As is known, today's article about used cars will be devoted to analyzing all the difficulties that a person wishing to purchase a used Mitsubishi Grandis may encounter.
Description
• Body type: • Dimensions Length/Width/Height, mm: 4765/1795/1660
• Wheelbase, mm: 2830
• Ground clearance, mm: 165
• Curb/Gross weight, kg: 1645/2250
• Trunk volume, l: 320
• Fuel tank volume, l: 65
• Drive type: front-wheel drive
• Transmission: manual 5/6-speed, automatic 4-speed
• Front/Rear brakes: ventilated disc/disc
• Front/Rear suspension: independent, MacPherson type/independent, with trailing arms
• Engines:
• Petrol 4-cylinder inline: 2.4 (165 hp)
• Diesel inline 4-cylinder with turbocharging and direct injection: 2.0Di-D (136 hp)
History
May 14, 2003: Mitsubishi Grandis became the successor to the outdated Space Wagon model
2004: Sales of the car began in Ukraine
2005: The model was restyled (exterior changed, interior equipment list expanded)
September 2005: Grandis began to be equipped with a diesel engine produced by Volkswagen, which received the abbreviation Di-D
2011: Mitsubishi Grandis was discontinued
Body
The car's exterior was created in the company's new style, developed by a team of designers led by Olivier Boulay – a Frenchman who worked for a long time at Mercedes-Benz and, by the way, created the legendary 'six hundred' of the 90s.
Despite the fact that the car belongs to the minivan class, its appearance is distinguished by a non-standard and aggressive design with sporty notes. It is lower than most of its classmates, and accordingly, has a lower center of gravity. At the same time, the ground clearance of the Mitsubishi Grandis is quite substantial - 165 mm.
True, when driving onto the curb, the good ground clearance is 'eaten up' by the long front overhang - when overcoming curbs (and not only), there is a risk of catching the lower part of the bumper.
The paint coating is not a strong point of the Grandis. The paint layer is thin, and the varnish is sensitive even to mechanical damage. But the body is well protected from corrosion. True, until you damage the paint – rust appears quickly. Among the problem areas, the tailgate lid should be mentioned. If you do not monitor the decorative chrome trim of the tailgate opening, corrosion centers will appear under it over time. Moreover, it can rust through. In this case, you will have to buy a new tailgate lid. This is 'treated' by coating the connection of the trim with the tailgate with sealant.
Interior
The Mitsubishi Grandis is a full-fledged minivan with 7 seats. There are also 6-seat versions, with a separate second-row seat bench. The car's interior is spacious; none of the passengers will feel uncomfortable, even in the third row of seats.
The advantages also include good transformation, except for the lack of fixation of the second-row seats. The Grandis seats are comfortable and moderately soft, although more developed lateral support and lumbar support (for front seats) would not hurt.
The driver's seating position is a controversial point. The problem lies in the lack of steering wheel reach adjustment, which complicates the process of adjusting the seat and steering wheel for tall drivers. The lack of cruise control, which can often only be seen in cars from 2005 onwards, can be considered insignificant. And even then not in all of them.
Visibility in the car is not very good, especially at the front - due to the wide front pillars, which limit visibility when turning. Sound insulation is also not up to par.
The quality of materials is decent, although the plastic looks cheap and starts to creak when cold weather sets in.
Engine
In our market, the car was offered with only one engine - a petrol 2.4 (165 hp). There are no complaints about the engine; it easily lasts 350-400 thousand km. The main drawback of the engine is high fuel consumption; in the city it reaches 18 l/100 km, on the highway - about 9-10 l.
The power is a bit insufficient for a car weighing almost two tons, but for people who drive calmly, it will be enough. Given the car's class, it is definitely pointless to find fault with this.
Oil changes in this engine are performed every 15 thousand km, replacement of the timing belt and balancer belt along with rollers - every 90 thousand km. It is better not to skimp on belts and rollers.
Cleaning of injectors, given the quality of our gasoline, is best done every 30 thousand km.
Oddly enough, the valves in the Grandis are adjusted manually. Motorists advise doing this when valve noise is already audible. With normal operation and timely oil changes, you can drive without adjustment for 100-120 thousand km. Although it is better to check the clearances at 90 thousand km.
Let us note once again that the Mitsubishi Grandis was also equipped with a 2.0 Di-D diesel engine produced by Volkswagen, but in Ukraine the car with such an engine was not sold.
Transmission
The Mitsubishi Grandis was equipped with three types of gearboxes: a 4-speed automatic transmission, and a 5/6-speed manual transmission. The 6-speed manual was only equipped on the diesel version of the Grandis.
In our country, the version with the 'automatic' is most common, which, although morally outdated, is quite reliable. Many Grandis owners only complain that on the highway there is not enough fifth gear, which would help reduce consumption.
There are no particular complaints about the automatic transmission, except that the control unit can sometimes be 'capricious' - there are cases when it needs to be reflashed or replaced. The reason is that the car may not move in reverse when engaging reverse, for example.
Some car owners note problems in the operation of the gearbox when shifting from second to third gear. This is often cured by changing the oil. According to regulations, it must be changed every 100 thousand km, but in our operating conditions it is better to do this every 60 thousand km (some even change it every 40 thousand km).
If the problem with shift smoothness does not go away even after changing the oil, the cause is likely a clogged automatic transmission oil filter. According to regulations, it is designed for the entire service life of the gearbox, but there are cases when it still needs replacement. And this is not a cheap pleasure, because to get to the filter you need to disassemble the 'gearbox'!
Problems in shifting can also arise from friction discs, which burn due to load on the gearbox (the cause is an aggressive driving style). The 'manual' was not in great demand in our market, but cars with this gearbox are still found. There are no complaints about the 'manual'. There were rare cases when the input shaft began to hum, but this is most likely due to high mileage or poor-quality transmission oil. So it cannot be considered a 'disease'. The clutch on average lasts 100-120 thousand km.
Chassis
The suspension of the Mitsubishi Grandis is firm and quite stiff, but quite comfortable. The car handles excellently, despite its mass, and holds the road perfectly even at high speeds. Not least thanks to good aerodynamics.
The sore spot is the front suspension. Due to the heavy 'front end' on our roads, by 60 thousand km the steering rods may fail. Front shock absorbers on average last 80-100 thousand km. At similar mileages, squeaks often appear at the front - this indicates the need to repair the stabilizer bushings. When a squeak appears, you should not immediately replace them; you just need to clean them of dirt.
There are no complaints about the rear suspension; it easily lasts more than 100 thousand km. The brake system of the Grandis is reliable, and the brakes themselves are tenacious and predictable. Front brake pads with discs can last more than 100 thousand km (depending on driving style), rear ones even longer - about 120 thousand km. There are cases when the front brake discs become deformed, but their replacement is not always mandatory - the problem is solved by machining them.
Prices for spare parts and maintenance
Spare parts for the Mitsubishi Grandis are not cheap, but there are no problems with the availability of spare parts. Scheduled maintenance should be carried out every 15 thousand km, but AvtoPortal recommends doing this every 10 thousand km.
Prices for spare parts:
Timing belt – 400 UAH.
Oil filter – 100 UAH.
Clutch disc – 1200 UAH.
Front shock absorber (1 pc.) – 2600 UAH (original)
Headlight (1 pc.) – 1600-2000 UAH (used original)
Front bumper – 1600 UAH (used)
Pros
| Cons
|
Summary
The Mitsubishi Grandis is an excellent car for those who need a spacious and visually modern vehicle. In terms of design, the Grandis turned out to be very successful - even after being discontinued, it does not look old. As for reliability and maintenance costs, the Mitsubishi Grandis cannot be called budget, but it is not expensive either. The only big drawback is high fuel consumption, although today there are many offers on the market for cars with LPG.
On the secondary market, prices range from $11,500 for early models to $21,000 for models of recent years of production. The depreciation of the Grandis is quite strong. For example, in 2005-2006, a Grandis with an automatic cost about $30,000. Today, 7-8 years later, they are sold on average for $13 thousand. 3-5-year-old examples have fallen in price by 30-50 percent over their service life (depending on configuration and condition).
