Mitsubishi Lancer 1995-2000

Class:      Compact

Rivals:     Ford Focus, Volkswagen Bora, Nissan Almera, Opel/Vauxhall Astra

Engines:  Petrol, 1.3i, 1.5 SOHC, 1.6 DOHC, 1.8 DOHC

                Diesel, 2.0

Gearbox: 5 Speed Manual, 4 Speed Auto, 4 Speed Semi-Auto

Layout:   FWD, 4WD

Between its introduction in 1973 and the present day, nearly 7 million Mitsubishi Lancers have been sold spanning ten generations of car.  The seventh generation which ran form 1995 to 2000 was arguably the most popular of the production run, with many clean examples still on our roads today.

The 1.3i was the most popular model sold in Ireland due to its low tax for a decent sized family car.  The engine is high revving and good to go in a car its size and although the suspension is typically soft of a Japanese car, the road handling was quite smooth and positive. 

The Lancer spawned many generations of Rally car, with the Evo V at the hands of Tommi Makinen proving to be the most successful winning 1 WRC constructors title with Tommi himself claiming 4 drivers titles between 1996 and 1999.

The Group N Evos are still a regular sight in the P-WRC as well as the Irish National Championships.

As with most Japanese cars, when looking at 2nd hand models, rust is your biggest enemy.  Check along the sills as well as the bottom of the door skins.  Engine wise they are fairly realible but check for cracks in the manifold and these tend to be a main dealer job only so can work out expensive to buy.  Check for your usual suspension rattles and oil leaks.

The lancer is a decent car, cheap to tax and insure.  They are cheap and easy to modify, per say you can get an Evo front bumper from €150. 

Gary

Honda Civic 1988-1991

Class:       Compact Car



Rivals:     Vauxhall/Opel Nova/Corsa, Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Golf, Peugeot 205,
Variants:  Saloon, Hatchback, CRX,
Engines:  1.3i, 1.5, 1.6i,
Gearbox: 4 Speed Auto, 4 Speed Manual, 5 Speed Manual
Awards:  Car and Driver Magazine Top Ten Rated Cars 1988-1991

Car Advertisements sure have come a long way in the last twenty or so years!!

A lot has to be said about this model Civic, twenty years after end of production, and they are still good examples regularly spotted on our roads!  Because it was easy to run, cheap to fix and easy to modify, it became a firm favourite with young drivers and car modifiers all around the world.  Even the 1.3 basic engine lends itself easily to a cheap air induction kit and a sports exhaust!

This was also the 1st model of Civic to feature the famous 1.6i DOHC D16A9 VTEC engines.  This produced about 160bhp and red lining at 9,000rpm in a car with a Kerb Weight of about a ton!  Although examples of these are now extremely rare, there are many 1.3s about that had later model VTEC engines fitted, and are just as much fun to drive!

The Civic has had a long production history since 1st rolling off the factory floor back in 1973 and has to date, sold over 17million units worldwide.  We are presently on the ninth generation Civic, which we will talk about later in the coming months.

For a car of its age, it actually scores quite well for safety, with a slightly above average rating from the American National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is their version of our European NCAP tests. 

If you are going to look at an example of this Civic, you need to remember that it is up on 20years old and you more than likely will have 20year old problems.  Rust will be your biggest killer, especially on Japanese Imports if they have not been undersealed properly.  Now it is still easy and not too expensive to source parts and there are still a lot of parts available on the 2nd hand market.

These are a difficult car to price at the moment.  Expect to pay premium prices for anything with a VTEC under the bonnet,  but you can still, if your lucky and willing to wait for one to come up, pick up a clean standard version for a few hundred Euros.  Its also worth looking at the Japanese market to see what you can bring in relatively cheap.. There are collectors out there for these cars so you will never have trouble getting rid of even a basic shell.

This generation Civic is still a very fun car to drive, a nice laid back, low sitting position and a good handling and easy to control car.  Perfect for the beginner although probably moving out of their price range.

gary