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:

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  Terrible Idea - 2006 Mitsubishi Endeavor
  By Kimberly - June 23 - 8:46 pm

  Ive owned my Mitsubishi Endeavor for approximately five months now. It requires premium gas which I am not happy about and wasnt informed of when I purchased the vehicle. Already my air conditioner drain has clogged, flooded the front passenger floorboard, and because of a design flaw, the whole motor has to be taken out to get to the air conditioner. The dealership and the corporate office told me this is not covered under warranty. It is going to cost approximately $1,000 to correct a "design" flaw. Also, the paint is terrible and I have chips from touchless carwashes. I absolutely hate this vehicle. I wish I would have purchased an American made vehicle. Mitsubishi is not a customer oriented company!

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  Money Trap - 1999 Mitsubishi Montero Sport
  By Just say no - October 24 - 10:00 am

  Thinking this would be the alternative to an expensive SUV, what you save in $$ initially over a Grand Cherokee or land Rover you will pay for in Maintenance. Went through Brake Rotors 5 times. We only drove it 10k a year. 3 of these were before the car had 12,000 miles. Very noisey, rough handeling steering very rough. Felt very tinny, not sturdy. For a truck you would think it would be able to handle a small pothole without sounding like it was going to fall apart!

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  The Mitsubishi Outlander Sport 2015 - 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
  By Rambo - July 18 - 8:31 am

  This vehicle is not worth purchasing you will pay upper 20,000.00 for this vehicle and when you try to resale or trade in you will not get even half of your money back you will loose pretty much every penny you put into the vehicle plus purchase price no matter how well you take care of the vehicle. If you have 1 strut replaced by the dealership they will charge you around 1200.00 and a strut you can purchase online for less than 200.00 and install yourself it is very easily done and only takes about 45 minutes to do. The Dealership is always trying to push you into letting them service the vehicle which is ok if you need them to but they tell you it is like 20 bucks but when you go to pick it up it is over 100.00.....what!!!!! This vehicle is very unsafe for your wife or daughter to be driving in, if you care for them do not put them in one of these vehicles, do not believe me buy one drive it yourself for 2 yrs you will understand then, I know I was foolish enough to purchase one.

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  I hate this car - 2012 Mitsubishi Galant
  By lora76 - November 14 - 2:05 am

  If I had done some digging before I purchased this car I wouldnt have bought it. I do not like anything about it. I have owned it for 9 months and checked in to trading it off and found out that in 9 months it lost 12000.00 in value. I paid just over 25,000.00 for it and was offered between 13,000 and 15,000 for it. This is just CRAZY.

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  Not worth the money - 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander
  By Mike - March 25 - 12:04 pm

  We have 8,000 miles on the vehicle and so far have already received 2 recall notices from Mitsubishi Motors. The first one for faulty door latch components and just got another yesterday for defective relays involving the engine control unit. If the relay fails the engine will stall while driving and cannot be restarted. If the relay for the engine valve lift control fails, it limits the available engine power. If the relay for the radiator fan fails, the engine may overheat. We brought a vehicle that we thought we could rely on and with the recalls we are now in doubt. Because there are no local dealers in our area we have to drive 4 hours for a 1/2 repair or more to have the recalls taken care of. Im disappointed in the reliability and lack of dealers. For the time we have to spend driving and the expense to get the recalls taken care of we do not feel that this vehicle is right for us and do not think I would recommend this vehicle to someone else.

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  Never again - 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer
  By PJ - March 4 - 4:53 pm

  The most uncomfortable and most underpowered vehicle I have ever owned. Center console might as well be a concrete block. Paint quality is ridiculously poor; and need we even discuss engine power? Or rather lack thereof. While the mileage of the V4 is nice; having a V6 would be much better. Hindsight is 20/20 and I should never have bought this vehicle. From about day 5 of ownership I tried to get rid of it. Found some other sucker to buy it; never again will I own a Mitsubishi - stick to televisions.

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  Should have read here first - 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer
  By Nebraska - January 8 - 10:00 am

  Why oh why did I not check here first! This car is a joke; my kids RC car has more power and is in all likelihood more comfortable. For Gods sake what is in the console armrest - concrete? Cause there sure as hell is not padding. If, and it is a big "IF" this car had ANY redeeming qualities it would be the mileage, but who cares about mileage at the great expense of power. If you plan on passing anyone, make sure they are either riding a bicycle (and it better not be Lance Armstrong) or they are a little old lady on a motorized cart, other than that, youll never make it. Had the car for 9-months and I will never get those 9-mos back.

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  Unreliable - 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse
  By Jenny - January 1 - 9:10 pm

  This car has been the biggest waste of money ever! I havent even had it for 2 years and have spent $4000 on repairs for it! I swear I have to take it in to the shop once a month because something is shuddering or making a funny noise. Its ridiculous. I will never own another Mitsubishi ever.