2002 Mitsubishi Lancer

Pros: The alternator went @ 36000! My dealer stunk too!
Cons: I love the suspension and handling. It looks adorable!

All in all, I love my Lancer. I love the way it drives, I love everything, except I must say I have had a poor experience so far. I recently purchased the car (after it's 152 point inspection), with a bad alternator, belt, and alignment. Fantastic huh? It's a very noisy car, rattling in the engine and stuff, which makes myself very nervous. I'm not sure how the reliability factor will hold up, as it feels a little cheap, but then again, it was cheap (8000 with 35000 miles), which was a much better price than what I was looking at spending on a Civic (everyone has them!) or a Sentra (my boyfriend didn't like that- he has one). I would recommend it if you can find a good price like this, and its for a teenager or someone with a smaller budget. Make sure you get a warranty on it though! It will save you money in the long run!

Pros: On a scale of 1-10...acceleration(6), top-speed(3), comfort(8), looks(7), handles/turning(10), overall(7).
Cons: clunky shifts, brakes go quick, low hp/torque, interior not great.

I love this car. It handles extremely well even after 3yrs, one miniscule accident, and 50 thousand miles later, had only one recall on the engine fan(that was free when replaced at the dealer), holds a strong position as one of the best fuel efficient cars of 2002; of 2005 as well, and is an overall excellent car to own. Excellent; however, isn't perfect. Even when I had bought the car new, i felt Mitsubishi held back on what they could have put into the car, just an extra 5% more could of made it a 100. That lonely 5% has to be on the clunky shifts through gears, the ever so low 120hp; which to my car was immediately changed, and the 20k mile; turned into a loud whistle, of my brake pads. "Now whats up with that?" Other than that you have a whole 95% to smile about, even for me after 3 years.