Penang: Air-trekking

 Air-Trekking

Penang - Tuesday 27/6/23 - Yesterday's plans can finally come into fruition, and damn do I hope that it will smoothly.

The previous day was riddled with unlucky factors that made viewing potential cars for purchase impossible. Horribly heavy rain and a late time to exit the house made it inconceivable to travel to the Mainland to look for a car. But today, its looking right for us to proceed.

What's the car in question?

We're looking at a 2004 Mitsubishi Airtrek.

As my father would be surprised that I even conceived the idea of a SUV, I understood that there really wasn't a better option.

You see, there runs a criteria within the family when choosing a car.

My father doesn't really care what's driven but has a non-overwhelming preference of a classic.

My mother wants a SUV or something with a prestigious badge on it.

I, being the average boring car-hater, want an old, performance car.

As I am me, I talk based on my viewpoints, and I knew that my father and my criterias couldn't fulfill that of my mother's.

From: A Lad in Penang: Day 6: Refresher to childhood

Back in December, we'd been in a car hunt, looking at coupes, but we ultimately figured out that it just wasn't possible for all of us to fit comfortably inside a coupe as a family.

It hit me, that there could be one car that would bridge all of our gaps, a SUV, with performance, and is almost 20 years old (Or already is for older models).

Having presented the idea to a stunned man who couldn't believe his son had just offered him a bloody SUV to look, took the idea and threw his other cars as a second option.

Come today and even before we started driving out. Gloomy weather.

Come five minutes later.

Not very good.

Oddly, the rain came and went in different places, meaning extremely terrible visibility and decently clear the next.

Butterworth giving a slight foreshadow of what's to come.

Very gloomy but clear weather on one hand.

Brrrrrrrrrr the next

Well, too late to back out now.

The weather subsided.

The road cleared out.

A Daihatsu Charade.

Not too long after, we reached where the Airtrek was located.

And so, here it is, WAY DIFFERENT from the original photos.

Regardless, it does actually not look modified and is decently stock.

Save for a few (or several) cosmetic imperfections, this car was in particularly good nick.

Although Mitsubishi at this point in their era was already starting to look cheap, I do actually like this interior lots.

From the simplicity to the materials and design, its a pretty nice looking interior.

Shoot, its even more comfortable than the Toyota Innova that we kept using when here in Penang.

The heart of the beast, the 4G63T. Although this is a detuned variant of the engine, having a smaller TD04 turbo that from factory should be very responsive and less aggressive cams, it is still a 4G63T. The same engine found in the legendary Mitsubishi Evolution.

Anyways, at this point, we already noted a few issues. The sunroof motor was shot as is the front brakes causing squeaking sounds when the car was pulled in under shelter as it began raining again.

Noting the aftermarket SARD intercooler, boost gauge of unknown provenance and Apexi turbo timer, there really was not much else that was added. Apart from the stripes and side decals, that is.

Driving the car lead to more discoveries. The engine and transmission were in good condition, but the turbo?

Not so good. An audible leak, and the boost gauge was showing what is effectively severely under expected boost.

Either the boost gauge is highly inaccurate or the boost leak is absolutely massive.

Otherwise, its still a plenty quick car. The 5-Speed Tiptronic should but be underestimated, for it still hauls with minimal clunks and a quick shift.

Cornering is pretty decent as a SUV as well, although unsurprising given the model in question is the performance Turbo (R?) model.

A quick review by the missus later and the verdict was unanimous; everyone liked it.

What I thought was factory wheels turned out to be 2017 Mazda CX-5 wheels.
It needs to be said however that these are the same width as the factory item.

I suspect a OEM Ralliart Exhaust, which I could be wrong about.

More news will come about this car in the next entry.

Two Renault Espace's, only on in frame.

The dream, Proton Satria GTi

Thailand-Registered Honda City

Toyota Corolla
Yes that one you see as a meme

Audi A1

Suzuki Jimny, the second of this generation of the trip.

Porsche Cayman

BMW E46 alongside a Peugeot (God knows what)

And I'll cut it short here. Having finished this just barely over 12 am and a flat battery, this is all that there is. I hope to see you readers tomorrow. Goodbye!

~Efini