Autodealer Dream Buy: Mitsubishi Evo X

It’s time for another Autodealer dream buy, where we browse through the classifieds and pick a car that we’d like to own. We’ve come across all JDM, when we stumbled upon a Mitsubishi Evo X.

South Africans have never had the same opportunity as other countries to go out and buy a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution model as easily as they have been able to buy Subaru’s equivalent Impreza WRX and STI models. However, that isn’t to say that we’ve been totally deprived; we did receive a limited number of the VIII, IX and X models, locally.

The latter Evo X models brought in to South Africa were heavily specified and were only available with the brand’s dual-clutch gearbox, a massive disappointment for purists. The leads to the next issue with the most recent model which was that they were extremely high-priced, somewhere in the region of R700 000 new, a few years back. Now, though, you can have these turbocharged, double-clutch gearbox-equipped monsters for less than half that price. Also bear in mind that the Evo is no longer in production, making these cars destined for classic status in a few decades time.

The checks

-Ensure that the car is rattle-free as these models are known to produce irksome clatters in the cabin;

-The fuel pump relays are known to give trouble, so simply have this item replaced with an aftermarket item, upon purchase;

-Luckily, we only got the double-clutch automatic models and therefore don’t need to worry about the clutch master cylinder issues on the manual model;

-There have been reports of failed MAF sensors, which can cause fuelling problems;

-It has been reported that the quality of the paint job is not up to scratch – literally;

-There are also reports of the cars wearing-out tyres at around 15 000km, so ensure the car you buy has fresh rubber.