Overview & Reviews

Mitsubishi has built its brand in the United States with a selection of cars and SUVs that tend to offer above-average performance and style. The parent company has its roots in producing commercial vehicles for its home market of Japan.

A Japanese word meaning "three diamonds," Mitsubishi was founded in by Yataro Iwasaki, a descendant of samurais, in the early 1870s. The company's initial focus was on shipping, but it quickly diversified into areas such as mining and ship repair. In 1917, Mitsubishi unveiled the Model A, Japan's first series production passenger car.

It wasn't until 1960, with the launch of the compact Mitsubishi 500, that the company began producing passenger vehicles on a large scale. That decade also saw the launch of other Mitsubishi light passenger vehicles like the 360 Van and 360 Pickup. The company also distinguished itself on the racetrack during this decade, taking top honors in Japan's Grand Prix.

Mitsubishi's automobile production arm was officially spun off into a company of its own with the establishment of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in 1970. The company's Colt made its way to American shores in 1971, the same year in which Chrysler purchased a 15 percent stake in the new company. However, the Colt wasn't sold under the Mitsubishi name, but rather under the Dodge brand, reflecting Chrysler's interest in the company. By the end of the decade, Mitsubishi was producing more than 1 million cars per year.

In 1982, Mitsubishi began selling cars in the U.S. under its own name. Through the '80s it offered a variety of cars for the states, including the subcompact Mirage, turbocharged Starion sports car and midsize Galant sedan. Mitsubishi hit its stride in the '90s, thanks to the popularity of the Eclipse sport coupe and 3000GT sports car in the U.S. and the turbocharged Lancer Evolution in other parts of the world.

Chrysler made the most of its partnership, as it used Mitsubishi platforms under many of its models. The Eclipse, in particular, was a key vehicle produced by the Diamond Star Motors partnership. In 1998, Chrysler merged with Daimler-Benz to become DaimlerChrysler. Mitsubishi's partnership continued with DaimlerChrysler for a few years but was financially terminated by 2003.

The new millennium has been a struggle for Mitsubishi. Its vehicles have grown stale with consumers and sales have wavered. At one point the company was forced to admit that it had systematically covered up vehicle defects in Japan. On the upside, though, the company's compact, high-performance sedan, the Lancer Evolution, has been a continuing success in the United States. Going forward, Mitsubishi plans to revitalize its brand by developing environmentally friendly vehicles (such as its all-electric "i" hatchback) that are still fun to drive.

User Reviews:

• 

  Rented the Galant - 2004 Mitsubishi Galant
  By SomeCarReviewer - January 21 - 10:00 am

  I get a chance to rent different cars, this week it was this car. I like Mitsubushi, but seems like the Japanese rip-off of the Chevy Impala - minus the ugly tail lights, 50 lb doors and GM craftsmanship. Cost-cutting apparent. Good car for a spend thrift who doesnt care about looks and wants solid wheels. Probably low resale. They need to pick better materials other than the cheap/hard/sand textured plastic. Run your hand over this and then think about a three hour road trip – brutal. Need gas cap lock, unless you want your gas siphoned or bake cookies in your engine.

• 

  Transmission problem - 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer
  By wheresmycar1 - January 3 - 2:47 pm

  Well I bought my Ralliart this sunday and we first drove it on monday afternoon. Four hours after our drive home from the dealership and adding just 40 miles to the car, the transmission was gone. The best part is that it was in our driveway when the transmission failed. We had the car towed and brought back to the dealership. Now they want to totally replace the transmission on the brand spanking new car. Mitsubishi is giving us problems just an all around unpleasant experience and now its a couple days later and have no word on whats going on.

• 

  Horrible No Confidence - 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander
  By 1lemon - November 27 - 5:44 am

  If you need a car to get to work and family this is not the car. Continued electronic failures which prohibit the car from starting will cost you money and time. Wait an hour and try again until the next work day and a trip to the car rental. Beware the Outlander is a bad deal. The feeling of no confidence overtakes you when you attempt to start the vehicle and nothing happens, and let me tell you it is not a good feeling everyday after work to go through that. If you have kids and need to get home too, this auto may not be the best option.

• 

  Good value SUV but very boring. - 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander
  By daydream - November 19 - 10:00 am

  Maybe all SUVs are boring. But I find this one to be really plainsville.

• 

  So so - 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander
  By So sad - September 3 - 8:20 pm

  Not unhappy but not thrilled either. It is a truck with nice seats that you cant get rid of without a lot of time. The 3rd row is annoying waste of space and the paint protection is very poor. The car looks old now with a new paint job needed below the waist of the car. Nice engine though

• 

  Nice Truck - 1999 Mitsubishi Montero Sport
  By hernando - August 11 - 5:10 pm

  I had this truck for over 2 yrs. I really like it. I lived in snowy MA and it handles great in the snow and ice. The tires dont seem to have worn much and no brake work yet. I used to commute 45 mi one way, 5 days a week and I find the drivers seat comfy. Not a 10 but, not awful either. The body is sharp looking and black looks great. Ive also installed a hitch and have towed 5k lbs no problem. Gas is ok at around 20-24 mpg on the 3.0L v6. The negatives...stupidly placed cup holders, crappy stock stereo, and the price of parts (a reason to buy American). I have 102k mi on this and have only had the regular mtc done (belts, plugs, etc). Id buy again.

• 

  99 Galant - 1999 Mitsubishi Galant
  By JoeSup - August 8 - 2:00 am

  Overall pretty good car except for brakes. No real problems in 85K miles

• 

  Cant wait to trade it in! - 2003 Mitsubishi Galant
  By KW - July 27 - 5:10 am

  I purchased this car new in 2003. At first I was in love with...which quickly passed. The seats continually shocked me (humidity level in this area) when I got out of it. I installed leather from an LS. Sound system could not produce enough sound to be heard with the windows down, replaced speakers and head unit with MP3 player. Door trim peeled off (luckily was under warranty). All radiator clamps came loose and began leaking, dealer had to replace all of them. Valve cover gasket is seeping oil. Now that it is hot and humid, car can barely pull itself. Last fuel tank I averaged 19.3, generally around 23-24 MPGs. Now modifying intake and exhaust to attempt to regain power.

• 

  Just Bought - 2003 Mitsubishi Montero
  By Muchtonice - July 22 - 10:00 am

  I bought my Montero Sport in 7/04. The ONLY thing that I dont like is the braking. Whenever I brake from a fairly fast rate of speed the brakes vibrate. Does anybody else have that problem?

• 

  2015 Navigation system SUCKS - 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
  By konatim - July 17 - 9:58 am

  The navigation system on the 2015 model uses voice controls for phone and navigation. However, I only recently discovered after buying my car and not being able to use voice controls to enter a destination address that for everything this super duper deluxe navigation system does it doesnt do the one very important function of a navigation system. Which is being able to speak the address you want to go to and have the car actually get you there. You have to manually enter an address unlike the many other cars out there with voice navigation. in my opinion this is one of the worst navigation systems i have ever seen. My little portable Garmin is better and actually works!