2008 Mitsubishi Endeavor Styling

STYLING | 7 out of 10

It’s been toned down a bit, but the 2008 Mitsubishi Endeavor is still controversially bold outside and in.

“From beak to flamboyant wing fenders to angular tail plumage…Endeavor stands out,” said Car and Driver back at the vehicle’s introduction in 2004. Whether the Endeavor stands out in a positive way is most certainly in the eye of the beholder, but given its mediocre sales, perhaps the jury has spoken. One harsh critique comes from MyRide.com, who pronounce the Endeavor “a visually distressing hodgepodge of metal, glass, and plastic.” Yet another originates with the cynics at Jalopnik, who say the Endeavor’s “once-radical styling has already made a quick plunge to dated and come out on the ‘they still make those?’ side of the prestige curve.” But Kelley Blue Book offers a stark contrast to all the criticism: “with its chiseled good looks and tall body, the 2008 Mitsubishi Endeavor stands apart from the mundane 'overgrown station wagon' crowd.”

Though still on the avant-garde side, the interior is generally better received than the exterior. “The visual onslaught continues inside,” claims Car and Driver: “the easily read main instruments sit under a binnacle and glow blue at night but are otherwise ordinary.” Says Automobile of the Endeavor in an eight-SUV comparison, “the unique interior is the most modern in our octet and has a refreshing, airy feel…the Endeavor comes across as a hip refuge for the individualist.” MyRide.com calls it “funky but ergonomically sound,” and Edmunds notes that “the edgy interior design was subdued last year, when the silver center stack that looked like a boom box from 1987 was changed to black -- a polarizing change, to be sure.” But they still feel that the dash offers “more visual excitement than many vehicles in this utilitarian class provide.”

Conclusion