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My Mitsubishi Cedia Sports: 13 years, 1.5 lakh km review

3rd November 2021, 13:30 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

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Back in 2009, my dad was looking to upgrade from his Mitsubishi Lancer to something more contemporary. We had 3 options at the time - the Toyota Corolla Altis, Skoda Laura & Cedia.

BHPian MitSus recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

This is my first post on Team-BHP. Greetings everyone.

Before I begin, I'd like to list a couple of my likes and dislikes.

Likes

Looks: Definitely one of the best parts of the car is the way how it looks. Grabs a lot of attention on the road and is aesthetically very pleasing. It's very unique as there aren't many on the road and the fact that mine is bone stock.
Handling: Nimble, light, agile and really fun and engaging car to drive.
Interior: Most cars nowadays have a very similar interior with the screen plonked on the dash but the interior of the Cedia is really different. Different lines, soft-touch plastics, good quality plastic trim and a good overall design along with large windows make it a nice place to sit in.
Cost to run: Over the years it's been extremely cheap and easy to maintain. Nothing has been done to the engine, gearbox or any other parts of the car. Mechanically it's been solid.
Reliability: It's been the most reliable car we've owned along with the 2004 Mitsubishi lancer Lxi. Never has it stopped on us on the long road trips and has always started without any hiccups even now.

Dislikes

Spare parts and aftermarket support: When something goes wrong which is almost never, it's extremely difficult to find parts immediately. It takes my mechanic 2-4 days to find the parts he needs and this is very inconvenient as the car is needed every day. To add to the misery, the parts are expensive as they are difficult to find. We've imported a part from Japan once which was very expensive.
Bent wheels: Over the years the rims have taken a beating and are bent. This translates to small vibrations coming into the cabin while crossing a particular speed but disappear right after.
Engine: Even though it's been extremely reliable, it's slightly underpowered. It's definitely not a dealbreaker but it really needs more power to compliment the excellent handling.
Low mileage: On a good day it'll return around 9 kmpl but otherwise it isn't great. But again if driven carefully, it's not bad.

It all started in 2008 with my dad who's a neurosurgeon. He was driving his white 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer LXi 1.5 and he saw the pre-facelift Mitsubishi Cedia sports in rally red in what used to be the Maya motors Mitsubishi showroom in Chennai. My dad absolutely loved the car but the only thing holding him back was the grill. Then a couple of months later, the 2008 facelift was introduced with the new diamond mesh grille, O.Z 15' wheels wrapped in Bridgestone Potenzas, MOMO steering wheel straight out of an Evo 8, black leatherette interior, automatic climate control, Kenwood infotainment system etc.

It's April 2009 and my dad was looking to upgrade from his Lancer to something more contemporary. The options at the time were:

Toyota Corolla Altis
Skoda Laura
Mitsubishi Cedia

Corolla Altis: It felt like a big upgrade from the old Corolla but it was never inspiring in terms of looks, driving feels and the dealer didn't offer a test drive vehicle and was very dismissive.

Skoda Laura: This was the car that had the looks, features and obviously the engine coming from the Lancer. But a lot of people warned him about the after-sales service network.

Mitsubishi Cedia: As soon as he saw the 2008 facelift, he fell in love with the car's looks, driving experience and his loyalty and love for the brand. We also had a great relationship with the dealer.

So it was finalised. 2009 Mitsubishi Cedia Sports was coming home but the problem was the choice of colour. There were only 4 colours available for the Sports variant:

Rally Red
Aussie Yellow
Black Flash
White Speed

My brother and I wanted the red but my dad really wanted the white. Problem was that the white would take 28 days to arrive from the factory and we needed a car as soon as possible. My grandfather at the time really loved the yellow on the car so we went ahead with the yellow option. Then finally on the 29th of May 2009, she was delivered home.

Over the years, we've taken this car all over the country racking up miles without breaking a sweat on unbelievably horrible roads, torrential rains, hot deserts and it goes on and on. I have far too many precious memories with this car and have developed an immense passion and love for this car.

Then in 2014, after 5 years and 90,000 km, my dad decided to sell the Cedia and he had his eyes on the new EVO 10. He wanted it and it was within the budget at 50L but when got to know about Mitsubishi leaving India he backed out of it and got a 2014 Mercedes Benz C220d. A couple of months later, 3 enthusiastic buyers approached us to buy the Cedia on separate occasions but all 3 cheques bounced and at that point, my dad thought that it was a sign to keep the car and decided to do so. And years later I finally got my hands on this car and learned how to drive and ever since then I've developed a deep passion for this car.

I've been driving this car daily to college for 2 years now and these are my observations.

Styling

Looks are subjective but everyone can agree that it's a very striking car to look at even after 13 years. It grabs everyone's attention on the road especially because of the colour. It definitely is a head-turner as you don't see a lot of them on the road. Clean lines, spoiler with the light bar, O.Z wheels, different bumpers and side skirts for the Sports variant just complete the look and give the car a handsome stance.

Interior

The interior feels very special as it feels like you're sitting inside an Evo. It has a very clean design with plenty of soft-touch materials on the dash and the doors. The 3-spoke momo steering feels great to hold and to look at. The Kenwood infotainment system is well integrated into the dash with gunmetal-like plastic trim.

The seats are pretty supportive. It could definitely use more side bolstering for cornering to hug in place however, on long drives it's very comfortable. The driving position is one of the best I've experienced and makes you feel like you're in the car and not on the car as the seating position is really nice and low. The placement of the steering wheel and the gear lever are ergonomically very pleasing.

The rear seats are comfortable. The large windows along with sufficient headroom make the cabin feel very airy. It also has a 6-speaker Kenwood system which sounds good even in terms of modern standards.

But the best part has to be the air conditioning system. It cools the cabin quickly and maintains the temperature even in peak summers. The overall quality of the interior is really good. No squeaks or creaking as well.

Ride quality

The suspension setup is on the softer side. It handles the bumps and potholes really well at low speeds and it firms up a bit at higher speeds which aids stability. It doesn't get unsettled at higher speeds and sits very comfortably at 120 on the highways. The ground clearance at 175mm is average. Chances of bottoming out with a full load are very high but with careful driving, it can be avoided. But I must say the suspension has taken a beating over the years and has definitely seen better days according to my dad. The high profile tires and the 15-inch rims contribute a lot to the ride quality.

Handling

This is the main highlight of the car contributed by the excellent feedback-rich HPS with a nice weight to it and a rally-bred chassis. When you go around a corner, the car stays planted and darts into the corner without any body roll. You can feel the car pivoting around you and is very confidence-inspiring. The steering really weighs up at speeds which maintains stability. You can feel every bump and undulation through the steering which makes it a very engaging car to drive.

The Cedia has discs all around and the brakes feel really strong and sharp even after all these years. ABS and EBD came standard with the car.

Engine & gearbox

It came with a 2.0 SOHC 4g94 putting out 116 HP and 175 NM of torque. It definitely is the weakest link of the car. The chassis begs for more power. It's an extremely refined engine and is very quiet at idle. The power comes in after 4000 RPM and has a nice linear surge of power but is still underwhelming. However, the engine doesn't feel stressed and is very relaxed even with a full load. It has lost power over the years but it's been extremely reliable with zero issues even after 1,50,000 km. It's quite a thirsty motor returning only 8-9 kmpl if driven like a saint.

Gearbox: It has a 5-speed gearbox that has long and tight throws. Each shift feels very satisfying and you want to keep shifting it as much as possible. The clutch pedal is very light but has a really long travel. It definitely misses out on a 6th gear.

Maintenance

This car has been very well maintained by my dad and my mechanic over the years. The first few services were done at Mitsubishi but after their departure from the Indian market, it has been serviced regularly by my mechanic "Babu" who has kept the car in great shape mechanically all these years. It has been relatively cheap maintaining the car other than importing new parts and spares from Japan as there aren't any available in India.

Oil and coolant are changed every year.
Suspension bushings have been changed at 1,40,000 km.
Clutch plate changed at 1,00,000 km.
Tires have been recently changed.
All the bulbs were changed for the first time a month ago.

My dad and I take care of the cosmetic aspect. Sunday is detailing day. Starts with a soap wash followed by polishing. Then a layer of wax is applied and buffed out. Then the interior is vacuumed followed by moisturising the leatherette. The floor mats are washed. This takes around 4-5 hours but it's worth it.

Minor problems & niggles

Minor vibrations while crossing 40 kmph. They disappear right after 40 and below 40 or while turning. Might be due to the slightly bent wheels but not too sure.
The Kenwood infotainment screen has suffered some damage due to heat exposure so the screen looks as if there's water underneath it.
The system has an option for Bluetooth but it doesn't work so had to settle with AUX.
Difficult to find parts.
Thirsty engine and rising petrol prices.

Future plans for the Cedia

My dad and I have no intention of selling the car. She just hit 1,50,000 km yesterday, so any performance mods for the car might be difficult but I really want to do a NA build (170 HP and 250NM of torque) for the Cedia from race concepts just to give it the power it deserves. New dampers and suspension setup. New paint job to bring it back to its former glory. As of now, she's running smoothly so those mods can wait for at least 5 years.