[carfreak]

Hello fellow enthusiasts!!

Well i joined team-bhp in April 2004 but this is my first ever thread-a good 7 years later!!reasons for not starting a thread all along-well there are many but to cut it short, i was just too lazy!!now finally after all these years i decided to begin my ownership review of the Mitsubishi Cedia-a car which was previously owned by a team-bhpian!!

Before i go ahead a few words on my experiences in team-bhp all these years!when i joined, t-bhp had just been formed!!there were very few forums dedicated to the auto-enthusiast then and t-bhp literally took my enthusiasm in automobiles to an entirely new level.over the years i have seen t-bhp evolve slowly into a major force to reckon with-it has become a voice to which auto manufacturers pay attention to including providing their cars for test-drives!!a big congrats to the moderators for making t-bhp what it is today!!the strict rules of the forum and the enforcement of the same, the main reason for maintaining the quality levels!!

[carfreak]

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Please use the "edit" button if posting within 30 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post.

What can i say about my Formula Red Palio 1.6 sport?!well it was a dream come true for me!!when i knew fiat were getting it back into production and planning to sell it through the (then) new Tata-Fiat dealer network i was all thrilled and without a moment's hesitation went ahead and bought it.

I am not planning to give a detailed review of it but i thought a few words would be necessary-The Palio was so close to my heart!the colour ensured that everyone knew me ("Oh that fellow who drives that red car?").personally i loved it for a variety of reasons and did not for other reasons-all of which i have just summarised

For:

1)The gorgeous looks!!was a beauty and no doubting it!
2)Tough build (Tank like?) which made the person sitting inside feel so secure
3)The 1.6 engine which when at idle was so silent and the raspy exhaust note when revved could brighten one up even on the worst days!!of course nowadays 100bhp may not be much but even in 2006 the way it delivered its power would make the ehthusiast in you, 'shaken and stirred'!!
4)The steering and suspension which could do justice to the engine by making it handle like a dream!
5)The space inside-could seat 5 in absolute comfort.

Against:

1)The brakes-just not enough for the power on tap.
2)No prizes for guessing this one-the engine's thirsty nature which meant your joy would be short-lived (unless you tanked it up again)
3)Poor fit and finish-my palio had rattling issues!
4)The poor a.s.s. It was bad then and till the day i sold it was never that satisfactory.of course the car is not to blame but then it spoils the overall experience
5)Poor resale value

I bought it in 2006 and sold it in 2010-i know 4years is not much but due to personal reasons i felt like selling it and so i told ciao to my pal(io) and moved on..

Well it would be easy to just say that i wanted all the positives of the Palio sans the negatives but that would be a bit incomplete, so here goes

What i wanted:
1)From the engine and gearbox-it had to have adequate power.the problem here being that power is something where more is never enough, but at least, i thought, it should have more or as much as than the palio.also i am a believer that cubic capacity is equally important as power so i wanted either the same or a larger capacity engine
The gearbox had to have a slick-shifting mechanism!!nothing spoils a driving experience as bad as having a clunky and vague gearbox!

2)From the steering and suspension-steering had to be hydraulic!!that i was certain.i just cant accept the new electric power steering systems-i mean the steering should provide feedback to the driver when at high speeds, when he should know exactly what the tires are upto!!if it does not then it is not a good steering!

I personally do not mind a stiff suspension setting!i know it sounds crazy especially on roads in coastal karnataka but i just cannot compromise on the handling aspect!!if it handles excellent and provides for a good ride at the same time then all the more better!

3)From the brakes-strong stopping power and easy to modulate brakes!!would prefer all wheel disc brakes though i knew i would have to stretch my budget a bit for that.ABS was a must-no compromises here!

4)A good driving position-this is something which the palio never gave me!now by this i mean a slightly lower seating position, gearbox and hand-brake within easy and close access, adjustable steering (tilt and telescopic), easy access to all important controls and seats which provide good lateral support even while high speed cornering.plus i wanted the pedal positioning to be good to have some fun when the road conditions would permit me to have it!!

5)Respectable fuel efficiency-which means after a bout of spirited driving i should not get a heart-attack when i look at the fuel gauge!

6)Good resale value and good a.s.s. network

7)I preferred a petrol car to a diesel!i understand that diesel tech has gone miles ahead but i still love a sweet high revving petrol anyday!somewhat i just let go of refined petrol engines for diesel-not yet at least!!maybe some day i start my practice i may have to opt for a diesel but let me enjoy till then.now for the same reason i preferred a japanese car-i always beleive they make the best petrol engines in the world!

8)The car should be mod-friendly.again a problem i faced with the palio.i did a lot of research in the forum and called up some tuners in Karnataka too (Raj Hingorani, Somender Singh etc). now all of them advised against modding the palio.mainly related to the unique construction of the engine (headers near to the fire-wall), the ecu settings etc etc!!now dont ask me too many details as even i am not sure about them but finally i decided against modding it.now i planned to keep the car for a good 5-6years so being mod friendly was an important criteria.

9)Adequate space inside

10)I feel as far as long term reliability goes the Japanese are far better than the Europeans or others so i preferred a Japanese car over the others!

11)Budget of 8-9lakh, maximum extendable to 10lakh

As you can see it is extremely difficult to get that ideal car!!i love the suspension systems and the build quality of the Europeans and i feel no Japanese car can come close to them in that but for other reasons i preferred a jap car.so obviously it was down to with which car i could do with minimal compromises

Snob value was something i never cared for and not also the gizmos that new cars come with like bluetooth stereo, head-unit with usb, etc etc.i feel these as just excesses nothing else.but i am sure majority of you would disagree!!just my personal opinion

[carfreak]

After reading a lot of reviews in team-bhp i decided this was it!!this was the car that ticked more boxes than any other car in my budget range!it was another thing that i could never get an example to test drive-the dealer in Mangalore told i could get one to test but provided i pay the whole on-road price of the car and wait for a month-which meant i could test the car i buy!!!

now this was a dilemma-i mean what is i was not happy with it?i had driven my uncle's fiesta 1.6 sxi and i was happy with the engine, driving position and chassis set-up and i could just imagine what a stiffer suspension could do but it would be the first time i bought one without a proper test drive!!neverthless i was impressed with user reviews in team-bhp and decided that whatever happens i would never regret it

I thought finally my search has come to an end!

[carfreak]

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Please use the "edit" button if posting within 30 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post.

GTO's excellent article on his purchase of a used civic gave me second thoughts!not that i never considered a used car before-i was always aware of the perks of buying used!but again i was aware of the negatives of it too, and in my place specifically, the availability issues!

In this part of India you can get 2 types of used cars-1)Ones which are very sparingly used and in 'as-good-as-new' condition but commanding an 'as-good-as-new' price!! or 2)Cars that have been very badly maintained and used and abused (so much so that you feel sad for the car even though it does not belong to you) which come with attractive prices!!

Due to these 2 issues my mind again went back to a new Fiesta 1.6s

This was roughly the time i came to know about raaj selling his cedia as he was planning to shift to the U.S.A.!!it could not have come at a better timing.i was always a fan of Mitsubishis, their various evo offerings and their ralliart products and even though ralliart has been temporarily (or is it permanently?) shut down i am a Mitsubishi fan for life.also i have been closely following the cedia right from when it was launched in 2006 to the time the new sports version came out in 2008.but i had one small doubt-i have never seen a Cedia on the road!!why is that?also i had never driven one too

A quick search in t-bhp showed that most users were very happy with their cars and maintenance costs were low too.service network was bad but the quality of service given appeared good enough!!checked in few other sites too and nobody has given a bad comment on the car!called up the service center at Mangalore and they patiently answered all my queries!then i asked about test drive and then the reply-"Sir for test drive, you have to go to Bangalore!!" (which is around 380km away!)

Seems the one at Mangalore is just a service center and not a dealer!!luckily i had to visit Bangalore around the same time and i did go to Southern motors who were happy to give a test drive!the price for a new one was Rs.11.5lakhs on-road but then i could not spend that much for a car which was as rare as a Ferrari and one i knew would have a poor resale!anyway i did not bother too much as i just wanted to get the feel of the car and way it drives.details of the same i will mention in the posts to come

So on another day i go to meet raaj and take a test of his cedia!earlier reviews of his car can be read at the following links:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ago-white.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...1-000-kms.html

I was impressed with the condition of the car!raajks had really taken good care of the car the time he had it with him-in fact he was so attached that i could notice the disappointment in his face when an another person was driving it!now here was a car that was 'as-good-as-new' but still had a reasonable price tag.no doubt the resale value of cedia is bad but i did not mind too much about it-i was getting a car that appeared a better bet than the 1.6s and for a lesser price.plus the condition of the car was known which made matters better!i decided to go ahead with it!

Next few days were spent reading the thread about buying a used car in t-bhp and noting the fine points.called up my friend and planned the trip to get my new 'used' car home!much time was spent arranging the finances!(I am very meticulous in doing things and sometimes this annoys others too) after everything was set we went and got 'her' home!!

When i set out to buy my next car i never once thought i would buy a car from the Civic/Corolla segment!i had always kept that segment for my next car!so it took quite some time for that fact to settle down!anyway before i proceed further let me just decribe the various aspects of the car!for this i will go back to my initial wish-list:

1)From the engine and gearbox-here was an engine that was bigger in both cubic capacity and power output than the palio!a 2.0l engine putting out a 115bhp!many have reported in the forum about the power output being inadequate but personally i never felt it!maybe there are very few roads here where i can exploit the engine to the fullest.another thing i really appreciate is the linear power delivery of the car-a boon in city driving!!you do not have to work hard to extract the best from the engine!

The engine starts with a mild shudder but settles down to a silent idle!this engine is extremely refined at idle that you fall in love with it at stand-still itself!

The gearbox is again an enthusiast's delight-quick shifting with no vagueness at all!!though slotting into 2nd takes time to get used to but once its done then gear-shifting is something you will enjoy!

2)Steering and suspension-the steering is hydraulic so it scores well!!but i would have liked it to be bit heavier.it is light enough so that city driving is effortless!but at high speeds it does not weigh well enough.of course it is better than any e.p.s. system but not as good as the best hydraulic ones!also it has some vagueness at dead centre position!

The suspension set-up is one for comfort!it is soft though over some sharp surfaces it does tend to get a bit 'thumpy'.when it comes to handling the cedia does the job very well-attacking corners is fun!!but again the soft set-up spoils the plot-body roll is very much there and it is not as settled as an enthusiast would like it!!which means that when it comes to mods, suspension will be the first change i make!!

Just to compare with the palio, in this department the palio was way better.its steering had much better feel and the suspension had the right balance between ride and sharp handling!

3)The brakes-they are excellent!!all wheel disc brakes and brake modulation is also good.ABS is there too without which i would not have bought it

4)Driving position-The best driving position i have ever experienced, even better than the fiesta!!the gear lever is of just the right height, the hand-brake is at just the right position and so also the pedals!i could dedicate an entire post to this-its that good

5)Fuel efficiency-The drive from Bangalore was via nh48 and several stretches are undergoing 4-laning work.plus the stretch from belur-chikmagalur-manipal was narrow and not in good condition too.all this meant at few times car was being driven at only 2nd and 3rd gears!!but i got 13.5kmpl at the end of the trip.i estimate a 15kmpl on the highway and around 10kmpl in the city!but currently these are just estimates.a/c was on 95% of the time!

6)Resale value is bad no doubt!!buying used helped me in this aspect.and the service network is bad too.about the quality of service i will report in the days to come once i give for service(raaj got the 4th service done just before he sold it!)

7)Regarding the mod potential i do not have to mention much-that its many a rally teams' favourite proves it beyond doubt!like i mentioned in the earlier post, i am planning to modify suspension first!i also firmly beleive that 'power is nothing without control' and so not too keen on power upgrade mods first.but of course i plan to do it step by step and one at a time so i wont be starting the mods immediately!

8)Interior space is adequate.my wife hates the low seating position and how she has to stoop every time she gets in.but then her car is a ritz!!there is no point saying a low seating enhances the sporty character of the car to her!!anyways the low seating is a disadvantage especially for the elderly!

Hope i have given a good summary of the car-based on my priorities i mentioned in the previous posts!

[carfreak]

1)The ground clearance of 175mm is a boon especially here where once post-monsoons the road resembles the moon's surface!!

2)The short turning radius of 4.9m helps in the city traffic

3)Once you start driving the car it sort of shrinks around the driver and it can be thrown around with relative ease!

4)The build quality of the car is not as good as the Europeans!!by the time we reached manipal there were quite a few rattles that cropped up that continue even now!got to get it rectified at the next service!

5)The instrument cluster-Personally i do not prefer the excess information modern instrument clusters nowadays dish out eg average fuel consumption,distance to empty etc etc.!i love the plain analogue dials which give all relevant information in a clear and un-cluttered manner.plus many cars nowadays do without the temperature gauge which i just cant take-this one has it!

6)The alloys are that of OZ and even the spare tire has alloy wheels.this is something i like unlike some manufacturers who do with only 4 alloys.the tires are Bridgestone Potenza RE88-just average and not as good as one would have wanted them to be! the spare key too has remote controls unlike the ford ones which has remote controls only for one key!

7)The MOMO steering is brilliant to grip!gives a feeling you are in a rally car!though the horn button is bit hard to press but not something you will find too annoying.i felt that vibrations are transmitted more easily than a normal steering-is there something like more vibrations are felt through steerings used in racing cars?can anyone opine regarding this?

8)Again personally i prefer all black interiors as compared to say beige,grey,greige etc.just a personal preference.though in summers it can be a bother.i have not yet started experiencing any problems till now!

9)The seats (leather seats) do not provide good lateral support especially on enthusiastic cornering.

10)Incidentally raaj went through the same route as mine-he owned a palio 1.6, then wanted to go for the fiesta 1.6s and finally chose a cedia!!and i bought his cedia!coincidence indeed!

11)This is a car HM killed with their poor marketing!seriously!sad that even mitsubishi is not interested in changing this attitude!the monthly sales figures speak for themselves!

12)Special thanks to all cedia owners of the forum especially maxbhp (my good friend too!), rajataurus, gaurav_chopra04 and more recently mandheers! Your inputs helped me decide on the cedia and looking forward to share many experiences with you in the days to come.

13)Special thanks to the moderators for starting the new assembly line sub-forum!one of the reasons i did not start the thread was that i wanted to write a detailed report but never got the time at a stretch!with this i can compose at my own leisure!

Pictures will be uploaded soon guys!please be patient!so also the service experience-the car goes for 5th service in few days!

[carfreak]

Guess no one interested in the Cedia here in tbhp-a good 3 days gone and no replies!!

anyway here are a few pictures.First is the picture of my palio!

[djbasscreator]

nice ride man . wish you happy miles with it . . btw, there were no pics in the thread, maybe that's why people aren't replying .

[khan_sultan]

That's a very nice car you have got for yourself. A used Cedia is a total VFM buy these days. Infact, not so long ago, I was mentioning it to few of my friends that my next car could be a pre-owned Cedia.

Am on the lookout for ones that are reasonably priced & in good condition.

So, you feel that the steering & suspension of the Palio is better than the Cedia? I can understand what you mean but was under the impression that the Cedia's steering/suspension would be a notch above Palio.

EDIT: What's the price you bought it for and how much had it run?

[akhilesh51]

OMG!!! This is one heck of a maintained vehicle by the looks and that itself translates into amazing-amazing deal for you as a buyer.

Considering most of the re-sale losses have been borne by the first owner, you end up with a great car in excellent condition and tht too fo a bargain price.

Congratulations!!!

(PS: Dunno about rest of the t-bhpians, I for one am an absolute fan of cedia)
(PPS: Maybe, you are being 'punished' for not starting a thread in seven years!!!)

[carfreak]

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

So, you feel that the steering & suspension of the Palio is better than the Cedia? I can understand what you mean but was under the impression that the Cedia's steering/suspension would be a notch above Palio.

EDIT: What's the price you bought it for and how much had it run?

Thank you khan_sultan!!Personally i felt the steering feedback and the suspension was better in the palio.the cedia steering is a bit light and the suspension is more set for comfort than for handling!!whereas the palio 1.6 suspension was good for handling

Personally i have driven very few cars that have better steerings than the Palio, one being the Ford Ikon 1.6 and the Skoda vrs-i havent driven the civic or the fiesta 1.6s!

Price is 8lakh!i agree it is bit more than the market price but raaj had taken good care of it so i did not mind paying bit extra!!it had run slightly more than 17,000km at the time of purchase!

[dot]

Congratulations. The white cedia looks very nice. As you said a Mitsubishi is made for rallies, one rarely encounters a Corolla or a Civic in that arena. Supposed to be build like a tank.

Originally Posted by carfreak

The suspension set-up is one for comfort!it is soft though over some sharp surfaces it does tend to get a bit 'thumpy'.when it comes to handling the cedia does the job very well-attacking corners is fun!!but again the soft set-up spoils the plot-body roll is very much there and it is not as settled as an enthusiast would like it!!which means that when it comes to mods, suspension will be the first change i make!!

I would have expected that cornering will be top class in a Cedia. I mean in a rally car thats what one can expect. Hmm, perhaps rally cars have modified suspensions.

[//M]

The first pic of the Cedia is stunning. Few sedans look so proportionate and this good in their side profiles, but the Cedia is just the perfect shape. Low slung with plenty of character. The rear spoiler adding to the beauty of the car. Good choice mate. Wish you many happy miles with your Cedia !!

[carfreak]

Originally Posted by akhilesh51

OMG!!! This is one heck of a maintained vehicle by the looks and that itself translates into amazing-amazing deal for you as a buyer.

Considering most of the re-sale losses have been borne by the first owner, you end up with a great car in excellent condition and tht too fo a bargain price.

Congratulations!!!

(PS: Dunno about rest of the t-bhpians, I for one am an absolute fan of cedia)
(PPS: Maybe, you are being 'punished' for not starting a thread in seven years!!!)

Ha ha i was just about wondering whether there was some problem with the way i created the thread that was leading to no replies!!

Anyway thanks for the comments.btw the first owner was also a team-bhpian!

@djbasscreator thank you man!!

[Recompose]

Congratulations on your ride. The price is justified when you know that the previous owner has taken good care of the car. And for a car in such great shape, 8 lacs is a bargain.

[abhinav.s]

Congrats on the beauty!!! A very well maintained ride.

Your report is very well put together and gives an insight to potential buyers.

Its a great machine and I am huge fan of the Cedia.

Wishing you many many happy miles with the car.

PS: Going against the drift here but I guess 8L is a little steep. Not by a huge margin but probably a lakh to 1.5L on the higher side