2003 Mitsubishi Pickup L200 Warrior Double-Cab from UK and Ireland - Comments

Rear glass hatch on optional hard-top for pickup bed smashed.

Power delivery deteriorates after each service, roughly after 7,000 miles.

Company vehicle bought due to advantageous tax regulations.

Shocking fuel economy, roughly 20mpg.

Engine needs to be worked hard especially with five people on board and thus hurts fuel economy.

Relatively comfortable in front two seats.

Rear bench placed too high and short on legroom. Uncomfortable over distances and poor view from back windows. Hard-top and tinted windows make rear of cabin very dark.

Poor dash design, but attractive silver trim - chunky switchgear yet to fail at all.

Bad placement of switches and lamps - front fog light switch and lamp are both under the steering wheel.

No illumination of some switchgear, so night driving is precarious when hunting for buttons.

Heater exceptionally quick and efficient and air-conditioning therefore unnecessary, since it also drinks fuel.

Leather upholstery looks good after 40,000 miles, beginning to shine, but not of exceptional quality - well worth the investment though as a great improvement over the cloth. Back seat ripped easily after accident with sharp object.

Appalling visibility - tinted windows at rear do not help, neither do chunky pillars. The hard-top also gets dirty quickly and makes rear visibility very poor - have to rely on side mirrors, which are helpfully large.

Handles badly, and the rear wheel drive can easily catch you out in the wet. Poor off the line performance, but mid-range grunt can catch you unaware on damp roundabouts and country roads.

Coil springs at front so ride is passable, if bouncy (huge tyres help) but rear leaf springs make the ride in the back shockingly bad and rear seat passengers frequently request alternate seating.

Noisy at speed. Very noisy. But I only realised this when I drove a normal car for the first time in 8 months and it was silent in comparison. Wind-noise also intrusive.

Long-range trips are possible in it - I frequently travel between Oxford and Newcastle in it, but it's getting tiring now and I await a normal car next month.

Beware big, big servicing costs (£500 for 36,000 miles) but as of yet no tyre wear. This is not a cheap vehicle to run, especially privately.

Looks immense in black with chrome fittings, but takes hours to wash. Downright macho as well with the pick-up section. I drive it through company insurance (at age 19) but the attention it draws is both desirable (from peers) and undesirable (police, but haven't been stopped yet).

This vehicle is horrendous to park. Phenomenal width, length is impossible to judge, but with a lot of hard practice it becomes second nature. Rear easily dented as a result of mistakes.

Beware of the enormous turning circle - lots of car parks will become no-go areas, and you soon have to park with a mind to how you will get out of the space. If test-driving, don't have one shot at parking this - choose ten difficult spaces before you make your mind up.

Not as practical as you'd think - can carry 1 ton payload, but objects over 1.5m long are impossible (even my old A-Class was better for that) and your cargo gets wet unless you opt for a hard-top, but this doesn't make it anywhere near as practical as something like a shogun. This was only bought as a tax-break, and whilst it's been incredibly fun to have for the year (especially since I won't be able to drive something like this for another ten years due to my age) the A-Class I had previously did the job just as well, and this L200 only came into its own on the one occasion we needed to carry 4 people and a few hundred kilos of cargo.

Question whether you really need a car like this - it's not really a car and how you drive will need to change dramatically.

You must realise this is an off-road utility vehicle and not a luxury saloon car. it was designed to look good, but ultimately it has an underlying purpose. i. e it is designed for carrying heavy loads, which it does admirably, and would be revered by any farmer, for instance, or for that matter any one wanting to move reasonably heavy loads from a to b in relative comfort. you should buy a rover 75.

I also own a warrior Whilst I agree with some of the down sides to this car I have to say I think fuel consumption is a lot better than 20 mpg around 35 mpg it depends on how you drive it.

I own a L200 Warrior and I love it, from a distance it is an eye catcher!

However the drive is a little bouncy and the paint finish is very delicate and picks up scratches very easily so beware especially when jet washing, check the brush before you use it to wash your baby! I wish I had!

Respraying is costly!

I think anything out of the single digits is good gas mileage= = quit your whining.

Compared to other pick up trucks this one is a smooth drive even after one year use. And don't forget- it is a pick up truck, bough and used for certain purposes such as farm, or in my case, service vehicle for drill rigs. Very rare use of back seats. Mostly travel alone or with a partner, so the comfortable front seats suits my fine. As of switches- my opinion is- simplyer the better...

You had the truck for a year so it couldnt be all that bad, I've had one for nearly 2 years and yes it took some getting used to in car parks and corners in the wet, but you can pick faults with any car, I had a lotus before and that had faults by the bucket load, but I loved the car to bits.

Pick up trucks are at last here to stay and they look the bizz too.

I own an L200 which I imported from japan. It is a 2.8 ltr. automatic. it does use alot of fuel if you drag race it at the lights or try to keep up with smaller cars on the road. Being aware that this is a truck and not a car it certainly makes sense. it is fun to drive especially if you don't use it every day. Parking is difficult, but a reversing camera helps a lot. One last comment is that you really have to concentrate on driving the L200 but that is part of the fun if you enjoy driving, especially in tiny traffic congested roads in Malta.

I have had 4no. L200 vehicles since 2002, all new. The first 2 units had severe problems with turbo, fuel injection and engine management. This left the vehicles stranded twice and limping home on a kind of safe mode (30mph) more than twice.

We finally gave up when one of the 2002 vehicles seized it's gear box at 70mph on the motorway.

All these faults were within 10 months of purchase and less than 20000 miles.

We did a deal to get 2no. 2003 models and had the engine management problems 'sorted' by the mitsubishi dealer by the installation of a chip. This worked for approx 20000 miles on one unit which then blew it's cylinder head. We traded it for a Nissan then.

The other unit we held onto until this month, when it's engine seized without warning. We are presently repairing and will sell immediately (69000 miles.)

All our L200 units were serviced by the dealers and we had to practically threaten litigation to get anywhere with Mitsubishi.

We won't be buying L200s again, ever! We presently run Nissan and have 1no. 2800 pajero left (1998 model) would buy another 2800 pajero no problem, we have had 3 of them in 8 years.

Any advise anyone?

I'm due to purchase a late 2003 model of l200 warrior, but I've been told there common for the oil pumps failing (without notice) also the bottom section of the engine is common on piston problems smacking the cylinder head--expensive--to fix too---any advice is appreciated--as I'm a mere beginner---

but do they look the part or what-----I've also been told this engine problem is common on this year model--anyone know better???--not that bad on insurance really for the limitations of use--but to look at and drive there a eye opener-

I bought a used 2003 l200 in Belize Central America. I would like to know why it has two dip sticks to check the oil level. Both have a different readings. Why is this? And which one should I go by, the front dip stick or the rear dip stick, thanks for your response.

I bought an l200 4life it was fantastic only had it a year and a half 2nd hand 04 plate, and without any warning while travelling on the motorway, car came 2 a halt ant it turned out to be the head of the engine needs to be replaced its not even had its 1st mot yet! and only done 36000 miles. mitsubishi customer serv had been horrific!! never buy one again, look great, but that as far as it goes.

I have a 2004 (04) L200 Warrior, (purchased new) which has not yet covered 36k; in the last 12000 miles, it has had two cylinder heads, a new turbo, three short engines and is currently in the dealership being assessed to see if the bottom end has gone again. It is six months out of warranty (all problems happened in last year of warranty, until now). Not a good advert for Mitsubishi!

5th January 2008.

I Purchased a L200 Warrior in May 2006. I really like the vehicle, but on Christmas day 2007 I was woken up by the alarm going off & went outside to find the vehicl ablaze from the engine.

The vehicle ha been into the dealership a few days before because the engine management ligh had come on & the vehicle had lost power.

On Monday the 7th on January 2008 the insurance engineer will be coming to inspect the vehicle. My own thoughts are that this is an electrical fire.

Has anyone else heard of this make of vehicle having had the same problem.

I bought an L200 2 years ago and as far as I was concerned, it was a good vehicle for what it was designed for. Did a job, looked good and fulfilled it's requirements until, shortly after 36,000 mile service it started to breath through the radiator overflow tank. The head is in need of replacement now. Not Good on a commercial vehicle with so little mileage. Spoke to the manufacturer and well they are willing to support my case, but not by much (it's only just out of warranty). As far as I'm concerned that's it. consider it sold. I can't trust the car any more.

With regards to the engine fire. I had a shogun sport 06 model and on 07/11/07 it burst into flames no reason. Mitsubushi was not interested in finding out why.