Picture Gallery: 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer DE
Day 1:
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The 2008 Lancer was revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in January, and its aggressive stance and sharp looks garnered praise from almost all who attended. The new Lancer really is a huge step up in the styling department from the previous generation. And with Mitsubishi’s promise to bring the EVO to Canada, Mitsubishi proves they are serious about our market, now more than ever.
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Lucky for me, my test model also comes with the standard 5-speed manual transmission, which is mated to Mitsubishi’s DOHC, 16-valve 2.0L in-line four cylinder engine that produces 152 hp at 6,000 rpm and 146 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,250 rpm.
Only slightly less expensive than the Cobalt I test drove a few weeks ago, the Lancer comes packaged with a very similar set of features. Add an automatic transmission to the Lancer and you are essentially at the same price range. At first glance it seems like the Lancer is missing a few features that were present in my Cobalt tester, the most obvious being keyless entry, which one would think would be standard across the board these days.
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer
MSRP as tested: $19,643
For more information on Mitsubishi and the Lancer visit Mitsubishi Canada
Day 2:
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The black seats are constructed of a soft material that tends to attract a good amount of cat fur, but they are nice and firm and comfortable. I would like a little more side bolster support though, or perhaps just firmer bolsters, as they are rather soft and easy deformable.
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Lack of any type of arm rest in the middle and the door arm rests being a little too low means leaving your hands at ten and two at all times, which can be a little tiring on the back and legs.
The rear seating quarters are fairly roomy, with well sculpted seating areas for the outside positions, leaving a large hump in the middle for the poor soul that draws the short straw. Head room is adequate and about average for this type of vehicle and three child safety anchors are provided on the parcel shelf.
The interior, although minimalistic, is very functional, with easy-to-reach radio controls and good-sized HVAC controls. And although the interior is somewhat monotonous in colour, it does have a nice textured trim piece that slightly resembles carbon fiber. I doubt this was the intent, but it works well. The fit and finish is slightly sub par and not up to 2007, or in this case 2008, standards, in my opinion. Where the passenger airbag cover meets the dash the gap is jagged and uneven; also, there seem to be too many different pieces, which could be the cause of the poor fit and finish.
Day 3:
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Not that there is anything wrong with having a soft ride. For the average consumer, the ride is ideal, with good compliance and a comfortable cruising feel. When pushed, the Lancer DE quickly loses grip. I was able to induce under steer without really trying very hard. Perhaps the Yokohama Avid S34 all-season tires are partly to blame for the low grip levels.
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The manual shifter feels solid and falls into place with a firm and satisfying snap; clutch feel is just about right and not as rubbery as some small sedans I have driven, and not so heavy as to tire your left leg out if you get stuck in traffic. Torque also seems plentiful enough to cruise in second gear without bogging the engine if you are stuck in a traffic jam.
From the outside, I noticed the engine is somewhat noisy at idle; inside the car, though, this cannot be heard. At higher speeds on the highway, the Lancer’s engine is more noticeable than some of its competition — namely the Cobalt and Mazda3 — but keep the speeds below 110km/h and this is not really an issue.
Day 4:
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I averaged about 9.5L/100km during my week with the Lancer; a lot of that was 80km/h speed-limited roads with many lights, which make up my daily commute. That average is similar to what I achieve with other vehicles in this class, so I would say in real world driving, the Lancer is competitive in terms of fuel economy figures.
The one very surprising attribute of the Lancer is its use of space. From the outside the lancer looks rather small, but on the inside I found leg and head room to be great. Somehow, Mitsubishi managed to also find a good amount of room for the trunk as I was able to stuff two very large tires in there today with no problem.
Coupled with the styling of this new-generation Lancer and with the anticipation of the Lancer EVO, I expect Mitsubishi’s sales to increase over the next year. This new Lancer and the new Outlander, which I should be reviewing in the near future, are raising the bar for this brand. Mitsubishi often gets overlooked as their dealer network is fairly small, but they are producing some very competitive vehicles; I for one will not be surprised if I see more and more of these on the roads everyday.
*Rating out of 5:
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*Rating based on vehicle’s classification
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer
MSRP as tested: $19,643
For more information on Mitsubishi and the Lancer visit Mitsubishi Canada
May 17, 2007, 07:56:18 am
Just yesterday, I saw a very clean Mazda GLC Sport 3-door. It had the factory alloys, so it wasn't an '81, but somewhere between '82 and '85. I owned a '82 5-door, but that was a 225$ beater I used for 4 winters. The Mazda 3 is today's GLC. What Mazda needs here is the new Mazda 2. In the old days, they had the 121 (Ford Festiva) below the 323.
May 17, 2007, 10:42:58 am
Just yesterday, I saw a very clean Mazda GLC Sport 3-door. It had the factory alloys, so it wasn't an '81, but somewhere between '82 and '85. I owned a '82 5-door, but that was a 225$ beater I used for 4 winters. The Mazda 3 is today's GLC. What Mazda needs here is the new Mazda 2. In the old days, they had the 121 (Ford Festiva) below the 323.
The 121 (Festiva) was actually built under license from KIA.
May 17, 2007, 11:05:56 am
Just yesterday, I saw a very clean Mazda GLC Sport 3-door. It had the factory alloys, so it wasn't an '81, but somewhere between '82 and '85. I owned a '82 5-door, but that was a 225$ beater I used for 4 winters. The Mazda 3 is today's GLC. What Mazda needs here is the new Mazda 2. In the old days, they had the 121 (Ford Festiva) below the 323.
The 121 (Festiva) was actually built under license from KIA.
IIRC, Kia built it under licence from Mazda. It probably had Kia badges locally, but it was the Mazda 121. Also saw a Festiva yesterday, by coincidence, and a clean one !
May 17, 2007, 11:13:01 am
Just yesterday, I saw a very clean Mazda GLC Sport 3-door. It had the factory alloys, so it wasn't an '81, but somewhere between '82 and '85. I owned a '82 5-door, but that was a 225$ beater I used for 4 winters. The Mazda 3 is today's GLC. What Mazda needs here is the new Mazda 2. In the old days, they had the 121 (Ford Festiva) below the 323.
The 121 (Festiva) was actually built under license from KIA.
IIRC, Kia built it under licence from Mazda. It probably had Kia badges locally, but it was the Mazda 121. Also saw a Festiva yesterday, by coincidence, and a clean one !
May 17, 2007, 11:35:31 am James,
You mention the engine being noisy at cruising speeds. Can you tell the RPM with the manual transmission at 100 and 120 km/h?
Another case of a car turning too fast with the manual transmission as opposed to the CVT/Auto?
May 17, 2007, 11:50:35 am Yes about 3250rpm maybe as high as 3500 at 120km/h
May 17, 2007, 12:32:37 pm Is this the same 2.4 as the prior gen motor? HP rating is lower than the 160 I have. I can agree about the volume - it can be quite raucous when accelerating but quiet when cruising.
I'm curious about the rpm on mine now.......have to check!
May 17, 2007, 12:37:00 pm It's a 2.0L power plant in this model.
May 17, 2007, 03:10:36 pm
Not interested in any car until they drive it into a wall, and take a hit from the side.
When is that happening Mitsu?
http://www.nhtsa.gov/ncap/Index2.cfm
5 stars for front driver, 4 for front passenger, 5 for front-side impact, 4 for rear-side impact.* For comparison, the Civic sedan gets 5, 5, 4, 5 on the same four crash tests, the Jetta gets 4, 4, 5, 5, the Corolla gets 5, 5, 4, 4, and the previous Lancer got 5, 5, 2!!!, 4. So the new Lancer seems just fine to me.
* NHTSA noted a "safety concern" on the rear side impact of the new Lancer: "During the side impact test, the struck side rear door became unlatched and swung open."
As for the IIHS, the 2008 Lancer gets a perfect score for frontal impacts:
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=811
But they haven't tested side impacts yet.
May 17, 2007, 03:45:57 pm The Lancer is only 171 inches long.
That's kind of short for a compact nowadays.
May 17, 2007, 04:06:18 pm
That's kind of short for a compact nowadays.
I acutally found the rear leg room to be quite decent. Don't know about the trunk, though.
May 18, 2007, 01:18:00 am I see you gave a low mark for the interior. Anything in particular you did not like other than being de-contented like the rest of the base models in this class?
May 18, 2007, 09:59:26 am Fit and finish is not the best, gaps are uneven and the edges are not clean, probably one of the worst I have witnessed in a while actually.
May 18, 2007, 10:36:24 am Thanks. I sat in a GTS in the showroom and it looked nice overall, but I didn't look close enough to the details. What I noticed though is that there is no isolation on the hood. I think that could help to lower the engine noise. I wonder why didn't they put it in place?
Great review BTW. Looking forward to reading your take on the Outlander and maybe Lancer GTS w/manual.
Any plans to test the Lancer on the track for some performance numbers?
May 18, 2007, 10:46:41 am No track plans, and I'm not sure I will get a GTS but I will be getting an Outlander in a few weeks (mid June I believe)
May 18, 2007, 10:58:46 am Do you know which Outlander are you getting?
May 18, 2007, 11:45:39 am Nope, find out when I get it.
May 18, 2007, 10:47:11 pm
Not interested in any car until they drive it into a wall, and take a hit from the side.
When is that happening Mitsu?
http://www.nhtsa.gov/ncap/Index2.cfm
5 stars for front driver, 4 for front passenger, 5 for front-side impact, 4 for rear-side impact.* For comparison, the Civic sedan gets 5, 5, 4, 5 on the same four crash tests, the Jetta gets 4, 4, 5, 5, the Corolla gets 5, 5, 4, 4, and the previous Lancer got 5, 5, 2!!!, 4. So the new Lancer seems just fine to me.
* NHTSA noted a "safety concern" on the rear side impact of the new Lancer: "During the side impact test, the struck side rear door became unlatched and swung open."
As for the IIHS, the 2008 Lancer gets a perfect score for frontal impacts:
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=811
But they haven't tested side impacts yet.
Hey - thanks - I've been tracking these sites and waiting.. these results are pretty fresh.
Too bad about that rear door popping open.. that's gotta hurt confidence in buyers.
May 22, 2007, 01:14:09 pm hmm, so based on everything we've read so far it looks like the Civic, Mazda 3 and Corolla are still the better cars....
May 22, 2007, 01:17:03 pm It's been awhile since I have driven the Corolla butnot sure I would put it in that list anymore it's getting a wee bit old.
The Cobalt was pretty good as well
May 31, 2007, 03:43:51 pm My daughter is wanting to buy a 2008 lancer, she is currently in a lease with a Kia which still has 6 months on it and she is 17000 over in KM's. The dealer will buy her card back but the deal for the base model Lancer with them buying back the car will cost her $452.00 per month. I feel this is not going to help her financially or buy an older model car or a cheaper car.. anyone have any ideas out there.
Maggi
May 31, 2007, 04:20:37 pm
Maggi
If she's leasing again, the depreciation on the Mitsu may be greater than the Mazda3/Corolla/Civic pushing monthly payment higher. Not sure.
May 31, 2007, 10:00:16 pm Maggi, sounds like your daughter is falling into 2 traps.
1) The dealer is potentially taking advantage of her situation, the dealer "buying her out" is not getting her anything chances are she would be better off paying the fees on the Kia or even better buying out the Kia.
2) If she is 17,000km over and wants to lease again she might want to double check her mileage estimates or she will fall into this same trap again. You did say buy, so I hope she is looking to buy and not lease the Mitsu.
June 01, 2007, 09:21:07 am
1) The dealer is potentially taking advantage of her situation, the dealer "buying her out" is not getting her anything chances are she would be better off paying the fees on the Kia or even better buying out the Kia.
2) If she is 17,000km over and wants to lease again she might want to double check her mileage estimates or she will fall into this same trap again. You did say buy, so I hope she is looking to buy and not lease the Mitsu.
June 03, 2007, 07:57:21 pm
The Cobalt was pretty good as well
It is getting old ,but out of most of the compact cars that are newer in design ,the corolla is still more fuel efficient than any of them.