Tweedehands Mitsubishi Lancer

Mitsubishi built Japan's first series-production car, the Model A, in 1917, but the three diamonds spent most of the century on ships, aircraft and heavy industry. The car company became independent in 1970 and set out to prove itself the hard way: in the desert and on the rally stage.

It succeeded. The Pajero won the Dakar Rally twelve times, more than any other car, and Tommi Mäkinen took four straight world rally titles in the Lancer Evolution, a car that turned a family saloon into a legend. The Outlander PHEV then made Mitsubishi an early pioneer of the plug-in hybrid SUV.

Today Mitsubishi in Europe is part of the Renault-Nissan alliance, with the ASX and Colt built on Renault platforms, the Eclipse Cross and Outlander PHEV carrying the SUV line, and the Grandis returning as a family crossover. Smaller than it was, but still built for the long road.