Raring to go
The Mitsubishi Lancer is an attractive rival to the Toyota Corolla.
The Lancer's grill and headlights give it the looks of a mythological monster.
Just because your dad swears by white Corollas and cheers for the Cheetahs doesn’t mean you have to do the same. Believing in a practical, affordable car is no reason to settle for something boring. Consider the Mitsubishi Lancer 2.0 GLS. It seems to be a car that balances practical considerations and exciting performance.
Its predecessor was so low-key that you probably didn’t even know it existed. Traditionally, Mitsubishi family sedans have not secured themselves a place in the limelight.
There’s a reason bank robber André Stander escaped in a Ford Cortina XR6 and not in a… er… Mitsubishi Colt Galant. And I challenge you to picture a Mitsubishi Tredia. Do you remember what it looks like? Hmm, neither can we.
So, will the new Mitsubishi Lancer make its mark?
Read on...
What do you get for your money?
A four-door sedan that is spacious and comfortable enough for four adults and one restless child. It’s in the same league as the VW Jetta and Toyota Corolla, but offers better value.
The 2-litre Lancer will set you back R185 000, compared with R194 200 for the 1.8-litre Corolla Advanced. Other two-litres, such as the Ford Focus Trend sedan, cost R200 000 and more.
The Lancer comes with a two-year or 100 000 km guarantee and a five-year or 100 000 km service plan.
What’s the interior like?
The dashboard is fuss-free, but the plastic feels harder and cheaper than that of the class-leading VW Jetta. The radio-CD player is easy to use and can be controlled from the steering wheel, something that’s taken for granted in this class – as are the height-adjustable steering wheel and vertically adjustable driver seat.
The Lancer’s seats are comfortable, but back support doesn’t seem adequate. The dark fabric won’t show dirt easily. As a consolation prize, the gear lever and steering wheel are leather-upholstered.
Passengers shorter than Pierre Spies – 1,94 m – should be comfortable on the back seat. Two armrests with cup-holders fold down from the middle of the back seat.
Under the bonnet?
The Lancer is nippy. It has an “intelligent” 2-litre engine that gives you more torque when you’re pulling away. It also delivers more power when you have to accelerate – to overtake a BMW, for example. Unfortunately, this doesn’t help much where fuel economy is concerned, although it’s hardly a guzzler (one test gave it 9,72 ℓ//100 km).
When you drive faster than 120 km/h in fifth gear, you sometimes wish you had a sixth gear, like the Corolla does, so the engine would pipe down a bit. However, the Lancer beats the Corolla when it comes to power – it delivers 14 kW more (to make 114kW) and 24 Nm more torque (199Nm).
How spacious is it?
320 liters (the contents of four largish hiking packs) is biggish, but smaller than the Corolla’s 368 litre boot. The rear seat folds flat if you need extra space.
And safety?
The brakes are definitely one of the Lancer’s strong points. It fared better in topCars brake test than the Honda Civic and Honda Elantra did. Naturally, it has anti-locking brakes (ABS) and electronic brake-force distribution (EBD). The latter means it distributes the braking strength among the four wheels so the car doesn’t slide sideways if one tyre hits an oily or sandy spot.
The Lancer also has safer and more comfortable independent rear suspension than the torsion bar type of the Corolla. Despite only having two air bags in front, the Lancer did well in the Australian crash tests, and got five stars.
You won’t have to buy an alarm and an immobiliser – the Lancer already has these.
We liked:
The Lancer is attractive, as if there were Italian genes somewhere in its ancestry, and Mitsubishi has an excellent record for reliability.
This niggled:
We didn’t like the engine noise at high speed – it needs a sixth gear.
GO! says: The Lancer offers more bang for your buck than the pricier Toyota Corolla. What you get is sporty handling and performance, and a break from the norm.
(Note: Prices accurate in September 2008)
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