Category: Large MPV 
Price Range: £19,499 to £21,999
Cool looks. Clever three-row seating. Plenty of space and comfortable to ride in.
Diesel a bit noisy. Petrol's not overly quick.
Mitsubishi's people-carrier is striking in more ways than one, but not as grand as the name suggests.
If you want to play in the MPV premier league, then you're going to have to bat with the likes of the Renault Espace, Peugeot 807/Citroen C8/Fiat Ullysse and Ford Galaxy. Mitsubishi is taking on that challenge with the Grandis - an impressive replacement to the bland, boxy Space Wagon.
The people carrier's looks, engineering, space, and refinement are a progressive departure from the Space Wagon, its capable but uncharismatic forebear. The Grandis mixes Covent Garden cool with a bigger body (meaning extra room inside), clever-as-they-come seating, and fine long-distance comfort.
When Mitsubishi designed the Space Wagon in the mid '90s, it spent a lot of time and money on the eco-friendly GDI direct-injection engine under the bonnet. The rest of the car was pretty unadventurous. Now, the formula has been inverted. Style and design are now paramount; the mechanicals have taken the back seat. The Grandis debuted in 2004 with only a reworked variable cam version of Mitsubishi's long-running 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol motor, but a 2.0-litre diesel (sourced from VW) has since joined the range. The petrol engine is available with a five-speed manual or four-speed auto, the diesel comes only with a six-speed manual 'box.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mitsubishi Grandis
wrote on 18 01 2008