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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  Good transportation - 2002 Mitsubishi Galant
  By vadim_st - January 4 - 12:23 am

  It is a mild, comfortable car for individual or small-family everyday transportation. The trunk takes a lot of luggage. My 4-cyl. engine is noisier and hotter than I would expect from a new car, but delivers smooth power sufficient to move around. Drivers seat needs to provide more support.

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  Loose manufacturing - 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
  By Need new car - January 1 - 1:51 pm

  Resale terrible. Only 15500 miles and not even worth $11G’s. A-post cover was loose, transmission recall for programming, driver door window came loose, ESP was acting up. Getting in back seat is tight. Do like rear parking sensors. Original tires not good in snow. Put Goodyear Assurances on much better. Interior post drive frost build up is terrible, have to scrape inside if in a hurry. Purchased after Suzuki left US. Traded from a Grand Vitara. Trying to ride out the resale devalue until I trade up. Great dealer maintenance!!!!!

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  New Car Broken Down Twice - 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback
  By Jennifer - December 15 - 12:46 am

  We traded in our 2000 Galant for another Mitsubishi because we were so happy with our Galant, only I think somehow we bought a lemon. It has broken down on me twice with my two kids in the car. I had to wait hours for a tow truck. Thankfully the tow and repair were covered (yet the whole process still cost me $600 in "necessary" (according to the dealership) tune up fees, plus the cost of a rental car. Not four months after my tune up, my car broke again. The first time was a faulty crank sensor (whatever the heck that is) and second time was some accelerator sensor. Oh and they also had to fix a leaky shock and the mid rear restraint that never worked off the lot. Buyers beware. I;m done with Mitsubishi.

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  Fun but costly - 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse
  By CoupeDriver - November 29 - 8:20 pm

  I just sold my Mitsubishi Eclipse after owning it for 2.5 years. The repair costs for this car in the 2.5 years I owned it were equal to 90% of the purchase price of the car. I loved the car but just couldnt afford to keep paying for everything it needed done to it. At least it never stranded me. I miss my car; it was so much fun to drive.

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  So so - 2001 Mitsubishi Galant
  By varand - November 27 - 7:10 pm

  I had that car for 21 month. When I bought it it got 176,000 miles and it was ok. It was good car at first year and I didnt spend that much as maintenance. But at second year it broke me down every thing was going wrong and I wasted too much money on it and finally i gave it to carmax . (dont buy any gallant with high mileage).

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  If you live with snow, stay away - 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
  By Jesse - November 19 - 11:27 am

  I live in Minnesota, and we get a lot of snow usually. So I thought an all wheel drive would be a great choice for my commute vehicle. Well, when it snows Im in fear of driving this car. It has the factory Nexen tires Im familiar with. They are known to be cheap summer tires people put on custom after market rims for summer driving. They claim to be all season with light snow rating, could not be anymore inaccurate. I will be buying new tires before our next winter to see it it helps. But coming from the factory, this car scares me driving in any kind of snow. Even if its only a few inches. It reminds me of my younger years trying to drive a car on bald tires in snow. Even in all wheel drive it does not handle or stop with 2 inches of snow. Aside from that, once the brakes locked up on me after driving through a snow 6 inch snow bank. I couldnt have been going more than 5mph and the brakes did not function and left me sliding 2 car lengths before I stopped. I had no control, luckily I was in a parking lot. I am very lucky the one winter I drove this vehicle we seen a very low amount of snowfall and I have another vehicle to use. Besides all of the awful unsafe winter use of this vehicle, its not bad. It had one recall repair already for potential stalling when hitting the accelerator, which mine never did. Another problem I had multiple times was with long road trips and using cruise control. It would just stop working completely. When I would hit traffic or non passable cars and turn off the cruise control a few times within a short time it would stop working until I was done driving and had the car parked for awhile. The acceleration is the worst of any car I have ever owned in my life. It is so slow from a dead stop that I will not pull out in traffic unless the next upcoming car is 2 or 3 football fields away. Once on the road acceleration is ok. Summer driving is good. On average tank of gas I will average 26-28mpg with 80% highway. Every single fill up I hand dial to see. Winter driving averages 22-25 with 70% city driving. Overall would I buy this vehicle know all that? That is a BIG NO. After a year of ownership I looked into trading it in and it depreciated A LOT . Easily worth 25% less than when I bought it. If I bought a new pickup truck I would see 25% drop until it was paid off. This is not a safe winter vehicle, maybe new tires will help, but Im not sure about the brake issue with snow.

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  Reliable, but uninspiring - 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
  By darkcoupon - November 11 - 5:22 am

  This car has been very reliable. I bought mine in fall of 2011 and, apart from regular maintenance, this car hasnt seen any time back at the dealership. The rest of the car, though, is rather unimpressive. Despite the sporty exterior, the underpowered engine makes this car beyond boring to drive and inspires no confidence when needed. The poor engine would almost be forgivable if the car achieved the advertised gas mileage, but after nearly 3 years of ownership I still average around 20mpg City and 25mpg Highway. This is mostly due to the fact that the pedal needs to be on the floor most of the time to keep up with traffic. Mitsu would have been much better off including their 2.4L engine.

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  Junk. Junk. Junk. - 2002 Mitsubishi Montero Sport
  By cjones89 - November 3 - 5:23 am

  84k miles and already having tons of problems. Power steering pump leaking, Valve cover gaskets leaking, Lifters are ticking, Transmission acts strange, and Ive already had to replace pretty much every suspension part and now the AC is going. What next?? and I have always maintained it!! I bought it because the price was right and I love the style of the Montero. I should have bought an xterra or 4runner. I will never buy another Mitsubishi again!!!

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  Terrible Pull to the left - 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander
  By BeagleDog - September 12 - 10:00 am

  As soon as I started driving this new vehicle I experienced a severe pull to the left. I assumed it was just out of alignment. However when I called the dealership, service told me the 2003s had a known defect requiring a major repair and I needed to drop the vehicle off for at least a day. Can you sell vehicles with known safety defects? Other than that major flaw, its nice.

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  Its a TRUCK - 2000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport
  By Aubrey - August 19 - 10:56 am

  Beware! It drives like a truck, feels like a truck, and yes its a truck not your average passenger SUV. So far no major repair expenses but we have had some performance and usability issues on the 4WD. When brand new it was not worth the price! Also, big recommendation: disable the "anti lock brakes" feature or you will not have control over the vehicle on slippery roads or in an emergency need to stop event (you can unplug this on each side of the front disk brakes). Gas mileage not good. We will never buy a Mitsubishi again. Cheers.............