* Beautiful exterior styling
* Strong DOHC 3.5 V6
* Excellent value, Infinity sound system and many options

* Questionable resale, BRAKES & ROTORS (EXPENSIVE)
* Build quality, wind noise intrusion, paint, unpredictable transmission shifts and DEALERSHIP TREATMENT OF BUYING CUSTOMERS.

I also own a Mitsubishi Montero SR which is a absolute SUV warhorse. The reason I mentioned the SUV because this shows what Mitsubishi can accomplish when there engineers put forward a strong effort but with this Diamante its seems they cut corners in material quality (leather, faux wood & paint). In the highly competitive near luxury market in which this car is trying to compete (I30, ES300, Millenia, LS6 and TL) if cut one single corner the competition will destroy you ie (Lexus, Infiniti & Acura).
I like this car because it has individuality, smooth lines and a strong V6. It's a pleasure to drive but just doesn't standout against its competition. My advice to Mitsubishi is in order to compete focus more on material quality and attention to detail. Also take some pointers from Infiniti, Lexus and Acura on customer service after the sale. The buying public expects more in this day in age.

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I had owned a Infiniti J30 which was a absolute pleasure to drive. This car (Diamante) doesn't compare in quality. Don't get me wrong this is a sound automobile but Mitsubishi just doesn't put everything as far as material quality. (Cheap leather, faux (Fake) wood finish and center console.

Great handling, (feels like a dream). Great accelleration and a very smooth engine. Very nice styling inside and out. Very solid body. The interior is roomy & luxurious as a Lexus LS and an Infiniti Q45t. A very comfortable ride. FUN on highways, when taking long trips. Looks almost like a BMW, only better. A lot of curious lookers and you know that's great. My car, came with leather interior, sunroof, ABS, Dual climate control, CD changer, Xenon lights, which I put on myself and everything you can think of. A great great great car overall.

Resale value low. Low prestige, but it's getting there.

If you are looking for a car and want luxury, comfort, fast accelleration, smooth engine and luxurious as a lexus and Infiniti then, I would recommend it for you. People looking for a great value this is it don't miss out, get one. An excellent car for the money and the one that will last forever.

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Maxima(1998)- i would not even compare it, overall the diamante win's
BMW 528i (1997)- 328i (1998)- The two BMW's I had did not get as much attention as the Diamante gets. Maybe the reason is that BMW's are well known for the same styling every year. It's well due for a change.
Lexus ES300 (1999)- A very similar car to the diamante however, the Mitsu is more for the money.

Looks are subtle and clean from every angle. Every exterior feature compliments the others. The 'finish' even includes a very tidy but typically crowded engine compartment. Even the battery is encased in it's own housing (not hidden in a wheel well or something equally bizarre).

Superior to anything below the 30K (new) cost bracket. Although the current model is four years old now, it remains an impressive vehicle when compared to new <35K models from other manufacturers.

Comfortable seats, confident handling, stable ride, clean/powerfull factory sound system, roomy. All that with a relatively powerful engine and much understated style.

You will not find yourself at an intersection staring at several other copies of your refined transportation. It's nice to be unique in a see of carbon copy camries, maximas, accords, and lexus.

Hey, now that's what I like reviews for! Weaknesses! I love the car, but I remain critical of anything I spent my money to buy.

Unfortunately, I have a few which I hope some engineer and marketing rep at Mitsu will actually read and fix:

Mitsu has been lowering the price of this same model year after year...great huh? Well, not if you already bought it at the higher price. That only makes a buyer wish they had waited to purchase it, and this decreases the resale value for existing owners (now that's a nice swift kick!).

Resale values need a boost. There is simply no way a lexus (a.k.a. toyota) should retain better resale value than this car - its a perception thing; nobody thinks Mitsu=Luxury.

The rear disc brakes should have been made as large as the fronts and ABS should have been standard in 97.

Mitsu needs to add some reinforcement to the roofs of those cars without sunroofs. Tapping on the roof reveals a hollow tin-can sound which seems very cheap, but probably isn't there if a sunroof is present.

Mitsu also should have padded the inner door such that closing the front doors with the windows down did not cause another cheap sounding glass rattle.

Wind noise should have been reduced, but this seems to be an artifact of the frameless window design.

I'm no mechanic, but why not use a timing chain instead of a belt which must be replaced every 60K miles? This is a labor intensive (costly) requirement. Also along the lines of maintenance, it would have been nice if a casually aware owner could replace the spark plugs themselves. As it is, the engine design requires another labor intensive feat of mechanical know-how which means it will cost over $100 to swap out a set of $15 plugs.

The final gripe here is with the fancy AI-transmission. Mine has never been right for longer than two weeks. When it's right, it's just plain great! When it's wrong, it's really wrong, so much so that I wonder if the engine mounts will soon give way (yes, the whole car shakes). Mitsu swapped out one totally dead transmission computer, and recently it has begun missing badly on the 2-3 shift, especially at speeds from 20-30. Additionally, it has always been reluctant to do a 2-1 shift until you completely stop (if you don't it finally will in a rough manner when the computer realizes you want to speed up and it's currently using 2nd for acceleration from 2mph). I now long for a fixed set of gear ratios - bring back that superior 1970's technology!

Mitsu was way ahead of the curve with this one. I only hope the next generation is as much an improvement as this was (compared to its '95 predecessors). Mitsu engineers have a very high bar to meet if that is to be achieved.

Give me more! Say, 8cyl 350+hp and eliminate the weakness listed below and I'm no longer interested in a Q45 as my next vehicle :).

Drive this car for a while and your standards will probably be permanently raised, which may be a bad thing for your future checkbook.

Attractive, refined, luxurious, but it could use several improvements...so no 5 star rating here.

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No, you can't mean the dime-a-dozen B**mers?

Big car in midsize category.

*********** SAFETY WARNING FOLKS ******************
Brakes are squeaky. they skid. they slip. but never stop the car.
***************************************************
Company did a Brake recall on this model. But the company would schedule (I am the first & the only owner and driver).

1.This car is UNSAFE.
Bastards at Mitsubishi doesn't understand the importance of safety (brakes).
Need to turn the rotors or replace them every 17,000 miles
($600+ for the brake job)
Brakes are squeaky. they skid. they slip. but never stop.
Vehicle goes out of control very easily
Used all brands of tires (Michelin, Yokohama, Pirelli, Goodyear)
(because tires wear out every 15,000 miles)
You have to use only expensive V rated tires ($135 to $150 plus)

Even after this much expense the car doesn't stop. Dealer tried consoling me saying that this is a heavy car and Mitsubishi Montero is even worse compared to Diamante.

2.Parts are very expensive. e.g;
In A/C compressor there is a safety release valve which prevents the compressor from blowing-up and lets the excess gas get out (size of a penny).

The cost of this valve is $126 + tax. (Mitsubishi bastards again).
This is $3 for Ford Explorer.

3.After owning this car for 6 years/78,000 miles & maintaining this car like new, the best resale offers I got are less than $5500. Every buyer questioned about Mitsubishi quality.

4.Dealers are rogues. Treats customers like crap. That's why this never could get into luxury car segment.

5.Customer Service is below average.

It should be very easy to understand now why this car goes on bargain sale at model year change (spring time).

$7000 to $8000 discount on $26000 sticker price.

SHOP AROUND FOLKS.

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Lexus ES
Lexus RX300 - SUV

Ride, handling and features - no comparision to Mitsubishi.

Bought the car in fall of 1991 when it was first introduced. Liked the looks and thought it was a great value compared to other mid-size 4-door sedans. After 9 years I still love it!

Local Mitsubishi dealer provides terrible service ... arrogant, while lacking the knowledge to correctly diagnose problems. I have had brakes replace 3 times - last time with Mitsubishi pads which makes a difference. Back seat leg room is cramped.

This has been a fabulous car. Several problems that were fixed under warranty in the first year, but it has run like a dream for the past 8 years. Only concern of buying a new one is having to deal with the Mitsubishi service department.

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At time of purchase - Maxima and Accord

This car at 75,000 miles is tight as a drum, with good power and tremendous value. When looking for a good used car, because of the high depreciation of these cars, Diamantes offer a huge bang for the buck.

Thus far the only weakness this car has is lack of recognition, but maybe that's great for the second buyer.

This car is quiet, refined, classy inside, well put together, solid and very comfortable to drive. The climate control is excellent and the overall package makes me glad I didn't go the SUV route. Also, these cars can be worked on by any good mechanic. Just make sure you get it checked out thoroughly before purchase...

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I've driven Subarus, Hondas and Toyotas and this one holds up VERY well against the competition. I can't imagine having a '93 Camry Wagon over the '93 Diamante Wagon.

My vehicle is the Australian version Sports V6, a sporty version of the Diamante modified suspension and 4 speed tiptronic auto/manual gear box, I have done 120k kms (thats 75k miles for the old people)and have not had any problems at all. Fit and finish is well and truely above any of the Yanks products and so is its reliability, none of the problems mentioned by other owners re: brakes (maybe something to do with not knowing how to drive!) Fanbloodytastic car

I would like a bit more power, smaller than it's major competitors.

Best damn car I have ever owned, I'll recomend it to anyone. Reliable powerfull handles exceptionally well considering it's a big front driver. Back end sticks like something out of europe, takes alot for it to get tail happy, front strut bar up front has helped heaps with understeer. Lots of milage from tyres. Good airconditioning and sound insulation with next to no squeaks or rattles.

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Previous car was a 95 V6 Camry touring - heaps of reliability problems with manual gearbox.
Compared with Accord-gutless engine and Maxima-can the transmission of this car ever make up it's mind!

Clean attractive body styling, powerful V6, decent gas mileage (avg 23mpg), smooth ride, reliable.

Loose spring in drivers seat, water leak in firewall, noisy air leak in windows-(learning to live with it), noisy brakes.

Looks great, drives great , 45,000 miles & no mechanical problems yet. Quality in aesthetics may prove to be less than the competition. The ride is superior to the Accord or Maxima. I would seriously consider purchasing another Diamante in the future providing my experience makes no drastic changes.

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1999 Acura 3.2 TL, 2000 Mitsibushi GalantV6

You can't beat the looks of this car. It's a beauty!

Where should I begin? Brakes are horrible!!The handling around corners is awful, I think my old 1979 Ford pickup can take curves better.The motor taps,and I change my oil every 2,500 miles.I,ve had this car for 13 months and I've already had to put new tires on it,replace the valve seals(very expensive),new rotors and pads,water pump,timing chain,new cd player,new catalytic converter,new master cylinderand get the fuel injecters replaced.All in all I can honestly say this- this is absolutely the worst car I have ever owned in my life!! Made Cheap-Expensive To Fix!!

I hate turning the key and driving out of my driveway.Iwish somebody would hit my car and total it so I could get something else!

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Just buy something else,don't give in to the looks of the car.

High build quality in both exterior & interior finish and great performance from the 3.5lt engine coupled with a tiptronic gearbox.

Heavy on petrol consumption compared to other V6 sedans. Probably the worst horn sound of any car on the road.

The vehicle is called Verada in Australia and the current up-date was released just before Christmas. Apart from some body panel changes and colour options, the main change has been to the gear box which now comes as a tiptronic (Audi type with both automatic and manual selection)coupled with Traction Control.

The vehicle is sold as a luxury car with a price tag around A$50k (including all on road taxes). This may not seam high on the basis of the USD/ AUD exchange rate, but for Australia it is expensive when compared to the average new 6 cyl sedan costing around A$30k. For the price, the Verada is probably has the best quality control, performance and luxury of any Australian made car. The other Australian manufacturers are Toyota (Camry), Ford (Falcon & Fairlane) and GM Holden (Commodore & Stateman).

Except for my Mercedes, the Verada would be the only other cars which have given me trouble free motoring.

Unlike the USA reviews the only disappointment experienced by Australian owners of Veradas has probably been resale values. The Mitsubishi factory has a cloud over it in regard to whether production will continue in Australia.

This being my 3rd Verada, it would have to be the best to date.

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Have had two previous models (new in 94 & 96)and in between purchased Toyota and Ford products as company cars. Private cars have been Nissan, Mercedes Benz and BMW.