1986 Mitsubishi Cordia Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Note that this car is the non-turbo automatic model. It's performance against other hatches of its day was very good, especially when we used to have real petrol at the pump. On unleaded and up against modern unleaded cars it has become very lacklustre. The handling is average, prone to understeer if anything (also remember that the suspension and brakes are not the same as the turbo model). The styling is very dated now but still looks surprisingly good compared to many more recent models that I'd hate to be seen in: Daewoo Cielo, Hyundai Lantra and Elantras, Ford Festiva, Suzuki Swift, Nissan Micra. The only things that went wrong with this car while I owned it (about 5 years) was the CV joints were beginning to wear out and the kickdown cable wore through its sleeve and started binding. So just the usual issues with an ageing car. Modern cars are much more economical to drive but when you compare the purchase price of a new car to the purchase price of a low-mileage Cordia, where is the saving? The cost of maintenance is also extremely low due to cheap parts (although tricky to find) and the simplicity of the repair. Especially as much of the work is so simple it can be done at home. I'd have to say that it's not fun to drive, but it's fun to own. You can fill the generously-sized hatch with bags of manure for the garden and not care about what happens. Same goes for straw, pot plants, dogs, etc. You can let your friends smoke in there if you want because you dont have to worry about burn-marks lowering the value of your car. It's not fun to drive, but it does get from A to B with the luxury of air conditioning, but without the luxury of power steering. Jun 02, 2009