kung ako papipiliin sa lancer boxtype na ako, ngaun lang naman sumikat yang toyota xl4, ilang years pa, disposable na yan, di mo na marerestore yan, ang boxtype kahit ilang taon, puede mo modified and restore, sa 4 speed kahit tumakbo pa yan ng 130km.hr hindi pa rin aabot sa lancer boxtype yan, tested ko na yan, gusto honda civic pa ang ikarera mo sa lancer boxtype, kahit 16valve pa yan,di aabot yan, madali pa maintenance ng lancer, matibay pa makina, kung ako lang ang masusunod..
I also had a lancer box type ... SL 1.4 mt RWD. Darn that car was good. Neither my following lancer nor my 97 Civic could compare handling-wise for me. And TS was 165 pag medyo downhill. Kung patag 160 kaya pa din at the time with minor bolt-on mods like my 4-1 headers.
AFAIK, internal parts are still available but trim parts are next to impossible. It's worth getting IMHO but only if you have a lot of time, money, and expertise.
i had a box type Lancer SL for 10 years! worked just fine and i actually miss driving it. it didn't give any major problem except that, like all cars, we had to deal with wear and tear. we had to shift to the Space Wagon since the family got bigger.
xl4 ka na. easy & cheap maintenance. dami parts yan.
Ako I own toyota corolla 1996 model. hanggang ngayon tibay at sobrang kintab. CASA maintained kasi. Kapag xl4 binili mo, sure ako tatagal pa yan basta maalaga ka lang at wag masyadong lalaspagin.