Auto news on Youtube May 2 2018

Hi, it's Złomnik. Today on my show

we have the Mitsubishi L300 4x4

Let's roll!

This car attracts a lot of attention. When I was filling it up

two guys asked me „what's that?", so I told them, it's the Mitsubishi L300 4x4

it's a mix of an off-roader and a van

"oh, wow, what a cool mix, I really dig it"

I saw a lot of enthusiasm with these people

I see these guys suddenly felt the urge to buy such a car

but if they only knew how hard is it to get one, how hard is to get parts

how badly it rusts, how slow it is,

if they knew about the terrible handling, and how this car sways on the road

then the enthusiasm would fade and they would end up with

a normal van, or better yet, an SUV. Because you know SUVs are all the rage...

I change the theme, because normally I stand next to a car while I talk about it

now I am laying inside, because this is a car that's perfect for that

it's a camper, off-roader and a people-mover in one car.

so these are all the best types of cars put into one

L300 4x4, contrary to what you might think, is not a body-on-frame layout

neither does it have a Pajero underpinnings

it's a unibody construction with subframes in the front and in the rear

that house the differentials

but it's unibody.

It has some parts from a Pajero, but also some from a normal L300 van

but it's completely different than the 2WD van

to the extent that it doesn't have a column shifter

but a floor shifter instead.

But it's similar when it comes to driving

slow, with a high center of gravity

it's soft and prone to rollovers.

Just as I like it.

The owner of this car is a true junk-lover

he keeps his car under a tree on a parking lot

and uses the car to go on a trip when he feels so

the car gathers some moss

and debris falling from the tree

the owner is fine with it

he says „I'll wash it someday, but for now, it's cool, the car drives great"

and it never breaks down

well, as for the rust, there is some

normally, they rust like hell

but this particular car somehow remained in good condition

the body looks rather „healthy".

And even the sliding doors close easily.

As I said about the parts availability problem

I asked the owner, well it's a cool ride, but what about the parts?

he said: some parts are identical as in the L300 2WD

some small things are from Pajero,

but you need a certain amount of knowledge to fit them

but mostly you just call a Mitsu dealer

and you say „I need a part for the L300 4x4"

and they click on those computers and say

„well I have this little seal for you

it's the last one in the Japanese warehouse,

the price is 2137 dollars

do you want to order?"

so the owner shakes and trembles

and all he can do is just have this part custom-made

with cars like this, you need a mechanic who can craft custom parts.

It's how you keep these cars running.

When I see a car with sliding doors on both sides

I immediately think of my former Suzuki Carry van

it's a great feature,

it should be implemented in many more cars

not only on selected vans

I will never understand why so many automakers stuck

to sliding doors on one side

Mitsubishi had a minivan called Space Runner

with sliding door on one side

but in the L300 4x4 they made it on both sides

and that's how it should be made.

that's a real high-rider

not only it has a step to enter the rear part

but just look at the gap between the wheel

and the fender. And the ground clearance also kicks ass

you can just lay down on the ground

and have someone drive the car above you

and you won't be hurt.

The tires are 215/75 R15, off-road style

so while on the tarmac, they make a lot of noise

but while off-road, they make the car invincible

and the 4x4 is part time, with a lever to turn it on

with automatic-locking front hubs

when you push the lever to the front

to turn it off you just back up a little bit

and the transfer case goes back to 2 wheel drive.

It's a great car for a trip

you can drive it at 50 miles per hour on a weekend drive

looking at the beauty of the nature

you can sleep in the back if you're not scared off by this type of bed

it will go much further off-road than any passenger car

it will cross the terrain just as good as a typical off-road truck

well it's a bit slow and dangerous, but you know

sometimes the slow ones are the most dangerous (untranslatable word play).

A car like this - with an engine below the floor

is the best layout for a car

because the entire floor surface is passenger compartment

of course it couldn't last because of the lack of safety

I don't need to explain what happens to the legs of the driver

in the event of a crash

Here, there is a 2.5 liter diesel below the floor

naturally aspirated, a very good one at that. by the way, it's a very popular powertrain in Cuba

powering all those American pre-1959 cars

You will find more about this in my book about Cuban car culture, due August 2018

But now we're not in Cuba, but in Warsaw's district of Ursynow

it's an off-roader, so we need to find some terrain to tackle

we'll try

so let's get inside, I will show you the interior

Let's find some off-road!

6000 rpms and 100 mph?

Optimistic... a bit

If someone put me inside this car and asked

„what Japanese brand is this"

I would have no clue

It's always the same in the Japanese cars of the 80's

as if they were just one brand. But isn't that good?

On the left - gear shifter, on the right – transfer-case lever

it has three positions,

2WD, 4WD and low-range

you put the low-range on when you're in real trouble.

There are many switches of unkown function

like there should be in an old car

well this one is for heating and ventilation

lo, hi, hi, lo, ho... no idea

this is the central locking switch, but it works only

for the rear part, without front doors

and this is the battery separator

there are two batteries in this car: one for starter motor

and one for camping accessories

if they were connected all the time

then after using a refrigerator on a camping stop

you wouldn't be able to start the car

that's why you need a separator, but you can also connect them

for charging while driving

And this is the most natural driving position

legs are put down, not to the front

the steering wheel just in front of me like a plate.

When I'm at home, eating my potatos and cutlet

I don't sit with my legs put in front

I don't stretch my hands like this, nor I eat like this

But I eat here, on a plate before me

That's why the seating position in a van

is the best one there is.

Let's start it!

yeah, sure...

No control light for glow plugs

so you need to listen when the relay goes click in the back

Here we are at the construction site for a Warsaw ring-road

even though it's a free day, there are still some works going on

it's an entrance to the site

this road is closed to any traffic

prohibited this, prohibited that

And right in front of us

Is the house I wanted to tell you about

It's a very old house, we'll take a closer look at it

where people just live, but if it's not razed,

the ringway couldn't go any further

I'm curious: what will they do? Will they move the entire house?

Looks cool. Just like the old cars!

the approach angle on this car is just crazy

it's not very stable, it's also a bit heavy and prone to dig in the dirt

but it approaches the obstacles like a true off-roader

and with just a little bit of off-road experience

it performs like a 99%-real truck

3 advantages, 3 disadvantages of this car

positive: very versatile, great off-road capabilities

frugal and quiet engine

negative: zero safety, zero parts availability, rust.

and that's about it, keep an eye on my channel

and remember

more junk, more fun!