Mitsubishi Magna 2003 Review

Mitsubishi Australia has been forced by its US counterpart to reveal the heavily facelifted TL Magna almost three months ahead of schedule. The TL Magna goes on sale in July, but will be launched on the international stage at this week's New York Auto Show.

The TL Magna was styled by Mitsubishi's global design chief Olivier Boulay and is the first truly global Magna. It is destined for sale as either a Magna or Diamante in Australia, USA, Canada and a number of other markets including Puerto Rico.

Mitsubishi Australia spokesman Kevin Taylor admitted to CarPoint that it would not have released information about the TL Magna if the car wasn't being shown in New York. The company's marketing and sales boss, Bill Pike, conceded Mitsubishi USA wanted to show the car a lot earlier.

"Pierre Gagnon, the CEO of Mitsubishi's North American operations, wanted to preview the car at the Detroit Auto Show in January," Pike revealed, "which we felt was too early for us, so I told him 'you can't have it'. Then he wanted to show it at Chicago. Again it was too soon."

Pike had to concede when the April New York show was put forward: "I wanted Australian people to see this car first, but we are now an international car company. We are part of the global manufacturing base for Mitsubishi. The car will be the flagship for Mitsubishi in the United States as well as the springboard for the brand's push into Canada."

Mitsubishi Australia is also exploring European possibilities for the new Magna/Verada range, holding a special preview in March. "We did show the car to a select group of distributors in Frankfurt," revealed Pike, from "a very wide range" of countries. Pike believes it went well. "We're in the stage now of trying to match their wishlist -- their product plan -- with what we can do. I can't talk about timeframes, however."

Mitsubishi Australia, having been forced into this reveal against its will, is holding many cards close to its chest. Engineering and dynamic changes aren't being disclosed until closer to the onsale date in July. Prices, too, are another unknown, though CarPoint doesn't expect them to change much from current levels.

The 2003 TL Magna is visually very different to its predecessor with the bigger changes concentrated on the front and rear. Strong trinagular headlights dominate the front-end, along with a bolder grille and central-badge area.

The rear-end changes focus on a much simplified numberplate surround and more striking three-globe taillights on a redesigned bootlid, while the bumper bar has also been modified.

The door apertures, door skins and roofline are unchanged.

The interior has also been considerably changed from the current model, with a clear theme emerging for each individual model grade.

The TL Magna's 3.5-litre V6 engine, five-speed gearbox and drivetrains are carried over unchanged. The suspension has been modified, says Mitsubishi, "to make Magna more fun and involving to drive".

Mitsubishi's front-wheel drive TL Magna will be sold initially in four grades when it goes on sale in July; ES replaces the Executive, LS replaces Advance, VR replaces Sport, and VR-X remains. Verada Ei and Xi also remain.

The all-wheel drive versions will arrive in dealerships in September, while a 180kW AWD Ralliart model will be added to the line-up early in 2004.

CarPoint Australia will have more information on the TL Magna and KL Verada, including prices, in June 2003.