A tribute to reliability and durability

In June of 2002, my family (just the two of us at the time) purchased our Lancer OZ Rally Edition new. Since then, it has been a tribute to reliability and durability that all carmakers, US and otherwise, should use as a template.

In just over 5 years, this little car has over 160,000 miles on it. Most driving has been on the freeway, but there is still a considerable amount of city driving. Since we purchased the car, we have yet to require a major repair, with the most extensive work so far being brakes, shocks, and tires. Otherwise, the car has needed little more than an oil-change and a fresh air filter. It was our original plan to sell the car to my brother-in-law for his first car when we started having children because, at the time, we figured it would be beyond it's useful life. We have been proven wrong.

In the summer of 2006, we took the car on a nearly 1,000 mile trip around our state carrying a full week's worth of supplies, and our bikes on a rack mounted to the trunk. We had absolutely zero problems, and even managed to maintain a reasonably decent average gas mileage,even with the approximately 400-600lb of extra gear.

All in all, I have nothing but glowing things to say about this little car. It has proved itself well above and beyond expectations. Plus, it still looks pretty good, too.