A Magna by any other name is still a Magna!
June 7th 2008 11:43
Autoloud normally does not comment on the vehicles he drives. It has taken me a while but I have finally managed to drive the recently deceased Mitsubishi 380. I know it has been around for while but i never really went out of my way to drive one!
Now, I know it is rude to speak ill of the dead, but this has to said, it is a BORING car!
The poor thing was launched into a market segment which has been steadily shrinking. Mitsubishi tried to out-Commodore the Commodore with the 380 and not even Ford has succeeded on that front. The fleet market has changed, mostly due to the popularity of Novated leasing and salary sacrifice, there is now a much wider choice of vehicles available for buyers of company cars.
Many businesses are now limiting their Execs to options like Soft roaders or High end Japanese or even mid range Europeans.The big losers in all this have been the traditional big Aussies sixes. Witness the recent death of the Fairlane/ LTD twins.
Back to the 380, the VRX version I have been driving is a mid specification car with leather trim. As a car it has a spacious interior with comfortable seats. It looks okay but the family resemblance to a Magna is too much of a negative for me.
Gripes? Plenty! Steering wheel rim that is too thin, the boot is not all that big, children struggle to see out the rear side windows, the stereo/ Air con controls are confusing in the dark and if you can find the fuel release button without referring to the manual or in under half an hour, you must be psychic!
The drive experience is well, boring as well. If you closed your eyes you would swear you were driving a Magna and it was 1996 all over again. But its not, its 2008 and the 380 should have been a better car.
Now, I know it is rude to speak ill of the dead, but this has to said, it is a BORING car!
The poor thing was launched into a market segment which has been steadily shrinking. Mitsubishi tried to out-Commodore the Commodore with the 380 and not even Ford has succeeded on that front. The fleet market has changed, mostly due to the popularity of Novated leasing and salary sacrifice, there is now a much wider choice of vehicles available for buyers of company cars.
Many businesses are now limiting their Execs to options like Soft roaders or High end Japanese or even mid range Europeans.The big losers in all this have been the traditional big Aussies sixes. Witness the recent death of the Fairlane/ LTD twins.
Back to the 380, the VRX version I have been driving is a mid specification car with leather trim. As a car it has a spacious interior with comfortable seats. It looks okay but the family resemblance to a Magna is too much of a negative for me.
Gripes? Plenty! Steering wheel rim that is too thin, the boot is not all that big, children struggle to see out the rear side windows, the stereo/ Air con controls are confusing in the dark and if you can find the fuel release button without referring to the manual or in under half an hour, you must be psychic!
The drive experience is well, boring as well. If you closed your eyes you would swear you were driving a Magna and it was 1996 all over again. But its not, its 2008 and the 380 should have been a better car.
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