Faults:

I have owned the vehicle for only a year and whilst driving it I have not encountered any faults, either mechanical or aesthetic.

General Comments:

This car makes for a brilliant first vehicle package. It is responsive, reliable and easy to maintain. The basic interior is also a pleasure to work with. Particularly in the GLX model which provides a no-nonsense, all function approach. Impressive luggage capacity in the back is also a great benefiet.

Faults:

Very little.

Head gasket at 125000kms.

Power steering rack got a bit dodgy so we replaced it at about 80000kms.

Regulator in alternator blew at 40000kms.

Rotary headlight switch broke a while ago, but easily fixed (common fault).

Couple of minor oil seal leaks.

That's about it.

General Comments:

An excellent vehicle which has been very reliable.

Auto transmission needs to be religiously serviced to prevent problems (ours has been). Transmissions are a known problem area if incorrectly or poorly serviced.

Very comfortable for long trips in particular. Front seats may be too soft for some, but they are excellent on longer runs.

Extremely quiet and still highly comparable with current model vehicles in terms of NVH (Noise, Vibration & Harshness).

The car handles well despite soft, ride biased suspension settings. Extremely safe and predictable, it will never let you down or get you into trouble even if you accidently over estimate your own abilities.

Very good brakes.

Excellent headlights, especially on high beam.

Best airconditioning we have ever had in a car.

Can be heavy on petrol around town with only 400kms on a tank. Put it on the highway at a steady 110-120kmh and you can expect to get at least 600kms per tank, maybe a lot more.

Faults:

Cracked cylinder head repaired at 120,000 kilometers.

Constant velocity joints replaced at 180,000 kilometers.

End clutch for overdrive has needed replacing since 210,000 kilometers.

Excessive smoke from exhaust at 240,000 kilometers.

Alternator replaced at 120,000 and 220,000 kilometers.

All four shock absorbers replaced at 200,000 kilometers with Monroe gas shocks.

General Comments:

The cars is great on the open road and will travel all day at legal speed limits.

Lack of power for hills.

Poor fuel economy in the city, but makes up for it on the open road.

Faults:

The battery was found to be dead the day I drove it home, as I'd stalled the car turning right at a set of lights (due to an unfamiliar clutch)!

Cracked headlight rotator switch - cost $5 from a Mitsubishi wrecker.

Rear left handbrake caliper seized in the closed position, leaving behind huge amounts of brake pad smoke!

Brakes tend to squeal (the pads are currently between 30 and 60% worn).

Paint on horizontal surfaces is slightly crazed (I think due to dodgy re-spray job).

Nowhere to hook tie-down straps in the boot!

General Comments:

Clutch seems to have a longer travel distance than my father's 1985 Nissan Patrol!

Blue-coloured dash doesn't really match the rest of the (grey) interior - I think the original cracked in the sun and the previous owner replaced it to sell the car. The rest of the interior is clean and in excellent condition.

The car has obviously been looked after well and meticulously maintained - I have the original Mitsubishi manual with a record of all services performed up to 100,000 km.

When clean, this car looks superb with its very dark tinted windows, deep maroon paintwork and shiny factory alloy wheels.

Very smooth and quiet - a luxurious level of instrumentation including tinted power windows, cruise control, air conditioning, and a CD player (which I had carried over from my old car :) ).

The vehicle has enough space to seat 4 adults comfortably with their luggage, a massive boot and enough power to move you at a reasonable pace with all that and the boot full of camping gear and my own luggage. The engine pumps out a pretty decent 93kW, as opposed to the mediocre 83ish kW of the carby models (some Executive and GLX), and the manual transmission helps to move things along a little bit quicker.

Handling isn't bad, but you notice the downfalls of the front-wheel-drive on twisting roads - the old (rear-wheel) Mazda was good at holding the road, whereas you can't be too rough with the Magna due to noticeable understeer and body roll.

All in all, a lovely car to look at and drive - I'd seriously consider a brand new Magna when the time came to move this one on!