Overview of the Mitsubishi Magna
The Mitsubishi Magna was a large car built in Adelaide from 1985, and a rival for the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore. From 1996 all models were fitted with a 3.5-litre V6, and in later years there was an upmarket variant badged Verada. All-wheel drive also became available on some models and was a key feature of a Ralliart performance model. In late 2004, the Magna was replaced by a new-generation model called the 380 - but slow sales led to the car's demise ... and the end of Mitsubishi manufacturing in Australia.
MITSUBISHI MAGNA GENERATIONS
1985-1991
1991-1996
1996-2005
RUNNING COSTS
Fuel Consumption
LPG: 15.6 litres per 100km (due to cheap cost of LPG)
3.5L V6: 11.5 to 13.0 litres per 100km
= Highly economical.
= Good economy.
= Average fuel use.
= Heavy consumption.
Servicing
Current capped-price servicing programs are not available for the Magna, so check with your local Mitsubishi dealer. Mitsubishi Magna parts and accessoriescan be found on Gumtree.
SIMILAR MODELS TO MITSUBISHI MAGNA
Ford Falcon
Holden Commodore
Honda Accord
Toyota Avalon
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR: MITSUBISHI MAGNA (2000 TO 2005)
The youngest Mitsubishi Magna is now a teenager, so the general rule is to treat Magnas on a case-by-case basis.
That said, there are a few things to look at starting with the service history.
Essentially, the Magna V6 in these later versions needed an oil change and a new oil filter every 10,000km.
Ignoring this was bad practice as old oil soon caused wear in the engine.
The first sign is noisy lifters - a ticking sound when you start the engine - and if it's present, the damage has already started to occur.
A puff of blue smoke on higher-mileage Magnas is usually caused by wear in the valve-stem seals and keeping an eye on the level on the dipstick becomes critical at that point.
The frameless windows were noisy when the car was near new. Time and kilometres won't have improved that.
