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Evo looks, diesel economy. Image by Kyle Fortune.

Evo looks, diesel economy
The Lancer GS4 bears more than a passing resemblance to its Evo X sister, but with a 2.0-litre turbodiesel under the bonnet.

   



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| A Week at the Wheel | Stirling, Scotland | Mitsubishi Lancer 2.0 DI-D GS4 saloon |

Inside & Out: star star star star star

Put your money into a Mitsubishi Lancer saloon in GS4 guise and you'd better be prepared for teenage lads to point and stare, albeit in a surly seen-it-before manner. You see, the GS4 bears more than a passing similarity to the almighty Evo X and most bystanders will mistake you for a rally-bred hero instead of the owner of a sensible mid-size saloon. You'll also have to put up with every other Subaru Impreza driver trying it on at the lights. Whether you can handle this kind of attention comes down to your attitude to the looks of the Lancer GS4. Us? We love it.

On the inside, the Lancer is also much like its high performance sister, with the exception of the steering wheel and the standard seats in place of the sporty bucket type. The dash is simply styled and has a clear cut appearance, but it's let down by the hard, cheap feeling plastics. This doesn't just apply to the dash, as the doors and most of the other interior surfaces are covered in this plastic. Where most of the Lancer's family car rivals now spoil their owners with soft-touch materials, the Mitsubishi's cabin leaves something to be desired in this area. Also, the Lancer's steering wheel only adjusts for height where most rivals offer depth adjustment. On the plus side, rear seat space is good and Mitsubishi's reputation for longevity means the Lancer's cabin should easily cope with family life. However, families may prefer the Sportback version with its rear hatch that is more practical then the four-door saloon.

Engine & Transmission: star star star star star

If this were a petrol model on test, we'd be giving it more stars, but the diesel is just too old fashioned to warrant anything more than the minimum. Sourced from Volkswagen, it seems the Germans have kept all knowledge of how to suppress the 2.0-litre unit's constant grousing. It is incredibly unrefined in an era when many modern diesels are as hushed as their petrol counterparts. Then there's the rushed power delivery that serves up the entire grunt in one big globule rather than the progressive surge found in the best of the Lancer's rivals. It makes the Mitsubishi feel quick, but in reality it's a little slower than much of the competition.

The six-speed manual gearbox is good, but come on Mitsubishi, give us a decent turbodiesel, please.

Ride & Handling: star star star star star

The Lancer GS4 has the looks of the Evo, but has it got the legs? Fortunately, it does and it has loads of usable, predictable grip in both the wet and dry. Head into a corner a bit sharpish and the standard stability control will guide you back on line without drama. Driven within sensible limits, the Lancer saloon offers a precise steer, though you will have to get used to the overly light power assistance for the steering that gives little away in terms of feedback.

Dull steering would be well suited to a car with a cosseting nature, but the Lancer saloon shares the firm ride of the Evo. Sports suspension may help in the corners, but for nipping down the shops or covering miles on the motorway the Mitsubishi is too harsh. It picks up on every ripple in the road surface and treats its occupants to a constant barrage of vibration. Throw in poor wind, engine and road noise suppression and the Lancer is not a very refined choice.

Equipment, Economy & Value for Money: star star star star star

The Lancer GS4 is great value if you want the looks of the Evo X coupled to 45mpg economy. That fuel consumption figure is easy to achieve in normal driving and we found the on-board computer regularly telling us that 50mpg was the norm. The Lancer GS4 is very well fitted out and comes with rear privacy glass, leather seats, heated front seats, CD stereo and satellite navigation. There are also eight airbags - including two for the front occupants' knees - and standard electronic stability control. All of this makes it a better equipped car than most rivals for similar money, and with Mitsubishi's reliability record it makes the Lancer a sound choice for private buyers. Nonetheless, it must be remembered that the car we are testing here is a four-door saloon and UK buyers generally prefer five-door hatches, so this will have a bearing on used values.

However, the 2.0-litre turbodiesel punts out 165g/km of carbon dioxide emissions, where the better cars in the small hatch and family car classes are registering lower values these days.

Overall: star star star star star

Mitsubishi has boxed clever to offer an Evo X lookey-likey with the economy of a diesel for those of use who cannot afford or be bothered with the continual fuel stops demanded by the real deal performance saloon. It has also given the Lancer lots of standard equipment in top spec GS4 trim, so it's an appealing proposition. However, all of this is undermined by the aged 2.0-litre turbodiesel that is just too unrefined. We could live with the firm ride, but this engine's gruffness would make us look elsewhere. Mitsubishi's own turbodiesel engine can't come soon enough.

Alisdair Suttie - 21 Aug 2008



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2008 Mitsubishi Lancer specifications: (2.0 DI-D GS4 saloon)
Price: £18,499 on-the-road.
0-62mph: 9.7 seconds
Top speed: 129mph
Combined economy: 44.8mpg
Emissions: 165g/km
Kerb weight: 1450kg

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Mitsubishi.2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Mitsubishi.2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Mitsubishi.2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Mitsubishi.2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Mitsubishi.

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Mitsubishi.2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Mitsubishi.2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Mitsubishi.2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Mitsubishi.2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Mitsubishi.



2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Kyle Fortune.
 

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Kyle Fortune.
 

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Kyle Fortune.
 

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Mitsubishi.
 

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Mitsubishi.
 

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Mitsubishi.
 

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. Image by Kyle Fortune.
 






 

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