Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Hi all,

I have been in love with the Delica for a few years now, though I have been living overseas, so it has mainly been an internet obsession.

A couple years ago, when I thought I was going to be returning to Canada and buying one, I had a good idea of what I wanted in an L300.

Now that I really am moving back to Canada (Sask-dont laugh, im actually quite excited!), I have been reading the posts with renewed interest again. Though now things have changed a bit with the availability of the L400. In reality, as per almost all members of the forum, I dont like the new body shape or the loss of the sit on top of the wheel drivers compartment.

However, there are quite a few obvious features (power, safety, and all the other stuff that i have read about) that make the L400 a serious contender, and it is almost with regret that I have now started looking at the specs of the L400 and putting together my ideal L400 list. Im sure it would be an awesome ride no doubt, but giving up the body shape and coolness factor of the L300 is just so hard. I have always been a strong proponent of function over style, but in this situation, I feel torn.

As I live in SK, obviously my day to day use will not involve much mountain climbing. Though that will come with long road trips to AB and BC. In that regard, it sure would be nice to have the extra power to drive at hiway speeds to get to the mountains a little faster.

Day to day use will be for hauling around woodworking tools, landscaping tools, garden supplies etc. In that regard, might the ol' L300 be superior as it is not quite as "pretty" in the inside, and could be better utilised as a pseudo-pickup?

I would eventually like to mod it to run on WVO and such, do both pretty much perform equally in that area?(i think i read somewhere that the l400 has room for more under body storage tanks?

Kind of curious about whether things such as the sun roofs/crystal lite roofs are in much better condition in the newer models than the old ones?

Well, I have rambled on long enough, just kinda wanted to drop my name into the forum and see what info/opinions I can bring out. Though at the end of the day, I guess meeting up with some owners with different models would be the best way to make a decision.

Excited to become an owner, disappointed somewhat in the thought that it might be the L400,

s

aw76 wrote:Day to day use will be for hauling around woodworking tools, landscaping tools, garden supplies etc. In that regard, might the ol' L300 be superior as it is not quite as "pretty" in the inside, and could be better utilised as a pseudo-pickup?

the L300 and L400 are virtually identical for how "pretty" they are inside in the rear, this will depend more on trim level than L300/L400. possibly looking at a chamonix or jasper would be an idea as they are supposed to use "tougher" fabrics on the carpet and upholstery.

I would eventually like to mod it to run on WVO and such, do both pretty much perform equally in that area?(i think i read somewhere that the l400 has room for more under body storage tanks?

While I have not done the modification on either one, I would have to agree that there is more "space" under the L400 than the L300

Kind of curious about whether things such as the sun roofs/crystal lite roofs are in much better condition in the newer models than the old ones?

Again this isn't a model thing, but a vehicle specific thing, you can find either L300s or L400s that are pristine, or destroyed... there are differences in the sunroofs though, standard sunroof at the front on an L300 simply manually pops up about an inch, on the L400 it is motorized and pops up, and/or slides back. The L300 one has fewer moving parts to cause issues, but the L400 one opens enough that you could pop your head out if you wanted.
the crystal-lite roof is very similar design, however the blinds work slightly differently (though they look identical) but I don't know that either design is "better" or "worse" as both can still fail.[/quote]

If it helps any, I find the L400 looks much different in person than in the pictures, it looks a lot less like a dodge caravan when seen in person (probably partially because while sitting in the driver's seat of an L400, you can see over the roof of a caravan!)

Cool, thanks for the reply...ill be back to canada in about a month, so i will have to go check out some in person to see if they really do look that much better in person...

was thinking about the cham or jas, but from what i understand, they are a lower model are they not? unless the original owner tricked them out with options and mods?

They are a lower model, so as such will not have the crystal light roof, and will have a middle row bench instead of the captains chairs (8 seater vs 7)
beyond that, it's all a matter of what options the original owner chose from the factory, and what toys have been added on after.

For the record, I have an L400 low-roof with the middle bench, and IMHO it is more flexible for carrying internal cargo than the ones with the middle row captain's seats.

The middle bench can rotate 180 degrees and slide forward against the back of the front seats. This coupled with having the rear seats fold up out of the way, I find this makes a very usable and quite cavernous open area in the rear without having to actually remove seats from the vehicle.

Also, don't necessarily get hung up on trim levels for low roof vs high roof; from what it seems to me, almost every option was available on an "a la carte" basis. My low-rood Exceed is nicely decked out with features, lacking sunroofs and heated seats, but lots of other genuine Mitsu goodies on board.

tonydca wrote:For the record, I have an L400 low-roof with the middle bench, and IMHO it is more flexible for carrying internal cargo than the ones with the middle row captain's seats.

The middle bench can rotate 180 degrees and slide forward against the back of the front seats. This coupled with having the rear seats fold up out of the way, I find this makes a very usable and quite cavernous open area in the rear without having to actually remove seats from the vehicle.

And to present the other side of the coin, I actually believe the opposite to be true. The captains chairs also swivel and slide allowing all sorts of different combinations, and they too can be folded up and slid all the way forward out of the way, and all this without the base for the middle bench sitting in the way at all. The bench is certainly a neat innovation, but I wouldn't give up the captains chairs, I love the flexibility they offer.

Also, don't necessarily get hung up on trim levels for low roof vs high roof; from what it seems to me, almost every option was available on an "a la carte" basis. My low-rood Exceed is nicely decked out with features, lacking sunroofs and heated seats, but lots of other genuine Mitsu goodies on board.

This I have to agree on, most options are available on most trim levels.

One thing to think about. A benefit for WVO in BC is the climate isn't
quite as harsh as we have in Sask. I had considered it as well for a little.
For the better part of our winters, You would be doing a mix or diesel straight
up.

I love my little L300. I got a reminder the other weekend to not push
the speed to hard. I dropped my RPM's down and watched the vacuum
pressure on my highway trip back home. I got another 165 km per tank! vs, the
more aggressive but not too much faster trip there.

:)
FS

Green1 wrote:

tonydca wrote:For the record, I have an L400 low-roof with the middle bench, and IMHO it is more flexible for carrying internal cargo than the ones with the middle row captain's seats.

The middle bench can rotate 180 degrees and slide forward against the back of the front seats. This coupled with having the rear seats fold up out of the way, I find this makes a very usable and quite cavernous open area in the rear without having to actually remove seats from the vehicle.

And to present the other side of the coin, I actually believe the opposite to be true. The captains chairs also swivel and slide allowing all sorts of different combinations, and they too can be folded up and slid all the way forward out of the way, and all this without the base for the middle bench sitting in the way at all. The bench is certainly a neat innovation, but I wouldn't give up the captains chairs, I love the flexibility they offer.

I haven't been inside an L400 with the bench seat, but I'll give you an idea of how flexible the captains chairs are. This past week I've moved 10 sheets of 4x8 drywall, with a big stack of 8' 2x4s with no problem in my LWB L400. On the weekend, I moved a full size washer and dryer, with some rubbermaid bins AND still had my son in the passenger side, middle row captain seat, although he didn't have a lot of leg room (I wouldn't have been able to do that with a bench seat).

Shane

Thanks for all the informative replies guys, really appreciate it.

Great timing with the drywall post, as I was trying to find out exactly that the other day, and posted about as much on the aussie site...did they lay flat on the floor between the wheel wells?

I cant wait to get one of these units, ugly L400 or not, I think they are awesome!

aw76 wrote:Great timing with the drywall post, as I was trying to find out exactly that the other day, and posted about as much on the aussie site...did they lay flat on the floor between the wheel wells?

standard 4x8 sheets don't fit between the wheel wells, however if you fold the seats flat you can lay them on top of the seats. (and still close the tailgate)

Green1 wrote:standard 4x8 sheets don't fit between the wheel wells, however if you fold the seats flat you can lay them on top of the seats. (and still close the tailgate)

Your talking about the L400, right?

im talkin about the L400, i assume they were too....

can you lay sheets flat in an L300?

I regularly haul 4x8 sheets flat in my L300 and 5x5 sheets of baltic birch just fit angle wise, I often haul a few 10' 2x4 inside between the seats but anythin longer I put on the roof rack.

Believe it or not, people stare and rubberneck at the L400 just as much as the L300. Both look very different in person compared to pictures.

There is a LOT more workable room both inside and underneath on the L400 long wheelbase compared to both L300 and L400 SWB.

You'll also find that the L400 drives and feels more like a mid sized SUV/truck than a minivan.

I like the SWB because of it's overall size but there is no question that the LWB has more room of all Delica's.

aw76 wrote:Thanks for all the informative replies guys, really appreciate it.

Great timing with the drywall post, as I was trying to find out exactly that the other day, and posted about as much on the aussie site...did they lay flat on the floor between the wheel wells?

I cant wait to get one of these units, ugly L400 or not, I think they are awesome!

No, they don't lay flat, I had them standing on edge and pushed them in till they were just between the front 2 seats. I managed to load and unload them by myself this way. If you were to push the passenger side front seat all the way forward and swiveled the middle row captains seat out of the way I suspect one could fit a significant number of 4x8 sheets standing on edge.

Shane