1985 Mitsubishi Starion 2000 Turbo review from UK and Ireland

Leaking fuel injectors at sealing rings - common problem.

Alternator not charging properly.

Failed thermostat.

Rear brakes binding.

Bonded windscreen cracked at base - screen actually has design fault.

After returning from a spell working overseas it was time to purchase a car for my regular jaunt down the A2/M25 to and fro work and home. Spending close to 3 hours on the road a day on my own, I like to attempt to enjoy at least some of the journey so a performance car was in order, and after a brief few weeks scouring the local garages and free ads, I had come to a three car choice. A rather bland ST1322 Celica, a tatty Silvia Turbo that despite it's looks went like the clappers and a rather solid looking Mitsubishi Starion.

The Celica really didn't do much for me, and was the most expensive out of the three, I'd heard a lot of good things about these cars in the past from associates and the motoring press, but it's generally soft ride and marshmallow styling soon had me looking elsewhere. The Silvia in contrast felt like a toy, a turbo charged FUN toy with an interior like a cheap plastic alarm clock radio and huge tears down it's pale blue door trims, but who cares, it was dirt cheap and after taking it for a spin I had a huge grin on my face after slamming shut those tinny white doors. But could I live with this thing everyday? (or rather would it kill me?) and hell would it even last that long going by the bodgy panels and backyard paintjob?

Then came along the Starion, in comparison, it was leaps and bounds ahead in both quality and performance. It was an older non wide-body with pre-ULP 2 litre engined model with intercooler. Bodywise it was clean as a die without any rust showing up through the white paint anywhere I could see, and the re-cut alloy wheels looked like new. Inside was positive luxury with six way adjustable tan leather seats, so all was required was a test drive to see if it 'fit' me. A brief blip around Bromley's one way system proved insightful. The car had a chunky, weighted quality about it without boost, while with a more forceful push of the accelerator the car just opened up and in kicked that turbo with an audible intake of breath and a new gutsy life springed into the hatchback's haunches. But this wasn't like the Silvia, there was no scary lunges or twitchiness at the wheels, just a subdued roar and the feeling of a whole lot more power at the wheels and plenty more on tap. I was sold.

Just by looking at it, it was clear to see why I'd picked out the Starion, it's edgey 1980's styling was not everyone's cup of tea, even when new, and despite similarities to the Porche 944 and even Mazda's more smooth RX-7 it certainly had an identity of it's own, and one that was not particularly common on the roads by 1998, something which warmed me to the car even more. There was some fussiness in the lines, with the nose seemingly a bit over grown, especially with that huge blocky bumper and the rather weird rake to the doors, which due to their design were not pillarless to aid in high speed aerodynamics, this feature also extended to the seatbelts mounted to the doors themselves whch seemed very silly, attempting to strangle you if you kept them clipped on, as you opened the door. Pop-up headlamps were also of course all the rage in the yuppie fueled 80's, but I've never had a problem with them, and always enjoyed the little wirring noise as the popped up or down, for the hell of it. The sharp rear hatch would normally aid in practicality of of a car like this, but considering how shallow the luggage compartment was (made even smaller due to room the huge spare wheel took up) it didn't really matter.

It had been a while since I drove something with this kind of power, but as most turbo owners will tell you, these things just crave more gas on the pedal and urge you to watch that boost gauge fly. My last real car of worth was a MK I MR2, and it was quite clear this was an altogether different beast. Approaching my first roundabout early in the morning on slightly greasy conditions the back slid out after taking my turn off, whether it was my lazy state, or the fact the tail came out nice and controllably it seemed everything moved in slow motion, no harm done, a rather relaxed motion with the steering in the opposite direction pushed everything back on line and I was on my way. It was quite clear to me on this first 'spin' that this was no MR2 and I'd have to learn to respect the 168bhp it had on tap.

Approaching motorways and fast A-roads the Starion was a dream, not having lived with a turbo before, I wasn't really aware of turbo lag, and found there to be little with this car despite it's fairly portly 1300Kg's of weight. The large edgey nose was often bobbing about before me, but I also never really had any major problem with bump steer, though it was more evident with it's ride quality. That particular greasy roundabout aside, the car handled fine and road holding was to be admired, with this credited to the big fat 215x15" wheels as much as the fancy independent rear suspension with LSD. Braking I found faultless and hardly surprising with all round ventilated discs and Mitsubishi's own brand of Anti-lock braking system, before ABS became the norm.

On long journeys the Starion was equally at home, despite it's sportiness the engine was very smooth, aided by Mitsubishi's silent shaft balancers, which I had some experience with in the past, previously owning an '84 Sapporo. Inside was also nice and comfy if a little cold with full leather seats for the UK winter. One piece carpet and double bulkheads also helped in keeping outside noise at bay, though despite their design I found the lipped doors pick up a fair amount of turbulence at top speeds. Driving position was fine and highly adjustable, and all the dials you could possibly need were clearly marked out in Mitsubishi's unmistakable orange. Visibility was also very good despite those fairly chunky middle pillars. I found both the gear stick and steering wheel a little weedy for such a car with the steering wheel both a little too big and too thin, but after a few miles you tended to forgive it. The gear shift also seemed very rubbery and tall, but due to it's forward position probably aided ergonomics. It would have been nice to have seen some leather or pseudo-leather here, considering how much contact the driver would have with it. This car was fully loaded sans air con, which included electric windows, mirrors, power steering, cruise control and those oh so superfluous headlamp washers and a fairly competent 6 speaker factory cassette stereo which was still running fine.

As most of my cars owned they often ended on a sour note, but then again for me that's usually the reason I eventually have to let them go. In the Starion's case I did have repeated problems with the injectors leaking, they are a common problem and often the 'O' sealing rings are at fault. I must have got through at least two mechanics and four pairs of rings before the smell of fuel stopped coming in to the cabin. I also had electrical issues with the alternator not charging properly, and even a few occasions where the car left me stranded after shorter journeys, giving the turbo a kick early on in the journey seemed to improve charging. I also had a thermostat fail on me, but managed to get the car home before any serious damage. Finally the brakes began to play up, with them binding at the rear, and gradually getting worse, I noticed sluggishness on hills and heat underneath the car after short trips and later discovered the brakes were in fact working by their own will. Surprisingly the brake warning light only surfaced once to warn me, but the problem was never really isolated and it was suggested it may be due to lack of use, as I was only driving the car maybe once or twice a week by this time on short trips. Despite these number of issues I never found the Starion to be a troublesome car, and quite surprisingly since it was obviously a complicated bit of kit.

Overall the Starion was quite a breeze, engineered and brimming with technology, it was quite ahead of it's time, especially for Mitsubishi who hadn't really built anything as sporting before, period. It came with all mod cons, a plush leather interior, and plenty of gizmos too. As an everyday car it was something special with that turbo, but wasn't a car that proved to be a pig in traffic, in fact it was just as enjoyable. Performance wise it was no slouch, with 0-60 times around 7 odd seconds, all this achieved with a fine poise in a refined kind of way, as long as you respected it. And with four seats, hatch access and nearing 30 mpg was not to be sniffed at. For some reason it did not set me on fire with excitement, yet it was still a hell of a car, pokey, but refined, comfortable yet sporting and with a respectable racing record the Starion impressed me.