Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Hello all... my husband and i have been getting some great info from the site as we do our 'research' on the delica. we most certainly plan to buy one but have a few unanswered questions. maybe someone out there has some input?

1. i personal like the bigger high roof models (with crystal roof) but my husband seems concerned about the hieght (over 6 foot). he thinks that it will limit our parking options when it comes to parkades and underground parking (we live in Vancouver). has anyone had a problem like this? are we stuck trying to find a spot on the street? last thing we'd want is our roof scraped off!

2. low milage. we've read that low milage isn't such a great thing. vehicles need to be driven and used to keep seals and hoses and those types of things soft and pliable. has anyone had any problems (having to replace various things) on a low milage deli?

3. off-roading... we've watched some awesome 4x4ing delica videos on youtube lately! looks fun, but not so sure we want one of those vehicals after what we watched some of them go through! is there sure give aways we should be looking for? my husband is quite mechanical so he'd know what you meant if you got all techy.

4. milage... currently we drive a 1989 toyota LE. we love it and the gas milage is pretty good... we've heard the delica is a tad thirsty. is this so?

thats all i can think of right now... thank you so much for your time reading and replying! *dalyn & zoltan

I'm not too sure about the rest of it, but I'll take a stab at #1:

The high roof is pretty cool, no doubt about it. Lots of moonroofs are nifty. Good for sight seeing. It does make the vehicle rather tall. I've got the high roof and I couldn't really even measure the height at the back because I couldn't really see the tape. It's very high though, definitely higher that 6'9". I know this because I was trying to park downtown the other day, and went to one parkade that I thought would be okay. It was marked at 6'9" and there was no way in hell I was going to make it. I don't know what the parkades are like in Vancouver, but I would assume they're similar.

Sort of depends on whether you'd be parking underground all the time or just occaisionally. I personally love the high roof, but I've also been in a low roof model (with one huge moonroof!) and it was still spectacular. I think the high roof adds a fair amount of weight also.

So both are great. I've probably not helped you at all, but either way you'll come out on top, as you'll be able to rip around in a Delica.

There also technical drawings on this site that you could look at that show the dimensions of the various models of Delica.

Good luck on your Delica search!

Hi, High roof is much better more room & comfort, top of the line compare to low roof. its just depends if your underground parking is high. high roof is about 7 foot at least on height.
usually price for super exceed & exceed is not much difference.
it depend on condition & service they done on it.
Cheers:

DandZ wrote:1. i personal like the bigger high roof models (with crystal roof) but my husband seems concerned about the hieght (over 6 foot). he thinks that it will limit our parking options when it comes to parkades and underground parking (we live in Vancouver). has anyone had a problem like this? are we stuck trying to find a spot on the street? last thing we'd want is our roof scraped off!

I look for 2.15 meters/7 feet for underground parking, and rarely find it. Gumdrop fits on the upper car deck on B.C. Ferries, but only just. That's a high roof with 235/75R15 tires (the usual) and stock ride height.

DandZ wrote:2. low milage. we've read that low milage isn't such a great thing. vehicles need to be driven and used to keep seals and hoses and those types of things soft and pliable. has anyone had any problems (having to replace various things) on a low milage deli?

Either work with the importer on this, or, if you bring one over yourself, make sure you get it checked out. Plan to do a major service (all fluids, timing belt, etc.) before leaving Japan, or make sure the importer does it for you. The main thing people are concerned about is what ultra-low sulfur diesel might do to the fuel system.

DandZ wrote:4. milage... currently we drive a 1989 toyota LE. we love it and the gas milage is pretty good... we've heard the delica is a tad thirsty. is this so?

Much depends on how much you pay for diesel.

To us Canadians, 15 litres/100 km city, 10 highway is reasonable (my own numbers). To folks in England, who pay twice for their diesel what we do, that's thirsty. YMMV.

...laura

In regards to #2:

The low mileage is good if for example the car gained its mileage over 15 years. If it gained 60,000 km in the first 5-7 years and sat around for the next 8-10 years then the low mileage vehicle is probably worse than one that run 100,000-130,000 over the course of 15 years. In Japan there is huge amount of importance put on the vehicle if it was still under SHAKEN (government mechanical inspections). This tells us the vehicle was road worthy (by Japanese standards, which are much more strict than ours). So the vehicle that you buy, should be one that has been sold while still under or recently expired from Shaken.

thank you all so much for your input... it's been helpful! more opinions are still welcome! *d

Hi 39Ronin,

Would a broker lite Terra2Imports or the like, know if a vehicle was still (ore recently) under SHAKEN if purchased through the auctions?

delicat wrote:Hi 39Ronin,

Would a broker lite Terra2Imports or the like, know if a vehicle was still (ore recently) under SHAKEN if purchased through the auctions?

PM sent

my high roof delica is a tad under 6'11''. seems there is a lot of variability on their heights. i haven't heard of anyone getting charged as an overheight vehicle on the ferries in a delica, unless they have a pile of stuff on the roof.

"overheight" on the ferries is technically 7' the Delica is 6'8"-6'10" as stock, but can be more depending on tire size and lift.
That said, some of the BC ferries have an upper deck clearance of only 6'8", so you can be "underheight" but too tall for the upper deck, probably not a bad idea to confirm with the attendant.

I have some antennas on the roof of my Delica (needs 9' minimum, and even then they still hit), and I've had some nice attendants, and some not so nice ones, the nice ones have charged me "underheight" but put me on the lower deck, the not so nice ones have told me that if I want to be on the lower deck I have to pay for "overheight" and therefore I go upper deck but remove the antennas while waiting in line.

Green1 wrote:"overheight" on the ferries is technically 7' the Delica is 6'8"-6'10" as stock, but can be more depending on tire size and lift.
That said, some of the BC ferries have an upper deck clearance of only 6'8", so you can be "underheight" but too tall for the upper deck, probably not a bad idea to confirm with the attendant.

I have some antennas on the roof of my Delica (needs 9' minimum, and even then they still hit), and I've had some nice attendants, and some not so nice ones, the nice ones have charged me "underheight" but put me on the lower deck, the not so nice ones have told me that if I want to be on the lower deck I have to pay for "overheight" and therefore I go upper deck but remove the antennas while waiting in line.

I think my tires must be a big oversize, I'm right about 7' at the rear spoiler, I need to get the ladder installed or get step ladder and measure again in a more accurate way. With the roof racks on I got charged the over height ($88 just for me and the deli :(). If still over 7 feet with the racks off I will look at putting the spoiler on a hinge or carrying a compressor (would like to get one anyways) in the back and letting air out of the back tires before going up to the booth. I suppose I could go all out and put air springs in or something to adjust the ride hide from inside the cab but that seems a bit much to save on the occasional ferry trip :)

I think my tires must be a big oversize, I'm right about 7' at the rear spoiler,

not sure how tall the spoiler is, the heights I was quoting are for vehicles without spoilers or racks.

A couple of quick notes:

Ideally, you will get Shaken papers with your Delica (I did, plus dealer service history). They're in Japanese, naturally, but the diagrams and numbers are self-explanatory.

In 3 B.C. Ferries trips Gumdrop has ridden on the upper deck twice, and the lower deck once ("We've got lots of room, and they fit better down there..."). At no time has there been any question about being an underheight vehicle.

...laura

I bought a low roof specifically so I would be able to fit in the local Superstore underground lot at 6'8". I still have enough room to squeeze some low slung roof racks on it or put on slightly larger tires if I want to and I will still be able to fit. I havent noticed a lack of interior room either at 6'2" tall.

Hello all... thanks so much for all the input. we've decided to put in an order with Shogo at Japanoid in new west. ( japaniod.com ) he was really helpful put our mind at ease with future need for parts/service. it'll take about 2 months but we'll have the van/options that we want! we really want a 5 speed and there aren't too many of them in the lower mainland right now that have all the bells and whistles we are looking for. ill post pics when our deli arrives...! *d and z