Returning to Queensland soon and will be getting a secondhand van. Everyone will say get a Toyota Hiace, and with good reason, but they seem overpriced.
A lot of Mitsubishi Expresses around that seem better value for money, but I have always thought there was a question mark over quality/durability. Does anyone have an opinion on whether they would be a good van or just likely to blow smoke, leak oil, and generally fall apart etc. Thinking about the 2.4 litre models.
I've got a 96 Mitsubishi Delica so I can't comment directly on the Expresses. However at work they have a fairly new Express, a 2011 model or something like that.
The funny thing is my van seems like a van from the 90s or even early naughties. The Express is like a van from the 80s.
Those Delicas are pretty much a Pajero with a van body dropped on top. Not a bad bus at all and pretty cheap. Go ok in the dirt, much the same as a Paj. The 3 litre petrol is the same as the Magna motor, pretty bulletproof and nice and torquey. Watch oil consumption on higher k ones. The 2.8TD is the same as the Paj, good old donk but a little underpowered for a bus of that size.
The secret with these grey imports is when you need a part, remove the part you need and go to Repco etc and hold it up and say "I need one of these" If you try to tell them you need an oil filter etc for a Delica chances are you'll end up with the wrong bit as it won't show up on their parts list.
Unless you go to a Delica specialist and then you'll pay 64thousand dollars for the oil filter that would've cost $6.40 from Repco. This is speaking from my experience with Nissan Terrano, aka Pathfinder but sharing very little in parts with the Oz model.
As a mechanic, i personally hate mitsubishi's especially any that were built in Australia,
Delica's seem to go ok but i have never worked on one, but i will say that anyone i have ever talked to who owned an Express said it was a POS. and i would have to concur after working on a few.
ask yourself whats more important,
comfort ( engine and road noise are bad in L300/Express ) safety and reliability,
or
cheap to buy and cheap to fix ( which you may be doing allot of )
that said the Mercedes MB series vans are also rubbish but they were made by ssangyong.
if price is your concern, ide go with a half decent Mazda E2000 or Ford Econovan as long as it has at least some maintenance history and is in reasonable condition, as they are heaps better than a Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi build quality = 
Agreed Mitsi build quality is rubbish.
My Challenger is problems that no Subaru, toyota etc would have at the same age.
As for the 3L petrol (Pajero/Challenger/Deli) being torquey - WTF? On good hard sand driving it is 4000rpm all the way, changing up and down a bit. My mate's 3L TD Patrol or the TD Prado just stays on 2K with a touch of accelerator now and then.
but why do we keep seeing the same custon painted wicked campers all over Australia year after year?
as bad as they are,they dont seem to stop.
theter is a high roof one at our tip at the moment that was driven in still licenced and nobody is willing to offer scrap price 
I've had an express van since 2003 , from new till now 280 kls , no problems at all in 10 years .
Love my Delica, left at the airport for two weeks at a time and I know no-one will steal it while there are other cars to choose from. Always starts and runs well. Does 0-100 in just under a week, but will eventually get there, I'm happy 
Btw, you can get rid of the excess smoke by blanking off the egr valve. Recycling the exhaust will not make the car run well!!
