The Only Choice
by David Finlay (07 Sep 05)

Mitsubishi reckons it will sell 4700 examples of the Grandis here in 2006, and estimates that 4000 of them will be DI-D turbo diesels. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the eventual figures were still more heavily weighted in favour of the DI-D, since it makes such a strong case for itself that it's difficult to imagine anyone giving the 2.4-litre petrol version a second thought.

When Mitsubishi launched the Grandis last year, there was no diesel engine available that might have been fitted to it. This was clearly a ridiculous situation for a large MPV, and the company's solution was to go to Volkswagen and place an order for the VW Group's excellent 134bhp two-litre Euro IV compliant unit.

The result is that the Grandis DI-D, although less powerful than the 2.4, has a higher top speed (121mph to 118), accelerates more rapidly from 0-62mph (10.8 seconds to 11.8), is staggeringly more economical (43mpg combined to 28) and churns out a fraction of the CO2 (176g/km to 237). The performance figures fail to convey an idea of the engine's flexibility, which is enough to make this sizeable machine react strongly to small movements of the accelerator pedal from well under 2000rpm.

Add to all this the fact that the DI-D is acceptably quiet even when being pushed, and there seems no room left for doubt that diesel power has gone from being unavailable in the Grandis range to being the only conceivable choice. Surely there must be a catch?

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