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| Road Test: Mitsubishi Grandis (2004-) |
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| Large MPV |
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Mitsubishi Grandis Gallery
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| DRIVING RATING: |
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Driving the Grandis is a mostly cosy, stress-free affair. The driver's seat is well-shaped, easy to adjust and supportive. The fold-down armrest plays a role here, too. Pedals are well-spaced and the steering wheel has a simple tilt movement. You sit up high, but a low step-in height means the Grandis is unusually easy to get in and out of. Steering action calls for little real arm effort, so long as the Grandis is not being hustled along too hard. Start to push over fast A-roads and you find you need to apply more weight more often - but it's never a struggle. For a big MPV (it's 11cm longer than a Galaxy), the Grandis is remarkably unfussed.
Steering feels light and not overly communicative. As the road twists and tightens, the Grandis isn't so on the ball and turn-in becomes an approximate science, calling for you to keep applying lock to get around the bend. On the other hand, the Grandis has good levels of grip.
Dash-mounting the gear stick makes for quick changes through the gears, and the ratios are well matched so that you're in the thick of the power band after each change. We wouldn't recommend the four-speed auto 'box with the petrol though; it seems to sap the life out of the car - and even in manual 'sports' mode it infuriates you with its badly spaced ratios that make the engine either struggle in fourth, or race in second.
The petrol engine is a paragon of creamy, smooth-revving refinement - not a hint of harshness no matter how heavy you are with the throttle pedal. On the other hand, the diesel is more raucous and clattery in the Grandis than any VW model fitted with the same unit, and causes vibrations to shoot through the steering wheel and accelerator pedal.
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Introduction If you want to play in the MPV premier league, then you're going to have... |
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