| Week at the Wheel | Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback |
Inside & Out:
There's no doubting the impact of the Lancer Sportback's styling - accentuated by the retina punishing electric blue of our test car. It's bold, benefiting in no small part from the aggressive nose of the more serious Lancers, while the hatchback styling offers 95 percent of the practicality of an estate without the right-angled rear profile. The spoiler at the trailing edge of the roof isn't to all tastes, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if that beholder happened to be male then much of the feedback was positive.
Interior wise Mitsubishi continues to struggle in comparison to the class benchmarks. The dashboard layout is neat and businesslike, but the aesthetics leave a little to be desired and the switchgear, from stalks to heater controls, all look rather cheap, although they operate nicely enough; the devil is in the detail. More fundamental is the comfort of the seats, or lack of. After an hour or so at the wheel numb-bum syndrome had taken a firm hold in the driver's seat - there's not an awful lot of under thigh or lateral support.
Engine & Transmission:
The VW-derived diesel is strong enough in terms of performance, dealing up its near-140bhp with enthusiasm, but it is very vocal and venturing around the full extent of the tachometer isn't an enticing experience. Unfortunately the installation in the Lancer is noisy and harsh with a large amount of vibration transmitted via the driving controls and the seats - a real shame and very noticeable over a long period of time. Six ratios allow full exploitation of the torque on offer and keep engine speeds down on the motorway in order to yield competitive economy in the region of 40mpg - the gearbox shifts nicely enough too, though reverse is on the notch-y side and sometimes requires a second effort to engage.
Ride & Handling:
A purposeful exterior always suggests an engaging drive, but the Sportback shies away from the outright g-force assault on offer in hardcore Lancers in favour of a more comfortable and sedate approach. The ride quality, whilst still firm, is appreciably better than the Evo's and is a much more accomplished travelling companion. However it still lags behind the composure of European rivals. Handling-wise it's average, but no more. While the Yokohama rubber offers high levels of grip, the rest of the chassis isn't so keen to come out to play.
Equipment, Economy & Value for Money:
Trim and equipment levels are generous in the Lancer with the GS3 model including climate control, electric everything and a hefty stereo. Servicing intervals are reasonable and the competitive economy will keep everyday costs down. In terms of purchase price, a two-minute trawl of the Internet interestingly revealed negligible savings over the list price. In this case an ex-demo model, available at around £12,500 would seem the best way forward.
The Lancer is a difficult car to place in the market, spanning as it does - in physical terms - the B and C sectors. It undercuts more prestigious - and more capable - offerings from Ford, VW
et al by a few thousand pounds. However, realistically when comparing the Lancer to rivals one should be consider cars such as the
Kia cee'd and
Hyundai i30, though it is a little bigger than both. These represent fierce competition, if a little lacking in the visual drama of the Lancer.
Overall:
Launch of the Lancer Sportback is a positive move for Mitsubishi. It's a step forward over previous offerings, but still lacks the overall appeal of more accomplished mainstream competition. As something different it certainly has its merits; unfortunately these are mainly superficial.