Mitsubishi Magna VR-X 2001 Review

The sporty Magna's 3.5 litre V6 delivers such an overabundance of torque and power that it requires close electronic supervision to prevent it sometimes behaving like a slithering idiot. The VR-X's suspension, in contrast, is capably and comfortably compliant. There's not a hint of teeth-rattling harshness to the ride, but neither is there any satisfying sharpness in the car's responses to steering wheel and accelerator pedal.

Does this matter when for many, if not most, sporty is a look? If clothes make the car, then the new Magna model is plenty sporty. Essentially the VR-X is a Magna sports plus plastic. While both models wear a whopper wing, the VR-X adds a deep front airdam, extended rear skirt, sills and wheel arch extensions. There are no mechanical differences between the two.

Both VR-X and Sports are equipped with a new high power version of Mitsubishi's familiar 3.5 litre V6. This engine's maximum outputs are 163kW and 317Nm, versus the regular 3.5's 150kW and 300Nm. Yes, those latter figures are higher than before. Alterations to the single overhead camshafts of the V6 - minor changes to the timing and duration of valve opening, both inlet and exhaust - are the reason for the improvement.

The additional 13kW of the VR-X and Sports engine comes mainly from a different, less restrictive exhaust system. The engine is damned good. It has punch - even in the automatic, even on dry bitumen, full throttle in first gear will overwhelm the available traction. There's smooth flexibility as well.

If the engine is good, the automatic is even better. The five speeder that - for now - is restricted to the VR-X and Sports model is excellent. While left in 'D' full-throttle upshifts are made some way short of the engine's redline. Does this mean that slipping the lever across and shifting manually gives better acceleration? No, not at all.

In 'D' and with the traction control switched on, the VR-X ran down the 400 metre strip in 16.0sec exactly. Experimenting with manual shifting and disabling the traction control duplicated this figure, at best.

The steering wheel isn't a precision instrument. This isn't a car that darts into corners at the merest provocation. It's not only the steering; the suspension and tyres, too, are clearly not intended to deliver the same degree of responsiveness as something from Tickford of HSV.

But the VR-X can be made to flow gracefully - and very quickly - through corners. It's agile enough to satisfy, but the agility is that of a ballroom dancer, not a rugby halfback.

Even though the suspension tends to the soft end of the firm spectrum, comfort isn't guaranteed. Poorly finished concrete freeway can cause a slight shudder, as the rippled surface excites sympathetic vibrations throughout the body of the Magna.

The Magna VR-X is almost completely impressive. Oh, and the fact that it costs less than $40,000. Very reasonable. And definitely one to consider.