2004 Mitsubishi Diamante VR-X

Years ago, the Mitsubishi Diamante was a special car, a luxury offering at an affordable price. But the years have not been kind to either the Diamante or Mitsubishi. The parent company is troubled and the Diamante is no longer special. Prices: Mitsubishi Diamante VR-X: $26,819 base; as tested, $28,254. Warranty: 3 years/36,000 miles.

First Glance

Mitsubishi is a troubled automaker. It bleeds money and its offerings are slipping in market share in the American market. Now, it's ironic that Mitsubishi offers a superfast little four-door called the Evolution while an absence of evolution is exactly the problem with the 2004 Mitsubishi Diamante. The luxury offering simply has not kept pace with the competition. It pioneers nothing, comes up short on expected safety and convenience features and does not stand out in any crowd. Its bland styling cannot be saved by a wing on the rear deck to tell the world you're driving the performance VR-X model. The Diamante is simply plain vanilla with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Yes, it's still priced right at under $30,000, but the competition at this level has become fierce over the past decade. Regrettably for Mitsubishi, the Diamante cannot excel in comparisons to offerings from Japanese competitors.

In the Driver's Seat

Let's say you're going to market a performance version of your basic car. Any car. What do you do? Your goals should be much quicker acceleration, improved handling, stronger braking and more safety features. In the case of Mitsubishi, you begin with the 3.5-liter V6 that is standard in the model. The base engine pumps out 205 horsepower and you manage to increase that figure to ... 210 for your performance car! And this must move more than 3,500 pounds of luxury car. So clearly you have not created what most people would call a performance car. The tag just doesn't fit. And that engine delivers power through a four-speed automatic transmission, hardly state-of-the-art today. Just as pathetic - the car is front-wheel drive, which thwarts performance intentions. This 2004 Mitsubishi Diamante VR-X doesn't deserve the "performance" label Mitsubishi pins on it. The tester's interior had the optional $840 leather package, which includes numerous seat adjustments. The instruments were clean and easily read at night. Entry and exit were easy, as well, and head room and foot room front or rear will not a problem. Yes, you'll keep up with traffic. Just don't try to pass a real performance sedan.

On the Road

Everyone noticed the same problem with the 2004 Mitsubishi Diamante VR-X on the interstate at cruising speed. And that something is not usually the subject of conversation. The Diamante VR-X was noisy. Passengers thought a window might not be sealed, but they all were. Wind and tire noise intruded into this luxury car at a level not found in competitors. But my biggest complaint was the fact that this relatively expensive offering had only front air bags and anti-lock brakes among safety features. No side air bags. No head curtain. All of its standard safety features were found on cars a half-decade ago. And we've come a long way in terms of occupant protection in the past five years. Mitsubishi has not evolved the Diamante with the times. Indeed, there seem to be few cars at this price range that do not cocoon occupants in air bags - as they should given crash test results from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. On the plus side, the Diamante does have a beefed-up suspension system that doesn't punish those inside. It has traction control (but hardly needs it). And it comes with expected luxury items like cruise control, air conditioning, remote keyless entry, a sunroof and rear spoiler.

Journey's End

The 2004 Mitsubishi Diamante VR-X is a pleasant car. It's just suffering an identity crisis. It doesn't have enough luxury and convenience features to qualify as a genuine luxury or near-luxury car. Our tester, in fact, had a kind of cheap feel to it. And it certainly doesn't have the ooomph to be called a performance car. So it's really a throwback to a compromise that was successful five years ago. It gets 17 mpg city and 25 highway, which isn't bad. It is comfortable on most road surfaces. It feels slightly snappy when the accelerator is mashed. It has a big trunk. But we've come far in the past few years as competitors have ratcheted up buyer expectations. We want more, much more, in a near-luxury car than the Diamante delivers. Frankly, this Diamante should be near the end of its life. With front-wheel drive and nondescript styling, there's no prospect for increased sales among luxury-performance car buyers with this model. Scrap it. Give us a bold new Mitsubishi that contains every feature offered by Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW and Jaguar at this price. Somehow, I don't think that is going to happen when an automaker has problems as severe as Mitsubishi has. My expectation is that we'll soon say goodbye to the Diamante.