Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

bionic wrote:Hi,
I have owned a 92 Delica L300 (151k on the odometer), an 89 Toyota LE 4x4 (320K on the odometer), and currently drive a 91 VW Doka Syncro (181K on the odometer). The Toyota LE was the best as far as out of the box reliability, handled pretty well, and was quite comfortable...it was however a little ugly. The L300 was the least reliable, and gutless of them all...cold in the winter, ran too hot in the summer, hard to start (numerous glowplug/pump issues) ..leaky auto trans, leaky front panels, weak rear diff, and what could only be described as dismal performance. The VW Syncro is easily the most capable offroad, and versitile to boot, but after replacing/upgrading both the engine/trans ($$$) to get it roadworthy, I would have to give the ugly little space shuttle LE the thumbs up, although a 1.8 would be less power than the 2.2L the Canada LE came with, which might disuade me from getting one.
If a Delica exists where someone hasn't fudged the numbers during import, or hasn't abused the thing in Japan, I have yet to see it. Owned 2 and never again (in Canada).

I think you're on the wrong forum

...not relevant to the topic, or just not the response you wanted to hear???

I'm just bugging you because you've said the Delica is the worst of all the vehicles on a Delica forum (which will be biased). It also sounds like you my have had a lemon since the general consensus is that vw's require much more maintenance which is the reason many people move from them to Delica's. The 2wd vanagons are actually quite reliable but the 4wd ones are just ticking time bombs. My cousin is a vw mechanic and it's the only vehicle he refuses to work on. Two of my closest friends drive the 2wd models and love them (one of whom owns 3) but neither will touch the 4wd models. I have no idea what the exact problem is but apparently the 4wd system is prone to failure and costs $4000 to fix.

I will personally not comment on this because I have never had a chance to test all the vehicles listed above. What I will say is that I have had relatively few problems with my $4000 van and was advised when shopping around that I would need to spend close to $20,000 (the opinion of 2 friends, my cousin who is a vw mechanic as well as 2 other vw mechanics who specialize in those vans) for a westy in good knick and the fuel economy would be worse. The toyota's were ugly and too small (that was easy to rule out).

I've owned L300 and Syncro's both in different flavours.

The L300 drivetrain is more 'durable' for offroading than the syncro.

You can youtube until your eyes pop out for the +'s and -'s to both but what it comes down to if your own personal experiences (this thread).

I could not push my syncro up some trails where my L300 climbed without issues.

I like the poptop syncro/space/layout better than the L300 but it's a give and take.

I posted Turtle (poptop 5spd L300) on samba and got chastised publicly but via pm/email a ton of 'where I can buy one/see it' from secret vw owners. It was comical.

Both have their followers and both camps are passionate about their own rig.

General stats on forums favor the L300 for reliability/durability/serviceability over the syncro's, however you can get lemons on both sides. The bucket of lemons is just larger for vw's.

...just being objective, as I doubt there are many here on this board who could offer an objective opinion. If you re-read the comment I stated quite clearly the VW was not the best choice from a $$ perspective. And I have certainly put in more than the 20K you mentioned, so definately not an apples to apples comparison. Any VW mechanic that refuses to work on a specific model/age of VW is no different than taking your Delica into a Mitsubishi dealer to get a tune-up...prepare for a good laugh. Most 20+ old vehicles will warrant that response. Technology has changed considerably, and most dont have the money/time to devote to training people in all types.
Just a side note, I may have only owned a few Delica L300's, but I have also had several (and still do) friends with JDM vehicles...doubt mine were "lemons" anymore than you got "lucky" with yours.
The interior footprint of a Toyota LE / Townace is similar (if not identical...look it up) to that of a Delica L300. Same body style (cabover compact van) ...ugly maybe, but I didn't always receive compliments on the Deli either! ("that's neat/interesting" is not always meant as a compliment by the way.. )

Hey Chad

I just gave my experience/opinion of the two. Never owned a Toyo LE van but have seen one out at Stave Lake on 31's and was pretty much identical to an L300 for it's capability.

The thread title 'vs' pretty much opens up a never ending debate depending on which side of the fence one is standing.

I wouldn't have traded Turtle for any comparable VW syncro as it was just the right combination of Japanese engineering, camping and offroad capability.

With that said, there is a lot of lemons out there. Most lemons like to hide in the soft aluminium head on the 4D56T.

..well said Jesse.

I don't have a Delica but my Strada share mostly the same powertrain as the L300 and it is a way more reliable than any
Volkswagen and Toyota that my father has owned.First a Volkswagen Transporter(doka)2WD.Really practical truck but always broken and
it was very expensive to repair.But we liked it anyway,just good memories.After,he own a Toyota van LE.The worst of all.Blown head gasket(two time),was rusting to the speed of light,
we don't own it very long.Next on the list is a Volkswagen Eurovan,bought new.We really liked it for travel everywhere but the reliability
was not his strength.Often,we don't know why,it would not start for 5 to 10 minutes,nothing at all and suddenly all was ok,start perfect.
It was under warranty but the dealer never find the problem.But that was a nice van.
And the Strada.It is a way more reliable.In five years,nothing really wrong with it.Regular maintenance and some normal problem for
a 15 years(20 now)old truck.I supposed that Delica,in majority,are like this.My brother also own a Strada that is now over 300000km
and no big problem with it.