Road test: Mitsubishi Magna VR-X

By Feann Torr

In a domestic market dominated by a pair of large and often aggressive creatures, it's hard to make any headway, let alone be competitive.

And, for the last decade or so, this has been the Mitsubishi Magna's life story; living in the shadows of Falcon and Commodore.

As a local Australian vehicle manufacturer, Mitsubishi needs to be competitive, and the new-look TL Magna's boosted image is one way to do this - but was Olivier Boulay the right man for the job?

New for 2003, the TL Magna's mild redesign brings the large car into line with Mitsubishi's global 'face', and gets minor suspension and mechanical changes, as well as a revised interior and safety package.

We've spoken to people who love the new front end treatment, but then others didn't mind telling us their thoughts on exactly where Boulay can stick his "Euro trash" ideas.

The French-born ex-Mercedes Benz designer has taken the Magna to a new and certainly very bold place from a visual standpoint, but what's it like on the road?

Make: Mitsubishi
Model: TL Magna VR-X
Price: $41,590
Transmission: 5 speed manual
Engine: 3.5-litre, Vee-six cylinder, electronically fuel injected
Fuel Consumption: Highway cycle - 7.4-litres/100km, City cycle- 10.5-litres/100km
Seats: 5
Safety: Driver and passenger front and side (thorax) SRS airbags, ABS, EBD, Traction Control

Drive

2004 TL Magna VR-X

Inside of the Magna range, the VR-X is the sports model, the Commodore SS, the Falcon XR if you will, making use of a re-tuned 3.5-litre V6 for more sporting performance.

And what a six it is. Though not as refined as Ford's now-benchmark inline six-cylinder mill, it makes Holden's Buick-sourced 3.8-litre V6 look very long in the tooth.

Being the first time I've tested Mitsubishi's 3.5-litre bent six, there was some initial hesitation, but at the end of the day there's a lot to like about it.

When coupled to the five speed manual gearbox that Mitsubishi offers - the alternative is a five-speed auto - the Magna VR-X is quite the jack of all trades.

To begin with, the Mitsubishi donk is incredibly tractable. It'll pull from as low as 1000rpm in 5th gear without getting the shakes and shudders (driveline shunt), and this makes it very easy to live with in stop-start commuter traffic.

While the cruise control system isn't as intuitive to operate as other Aussie-built sixes, it is nevertheless quite precise and has increments of roughly 2km/h, which is handy for those speed camera infested freeways.

The revised steering also suits peak hour traffic, with firm and predictable straight-ahead feel, that responds well to minor lane-changing inputs. From the outside the Magna seems smaller than Falcodores, but parking the VR-X reinforces that this is indeed a large Australian family car.

The VR-X's damping and suspension settings are set at more compressed levels than the standard models, but even so the VR-X offers a very compliant ride, on par with its performance-inclined six-cylinder competitors. Noise, vibration and harshness levels are kept to a minimum, though the less restrictive exhaust system equates to a fairly loud V6 thrum at higher revs.

Head into the hills, drop the VR-X into the second gear and floor the throttle and the VR-X really begins to show potential. While it doesn't posses the mild oversteering characteristics of a rear-wheel driver when pushed, the understeer has been almost completely tuned out thanks to some crafty suspension tuning and anti-roll bar placement.

Steering inputs translate well to the road and steering wheel weighting is on the lighter side, which makes navigating unfamiliar roads and sharp changes in direction less of a chore. When pushed - and particularly round sharper corners - torque steer will sometimes rear its ugly head, but thanks to the light-ish steering it's easily countered.

The VR-X felt much more secure mid-corner than either the VY S or XR6 Turbo and while all three vehicles are large and lardy, the Magna's lighter kerb weight and front-wheel drive layout means you can prod the accelerator mid-corner without invoking heart-in-mouth moments. On the road, it basically translates to a more confidence-inspiring apex slicing tool, whereas the other two require slightly more vigilance.

The VR-X is balanced, decisive and very composed when it comes to cornering

Understeer can creep in a little at times, especially when you're riding over undulations while cornering at speed, but in general the front-wheel drive layout doesn't detract from the sporty Magna's ability to track round corners in a linear and predictable fashion, and the fact that it's got scads of grip is another bonus.

The driver who finds this car's adhesion limits is either very brave, or very stupid.

It doesn't mind minor steering corrections either and, thanks to a fairly flat stance and that light weight, changes in direction won't unduly upset its balance as is the case with the bigger Fords and Holdens.

The VR-X offers impressive roadholding capabilities, and the 17-inch rims shod with Bridgestone Grid II 225/50 rubber help in this respect, plus the five-spoke design is quite nice to look at too.

As for braking capabilities, the VR-X does well despite single piston calipers all round (they're massive calipers). The vented discs up front were prone to mild fade after being hammered around the twisties for a day, but in general the brakes provide good initial bite and strong stopping power. Up front sit 276mm ventilated discs with single piston calipers, while at the rear rests 258mm solid discs, also with single pot calipers.

Weighing in at just 1532kg, the Magna is roughly 200kg lighter than the Ford and about 100kg lighter than the Holden equivalent, which endows it with impressive straight line performance - about 8.0 seconds to 100km/h felt about right.

While a very athletic vehicle, the VR-X can also be a very thrifty car if pedalled thoughtfully, achieving a highway fuel cycle of 7.4-litres of petrol burnt per hundred kilometres travelled, which isn't as thrifty as the stock Commodore [6.6], but we did manage to record a slightly lower than average figure of 6.9-litres out on the open road.

Thanks to a more reinforced chassis than its precursor and an adept suspension rig, comprising of independent suspension front and rear, the new Magna VR-X is a real eye opener, and shouldn't be placed in the 'too bland' bin. While it may not have the power of the Falcon XR6, it carves up corners more efficiently and with more confidence.

Engine

Mitsubishi's 3.5-litre SOHC V6 engine may not set your soul alight when you see its vitals on paper, but on the road its quite a feisty piece of kit. First, the essentials: Mitsubishi's six-cylinder engine has a capacity of 3497cc, belt-driven single overhead camshafts per cylinder bank, four valves per cylinder and aluminium alloy cylinder heads sitting atop a cast-iron block.

With 163kW, a five-speed manual gearbox and a 1500-odd kilogram kerb weight, the VR-X is no slouch

Peak power is 163kW @ 5200rpm and maximum torque is 317Nm @ 4500rpm. Thanks to a fairly low compression ratio of 9.0:1, the VR-X will happily drink 91 RON unleaded petrol and can hold 71 litres of fuel.

While the VR-X motivates surprisingly well, I couldn't help but think another 20Nm of torque would've made this a real goer - I guess that's where the Ralliart Magna comes in...

Despite this, the 163kW six compares well to the standard-tune Magnas that output 155kW of power, though an increase of just one Newton metre of torque suggests the raising of the rev ceiling and not much else - even though this isn't the case.

Still, the VR-X makes all the right sounds thanks to its revised exhaust, with a quiet, but slightly lumpy thrum at low revs that builds up to a not-quite-as-nice, but still thrilling half-scream, half-roar towards 6000rpm.

Combined with a fairly notchy, but easy-to-use five speed manual shift, the VR-X motivates with a level of enthusiasm most drivers would be surprised with - I certainly was.

While rapid take offs do result in the car's front end pitching up somewhat, this is by no means a slow car, and reiterating what I mentioned before, it's tractability is amazing, pulling from super-low revs in any gear without protest.

Interior

Step inside the VR-X and it immediately screams Aussie performance car. Firstly, there's loads of interior space, and the big VR-X embroidery on the front seats - now a compulsory styling cue it seems - is a good reminder of what car you're driving in case you forget.

And, while the front seats don't have quite the level of lateral bolstering of other sportsters on the market, such as the Commodore SS, the cushions are more than up to scratch, comforming well to the backside, with lumbar adjust helping to sort out those lower back niggles.

The white-on-red dials are quite sporty, and are easy to read, but because there's no gap between the tacho and speedo (it's one all-encompassing chunk of whiteness), it looks dated and dreary. The rest of the cockpit however, is quite nice, and the new switchgear for the TL Magna works well and is easy to understand. There's lots of dials, like the VY Commodore, only they're better presented and slightly easier to use.

De rigueur VR-X embroidered seats: supportive

New centre console is easy to operate

The rear bench is a fairly snappy-looking place, not quite as ergonomic as the front, but with good levels of under thigh, leg and head room, there are far worse places your passengers could spend their travelling time.

There's also a good-sized [foldout] centre armrest for the rear passengers that doubles as a cupholder and, with 470 litres of boot space with the seats up, the Magna competes well against it's local rivals.

Other items packaged as standard on the manual VR-X included a very sweet sounding six-stacker CD stereo system with 10 speakers in eight positions, electric windows, mirrors and drivers seat adjust, air conditioning, climate control, rear seat vents and the VR-X we tested was also fitted with a sunroof (an $1850 option).

Safety features include an immobiliser, alarm, central locking, a security coded audio system, no less than four airbags, ABS, EBD and traction control.

Fit and finish is surprisingly good in the VR-X, everything works the way it should and the quality of plastics, dashboard materials etc is quite good, as is the range of options and standard features in comparison to others, so why this car sells in such lower numbers than Henry's and the General's mob is beyond me.

Price isn't an issue - Magna's are on equal footing here - so perhaps it comes down to street cred, badge value or even V8 SuperCars?

Perhaps this would explain why Mitsubishi wants in, and why FoMoCo and GMH are vehemently opposed to a third manufacturer in the V8 SuperCar championship. Food for thought indeed...

Exterior

If you buy cars based on their ability to perform, and to offer smooth rides and keen handling abilities and to get from A to B, the VR-X would be perfect. But for some, the styling is just too radical, and even the most benign of vehicles won't wash if they don't appeal to the eye.

And in some ways, the new Magna may be seen in a similar vein to Ford's unloved AU Falcon.

For mine, the new Magna is still settling in. Perhaps in two years time it will appeal more as the competition starts to mirror each other more, and finding something unique and original becomes difficult. I don't love it, but I think it works on a number of levels - it's definitely sleeker and this does lend it sophistication - but one thing's for sure, the VR-X is easily the best looking model in the new TL Magna range.

Overall, it's a nice looking car and it has quite a presence on the road, what with its fog lights, bodykit and chunky exhaust pipe. And let's not forgot those pleasing five-spoke 17-inch alloy wheels either, with a highly chrome finish that gives the car a more showy demeanour.

Boulay's Mitsubishi Magna: Beauty or Beast?

However, I don't completely agree with the new Boulay-styled front end.

Having experienced huge success at German auto dominator Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi's new head of global design Olivier Boulay appears to have decided to stick to a good thing, which may alienate him from his constituents, much like when Chris Bangle penned the new 7-Series BMW and everyone proceeded to hurl insults at him.

As such, there is a subtle Mercedes influence in the headlights and sloping/curvy bonnet, and viewed from afar, it's not so bad and the more one sees it, the less offensive it becomes (to those who find it offensive), particularly when you view the car as a whole.

The rear end is almost identical to the previous model, though the angular edges of the brake light cluster have been smoothed out somewhat.

Viewed from the side however, and the new Magna looks great, combining machismo and elegance - it's the kind of profile that inspires further investigation.

Whether parked in the carport or cruising down a speed camera-infested highway, the new Magna is provocative, and for different reasons to different people. It won't be universally loved, but it's far from unoriginal, and surely that's a good thing.

Overall: 3.5/5

Unconventional styling aside, the new Magna really blew my socks off. Selling in numbers roughly a quarter that of Falcon and Commodore suggested (to me at least) that this is a result of an inferior product. Not so.

From an enthusiast drivers point of view, the Magna VR-X is a unique and wholly enjoyable car. There are few front-wheel drivers out there with a similarly sized V6, and beyond its unique power delivery and configuration, it handles remarkably well when navigating fast corners.

Sure, there's slight understeer at times, and torque steer can be an issue if you get a little heavy footed, but the VR-X is a sure-footed, confident and well-geared vehicle that makes the most of its chassis yet without overextending itself.

Perhaps best described as non-intimidating, the VR-X will still give an XR6 a good run when it comes to carving up corners (though straight line speed would be in the Falc's favour). Yet, despite all these positive aspects, the Magna will still be relegated to the rank of outsider with Holden and Ford taking the limelight. Shame that.

Still, the Magna VR-X left a very favourable impression with this writer, with good levels of performance, ride quality, fit and finish and standard features. It's big enough to ferry the whole family about, sporty enough to give you some weekend thrills and compliant enough to simply go from A to B. In a word: impressive.