-Car shudders at intermittent periods, usually at 60-80km/h
-Air con not working when purchased (but fixed myself at later date)
The only real positives for this car is the decent boot space, corner handling, and exterior looks, however this is where the good points end.
The fuel economy was abysmal, I'm not going to do the maths, but a 60ltr tank got me about 300ks. This may not have been a problem if this car was a rocket ship, but it was not. Either I had a dud car or the 2.4ltr engine is just not up to pulling a reasonably large vehicle with 4WD around, as it was slower than most 1.6ltr engined vehicles I have driven.
The shudder which developed in the rear of the car at low speeds was a concern and the main reason I disposed of the car, it sounded like it was either some sort of 4WD failure or automatic transmission issue, regardless it would have been expensive to fix.
The steering was also reasonably heavy.
Bought a Turbo Airtrek as a replacement which uses less gas and is 3 times as fast. Don't buy a Legnum unless its offered to you dirt cheap.
You obviously didn't shop around and TEST DRIVE before buying your Legnum.
I've got the 2.5 V6 model and It's very quick off the mark and performs well with heaps of grunt.
But what about the fuel economy of your 2.5 v6 version? Is it the twin turbo model? Probably still abysmal fuel economy if that's the case.
I bought a Mitsubishi Legnum ST GDI 1.8litre about 14 months ago. Based largely on its good looks, I test drove it briefly and decided to purchase, I paid $10,000 NZ which was the most I have ever spent on a car. I hate it. I refuse to drive it, and have practically given it away to my wife, It is a thirsty, underpowered dog. Honestly within a week I wish I had never bought the car, If you need some power to get away from traffic lights quickly, on a hot day, forget the aircon' you'll need every ounce of power the 1800cc engine can produce, and the tiptronic auto is not much of a help, but I found by using it, I can control when it changes and maybe get 4-5% more power. It always feels like it's towing a boat. With that lack of power you might expect it to be economical to run?
No these cars use juice like a V8, and it was recommended by the dealer that it run on high octane gas... leave them alone.
I've owned two Legnums, I only got rid of the first one because I needed to tow a large boat which required a big 4WD. Have just bought a 99 VR4 Legnum and it's a great car. I don't know how you guys were driving your cars, but considering mine is 4WD and twin turbo, I'm still getting around 400-450km on a tank of gas doing city driving.
I have to go to Wellington over the Christmas break so I'll see how it goes on the highway. Never had a problem with power even with the non-turbo version. It definitely pays to shop around and get a good one though as I did test-drive another VR4 which was a dog.
I would never have even looked at the 1800 version because it's just too small an engine for a car of that size. But if you can find a Legnum in good condition then they really are fantastic cars.
Sounds like the writer bought a faulty example of this model. I own a 1997 Legnum 2.5 Wagon and think it's a great car, it handles well (4WD makes the difference in a large estate car) and is a really good family vehicle. The best thing about it is the smooth and powerful engine V6 engine although I find it quite thirsty, the person who's getting 400-450kms in the city is obviously a better driver than me!
I bought a 1998 Legnum VR4 back in Oct 2005 and I think it's great. this car is a real beast I did shop around and found that it doesn't mater what type of Legnum you are in the market for and found that they are all priced the same that's why I opted for the VR4 I feel I got one hell of a car for my money. the only down side is that it is a gas hog, but that's the price you pay for performance when my friends kid me about the gas mileage my response is I'll give you a head start and I'll still beat you even if I have to stop at every gas station on the way it puts out 270 HP 276 ft lbs of torque and 0 to 100 kph in les than 5 seconds the gas mileage is 18 k per gallon.
I owned a gdi 1.8 Legnum for a year and a half and found that it was fairly gutless. I could get about 600km out of 50 litres from it.
I now own a VR-4 and I get about 500km out of 50 litres, as well as I get a huge increase in performance.
The overall quality of both cars is really good, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend another person to buy one, but the gdi ones do seem to have a variety of power and fuel consumption problems. You are best to buy a 2.5l V6 or VR-4 and stay away from the 1.8,2.0,2.4 gdi models.
Www.clubvr4.com is a great website for info on all the models in the range.
I'm from the Netherlands (europe) and also got an estate, it's named galant here just like the sedan. It's a great car. It handles perfectly. I got the 2.5 V6 2WD from 1997. It has all the bells and whistles, like leather, heated and electric seats, automatic transmision, etc. Now, I didn't have any problems with a lack of power with this engine. I did 235 km/h with the car and hit 100 km/h within 8.2 seconds. I think this is pretty reasonable for a 2.5. I couldn't be more satisfied with this car. It didn't cost much, I can do 600km on a tank, and it didn't devaluad much. I have to admit, it has a problem with the brakes. in my climate the cilinders of the brakes corroded, so they got stuck. that's the only problem I got with this car since I bought it. It has driven 122000km now and I'm very happy with it. so happy that I decided to keep it and modify it too my taste. I recommend this car to anyone who is searching for an lightweight estate wagon with enough power, but you have to buy the V6!! it's wonderful. Too bad there aren't any LHD VR4's. I would have certainly bought one. In my country it's also rated 3rd as most reliable in his class. Perfect car for the price. The only car which is better is a Lexus. And that will be my next car if I sell this one.
I purchased a 2.5 ltr Legnum ST-R 4WD wagon 1997 months ago. It's a solid car, but the rate at which it uses fuel and depreciates is ridiculous. The car is worth less than half of the discounted price I paid for it already. Intermittent shuddering I experienced was traced to a rear cv, fixed the problem instantly. Driving 'normally' I get 300km's from about 53 litres, but driving like an absolute grandmother I can get up to 470 km's. So it's all dependant on your right foot. In hindsight I wished I'd bought a VR-4, would have given the same mileage with a lot more attitude!
Bought a 1996 VR4 Legnum 3 years ago. Thought it was a bit thirsty from the start, but let's be real. Twin turbo, V6, 4WD, reasonable size - that's gonna work it a little.
What are the trade offs, airbags, car sticks to the road like glue, corners like a roller coaster, ie: won't let go there either, ABS, moves out like a rocket if you feel the need, otherwise cruises with the best of them, no dip in power for AC, leather interior, sequential shift is fun once you work it out and the wife secretly loves it. The only way it's gonna crash is if someone hits you or you drive like an idiot.
Got around 450-500km each time on a full tank between Hamilton and Wellington at highway speeds, so it prefers the long roads. It's had a few mods fitted prior to my purchasing - 3 inch exhaust, BOV, POD Filter, lowered, window tints, 16's... long story short, a lot of car for the money.
After reading and asking around, I'm guessing the thirstiness (performance car here remember) may be remedied with modifications to the air flow management. Interested to here opinions on this as I may look at a Hi-clone or something or other in the future to see if this helps with mileage...
Someone here mentioned that the dealer recommended using high octane gas with this car. Well, it is a very sound recommendation. The GDI engine is very fuzzy about octane ratings. If you run the GDI on fuel with anything less than 98RON with low sulphur levels, performance and fuel economy will both drop noticeably. As many here seem to have noticed.
Comparing it to the VR4 is pointless. The VR4 engine is a twin turbo multipoint injection engine, not direct injection like the GDI model.
The VR4 is recommended to run at 98RON, but will get by on lower ratings much better than a GDI. The VR4 will loose some power with lower octane ratings, but fuel economy will not take a comparable hit.
Of course, that the car can only handle high grade fuel well is a point in itself. But whether or not that point can be held against the car is for each to decide for themselves, no other GDI engine deals much better with this problem. I just wanted to make sure that the decision is based on the facts, rather than the lack of them.
Hi All.
I take it that the car is thirsty if you get a badly looked after one or if you have a heavy right foot!!
Hi Guys and dolls.
I have purchased a VR4 V6 24 VALVE Legnum and to be frank the car is a beast and I love it. The car is 10 years old and is an import from Japan. Yes it is thirsty, but it is not too bad if you drive sensibly.
It looks the part and is the quickest car that I have had and that has been a few. 28-30 mile to the gallon on a long run and around 18-20 city driving. Still a top car and recommend them.
Makki.
I have a 97 ST-R legnum, the 2.5 V6 with no turbo's. It's an awesome car. I just had it's transmission flushed with a Wyns trans-flusher. It made a huge difference in the performance of the transmission and makes gear changes smoother. The Mitsubishi service centre recommended it to be done every 80,000kms. Quite worthwhile if it saves you $4000 for a new one!
Hi.
I've got a 99 2.4 GDI. Not bad off the mark, considering my previous car was a Skyline. Love the room & nice car to drive on long trips.