height. I always had to go either diagonally, or really slow. But it was good practice with a manual and going over a speed bump.

Rear suspension started swaying at around 1 year after it was passed on to me, roughly 125,000km I think. Had it fixed and the swaying was gone.

Loved it in the rain, but had a tiny leak in the trunk and left rear door. Only 3 wiper speeds--off, level 1 and level 2. In the pouring rain a level 3 would be nice to have.

Didn't have a tachometer, so I had to base my shifts according to engine noise.

Once, somebody threw a firecracker and it exploded on the car's hood (New Year's Day). Made a big dent roughly 4 inches wide. Had it fixed at a local body shop together with the front fenders and the radiator support.

Driver door stopped locking and I had to drive while holding the door shut! Went home and got our other car to use, while this was in service. This was around 175,000km.

Right rear window started falling, maybe the window regulator came loose. This was the last problem I had, because soon after this we put it up for sale. I don't know if my dad fixed it before selling, or sold it as is.

That was my first car, it was passed on to me by my dad at around 110,000 km. I drove it to school and back home, to my girlfriend's home and to other places we went.

The car is basically a city-driver with its tiny 1.3 liter engine. Zipping about by myself without any powersteering assist was great! In fact the car felt light when I'm by myself and a trunkful of stuff for my apartment.

The 5-speed manual transmission was very lively and since it's only 987kg at curb weight, I could easily zip about without the aide of any kind of device. Its 60-something horses are enough to pull this car up to speed.

Top speed I have done with it was 120kph, it would not go any further, and the steering wheel would already shake. It did feel like it would suddenly come apart, but fortunately it didn't--for the dozens of times I've done 120kph!

The factory seat bolsters are really nice, it added a lot of lateral support when I drove the car in a spirited manner. They're also very ergonomically designed, I couldn't get tired with them. The hip bolsters are a great addition too, as it made me feel one with the car (not being tossed around).

When you carry a single passenger, that's when the car has trouble keeping up. Nonetheless, it could still bring me and my girlfriend anywhere. When the A/C is working, it's really nice. But it would often go away after a while, then I would need to shut it off (the A/C) and restart it again. Annoying in Philippine climate, but adventuresome nonetheless!

In the three years I used it, the battery went out twice. Once in the cold weather, and once in the pouring rain while I was stopped in traffic. Lots of adventures with that machine!

Very easy to work on the car, even if back then I didn't know much about it. I was able to install the upholstery all by myself, with no prior experience at all. Took out the rear seat and saw glass shards from a previous incident where the rear windshield was hit by a falling piece of wood. It's been fixed since, but when I removed the rear seat it brought back memories.

The trunk is a bit on the small side, but nonetheless purely industrial--that's how I would call it. No fussy coverings to hide the frame, no fussy carpetting to make it look special. The trunk floorboard was a large cork piece with a rubber/vinyl covering it. Also my first time to see the inside of the trunk from the opening in the rear seat.

I loved this car so much as a tribute I made a LEGO version of it!

We finally sold it in 2004. If I have the chance, I'll hunt down that car and restore it to its former glory. But the chances of finding it in the Philippines might require a number of miracles... =)