Reliable MPV

The mitsubishi grandis, with its futuristic look, is great for comfort and cruising long distances effortlessly, says Paolo Rossetti

The Mitsubishi Grandis is great for long distance trips where its refined cabin and quiet engine make it well suited to highway cruising. The seats are large and supportive and there's plenty of room for passengers.

Oh, what seats! I would happily trade the driver's captain chair for my TV lounge chair so I can get some comfort at home - it's by far the most comfortable driving seat my back has ever graced. Nice and wide, supportive, no electronic compulsive adjustable behaviour, just plain and simple a top quality armchair.

The sheer space is the second most obvious quality - the Grandis is aptly named!

It helps if you have a large family, because us four felt a little lonely in there. Thankfully, I had arranged to ferry what seemed like the entire class, and so we managed to put all that room to good use. Good thing we had rear air-con, too!

Thirdly, the next most striking feature was the smoothness and lack of any discernible effort required to cruise long distances.

You could cover vast distances in this Mitsubishi, and if you ever plan to drive the Arabian peninsula, perhaps crossing to Jordan or Syria, or even to closer Kuwait or Qatar, without any doubt, this is the vehicle you want.

Beyond these three excellent traits, I found the Mitsubishi Grandis to be more practical than exciting.

The outside design nicely hides its size, and the appearance of a rounded bubble streamlines from front to rear giving the Grandis a futuristic look, although really it remains an MPV no matter what curves you build into it.

The doors opened nice and wide to give good entry, perhaps making the Grandis also a good choice for a base vehicle to convert for people with special needs.

The front view didn't really say much to me, and I felt the front grille could have been developed further. Likewise, the big airy lights work well from the side, but appear narrow and sort of squished into their angular sockets from the front.

The enormous front windscreen offers a wonderful panoramic view, but also lets the sun harass you more than necessary; and, on that note, running the rear A/C vents along the inner roofline also encourages an ongoing fight with the fierce outside roof temperatures.

Due to the cavernous inner space, it takes quite some time to cool down the inside after parking for some time in the sun.

When inside and driving, though, the grumpiness I felt with the exterior design and initial furnace was quickly forgotten - it's like rolling down the road in your favourite armchair!

The comfort is superb for all occupants, even in the last row. And so the practicality of an MPV returns to the forefront: it is simply built to do its job, and to do it well.

You have visitors? They will fit happily during their stay.
You have kids and their friends to deliver to sport practice sessions? Easily accommodated, plus all their gear. You have in-laws living with you? Sorry, no ejector seats, but they will certainly enjoy the time spent together with the family.

Teenager needs dropping off at the mall? Take all her friends, too, and get all the latest news on the way. Truly, the Grandis is invincible when it comes to transporting more than five people.

But let's not assume that the Grandis moves people like the sturdy and mighty elephant does - yes, it can be majestically slow, but it doesn't have to.

A little more emphasis on the right foot, and the 2.4 litre engine proves to be very athletic indeed, developing 162 bhp at 6000rpm and 159lb ft of torque at 4000rpm.

As a technical note for the technology utilised in the engine, the 16-valve power plant features MIVEC - Mitsubishi's Innovative Valve Lift and Timing Electronic Control System - which features low-speed and high-speed double overhead cams on each camshaft.

The cam profiles on the intake and exhaust valve camshafts are switched according to the engine speed, boosting torque at low speeds and increasing power at higher speeds.

The INVECS-II automatic four-speed transmission is a mature unit, smooth enough in shifting up but also strong enough to downshift twice when prompted to do so. The Grandis is well suited to motorway cruising and gets to 100kph in just under 12 seconds.

Overtaking takes some planning, but once up to cruising speed the unit is refined, relaxed and smooth revving. It's also quite economical, considering Grandis' considerable size, with 25+ mpg achievable in everyday driving.

Despite its size, Grandis doesn't feel too heavy on the road. The steering is light and responsive in traffic and driving around town is not a chore - even shopping mall parking is easy.

I expected body roll would be an issue but actually the suspension keeps it under control for an MPV of this size. MacPherson struts at the front and a compact trailing arm suspension set up at the rear have been tuned to provide an ideal balance between passenger ride comfort and driver dynamics.

Designed to intrude as little as possible into the Grandis' rear luggage/passenger space, the trailing arm alignment is designed to minimise toe changes for predictable linear performance. Front and rear anti-roll bars are fitted to quell cornering roll.

The Grandis comes with ABS and electronic brake-force distribution as standard, as well as front airbags, but it's a shame that the top-of-the-line trim model options do not seem to be available in the UAE.

As a last note, the Grandis features an innovative 'Hide & Seat' seating configuration, where the third row of seats, with two individual chairs, fold flat into the floor within seconds. This effectively does away with the arduous task of having to remove or install bulky and heavy chairs when juggling passenger numbers and boot space.

All in all, if you're looking at the MPV category, or if you need more automotive room, then it'll be well worth it to put the Mitsubishi Grandis at the top of your list.