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:

• 

  Dissatisfied - 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer
  By 2003 Lancer - August 14 - 7:03 pm

  Ive had my 03 Lancer for 5 years now, and I only have 40,600 miles on it. Just recently the Horn-Pad assembly stopped working, is malfunctioning. Because it is connected with the airbags and steering component, I have to get the entire component replaced, which has cost me over $1200. Another unfortunate thing is that the part is not made in the U.S. The part had to be placed on backorder from Japan - not too happy about that!

• 

  Mits Mirage 2014 - 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage
  By silenthill2007 - August 7 - 4:19 pm

  Needed a cheap car that would save a lot of gas. Had to travel far in Georgia to find a Mitsubishi dealership. I was attracted by the 11,899 price from the internet website. That is the price of the white, manual, with nothing, after all the incentives which I didn`t qualify. I only got the $1,500 discount. They screwed up the price. After I saw the numbers and calculated well I was able to afford the Automatic one. 600 to get another color/ NO 1,500 for the automatic/ YES I ended up with the blue automatic with Bluetooth. At the end I am getting 50 MPG instead of 44! The car has a horrible bouncing and looks like it is going to roll over.

• 

  opinion - 2004 Mitsubishi Endeavor
  By ahm - August 5 - 5:43 am

  The side molding on my 2004 Mitsubishi Endeavor came off first week. The A/C went out twice. Had squeak & grind noise in steering wheel. Replaced steering column at about 15,000 miles. Seats squeak. Radio (am/fm) & CD makes awful noise. Dealer cannot duplicate the problem, but does every time I drive car. Working on that now! Needs another set of mud guards. Stays dirty but do not make for 2004 model. Front dashboard scratches real easy and cannot be cleaned or buffed out. Side mirrors have good visibility, but are a pain when trying to reach a drive thru window. Cloth seats are already wearing out threads with only 21,000 miles.

• 

  Very disapointed - 2001 Mitsubishi Galant
  By warnecj - August 4 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car strait off of the truck. This was my first mistake. When I got in I noticed the tweeter on the driver door was missing from the Premium sound system. It took 3 months to get fixed. I then spent 2 months trying to get the airbag fixed. After having the car for about 1.5 years the stereo went. The dealer replaced it, but not long after the warrenty expiered, it would not read cds again. It cost me 300 to get a new stereo. I have spent more time at the shop than I have on the road. When I called Mitsu about the problems, they did not even seen to care. I will not buy a Mitsu. ever agian.

• 

  Seattle Driver - 2004 Mitsubishi Montero Sport
  By Bean - July 31 - 10:36 pm

  Montero Sport is a reliable SUV, It s a little sluggish on the get go accelation but other than that pretty smooth.

• 

  CVT will be an issue. - 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer
  By tourqemada - June 11 - 7:33 am

  About 30k on the 2011 Lancer now, the CVT tranny is noisy and jerky when cold, like it is slipping and catching. The power steering is making an unpleasant noise now as well. The headliner makes a buzzing noise when the road is smooth, worse when there are bumps in the road. We have noticed from A-holes in parking lots that there are no protective side moldings on the doors so we have a couple nasty dings in them now. There is a huge delay when operating the HVAC controls, dangerous when you are trying to clear the fog from the windshield. We have found that there are times when the car turns over but does not start right away, takes a few tries. Our last 2001 Lancer was better imo.

• 

  2004 Mits Endeavor - 2004 Mitsubishi Endeavor
  By MikeLI - June 7 - 10:00 am

  12K miles and it rattles like a bucket of bolts on the slightest of rough surfaces. Have complained to Mitsubishi which has fallen on deaf ears.

• 

  2003 Lancer ES - 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer
  By John - May 6 - 8:46 pm

  This car is somewhat fun to drive. However, just pray that nothing goes wrong. Even a minor problem can be very expensive to fix. The reason is the car is constructed in modules, like a lego set. If one little piece of the module breaks, you have to replace the whole thing. For example, the plastic door on the heating duct got warped. (This is a small plastic piece that moves to switch you from cool air to hot air.) Cost to fix: $3000 because the entire heating/air conditioning module had to be replaced. My mechanic told me the same problem would have cost $100 to fix on a Honda.

• 

  maybe mine is a lemon? - 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse
  By torielynn - May 5 - 7:18 am

  I have had this eclipse for a year now and not a month goes by with out me having to fix something. This is my second Eclipse I had a 99 RS model before this and i loved it! it was my first car and it lasted for 210,000 miles. However this Eclipse is terrible in comparison. it sounds like a diesel truck and no one can tell me why, my seat belts stopped working, i had to replace my o2 and knock sensor, water pump, thermostat twice, it vibrates like crazy and it just hit 100,000 miles. when i got my old eclipse it alredy had 111,000 on it and i never had these problems. if you want an eclipse go with an older model because the 03 sucks.

• 

  Couldve been designed better - 1999 Mitsubishi Galant
  By esa0819 - April 27 - 2:00 am

  Overall I would say the Galant is a "Pretty" car.. However, it lacks in interior design. The back seat is entirely too cramped, they should have cut back on trunk size to accomodate anyone over 3 feet sitting in the back. You couldnt find a penny using the dome lights centered in the front of the car..Also, the bumpers are dented too easily. A crash impact of 1 mile an hour causes thousands of $s worth of damage..Mitsu needs to listen to consumers and go back to the drawing board.