Test drive Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII 2003 - 2005 sedan

Lancer: Back to the future

Mitsubishi introduced a completely new car under the old name
 
Oh, this is not easy things - to solve two problems at once with one new model: to replace the successful Carisma and revive the no less successful Lancer in the near past. Yes, at the same time, prevent a decrease in customer demand, but, on the contrary, spur interest in the brand. And this is in the closest market segment, where the proposals are not counted, and uncovered demand is possible only in individual Russia. In a word, something special is needed. Which was revealed to reporters during the test drive of the new Mitsubishi Lancer.
 
Going to Finland in the summer is the same as rain in sugar. This year with the weather in our latitudes is definitely not okay. So in the city with the Russian rumor caressing the name of Juvyskyul Lilo, as from a bucket. The good shooting on this day is all one will not work, so I did not bother myself with the choice of color and configuration, but quickly climbed into the first crap car. But he fully appreciated the care of the creators of Lancer about the future owner. Good in the cabin, dry and comfortable.
 
The first thing that caught my eye was white dials on the instrument shield and a familiar Momo sports trunk with metal inserts. Have I been mistaken in a hurry for an hour, and did I get into Lancer Evolution? No, I was not mistaken: you just have to take a closer look, and you will notice many differences. Here, for example, is a large speedometer dial - exactly in the center of the instrument panel, and the tachometer is to the left and smaller (in Evolution, the opposite is true).
The steering column is regulated only in height, but is so successful that it is properly not to take labor. The seat is equipped with all the necessary mechanical adjustments with good ranges. Side support is impressive that it is not surprising, since the first under me was Lancer with the so -called sports package.
It also differs in a 25 mm clearance, more rigid springs and appropriate shock absorber settings. Looking ahead, I’ll say that in such a version the car does not turn into a stool, provides comfort, but it is much easier to control it on the road. Such a package, by the way, can be equipped with both the most powerful 2-liter modification and Lancer with a 1.6-liter engine. So I got a station wagon with a 1.6-liter gasoline engine and a mechanical 5-speed checkpoint.
 
However, I did not come here to enjoy a good sound of a standard audio system, so it's time to go. On the first day, it is not long - only 100 km, however, with two sections of the gravel road. It is allocated for its overcoming for an hour and a half.
 
Rally. Part one, serene
 
One important fact should be noted that largely determined all subsequent events. In time, the test coincided with the national holiday, the name of which does not seem possible. Therefore, there were few cars on the road, and there are plenty of police on the contrary. Gently, trying not to exceed speed restrictions (well, except for twenty kilometers) we overcome a good half of the route, while still smooth asphalt. And we note the good painfulness of the power unit. Its characteristics are quite even, but you get the greatest pleasure when the tachometer arrow floats between 2500 and 4500 rpm. Before and after these borders, the motor is not too responsive to work by the accelerator. Reminously selected gear rates and a short stroke of the gearbox leverage allow mainly selected.
 
According to legend, soon the turn left and ten kilometers over gravel - a section of the famous 1000 lakes from 1985 to 1990. A roadside sign indicates a speed limit of 80 km/h. But the figure seems clearly high in the rain. Wet gravel - that the ice, the adhesion properties of the tires become minimal, especially in ordinary road rubber. Meanwhile, this does not interfere with the perfectly feeling what is happening under the wheels, the engineers seriously worked on steering and pendants. To merge with a car into one, to feel like a participant in a rally -raid - all this is Lancer, especially with sports settings of pendants, allows us to. It is significant that even with rigid springs and shock absorbers, on gravel, the feeling of comfort inside does not disappear.
 
Turn - the car is desperately trying to stay on slippery ground, but you just have to drop the gas a little, it begins to be added. Lancer fully demonstrates the features of the front -wheel drive. Add gas a little, adjust the trajectory with the steering wheel - and the car will obediently pull out, it seems, from the most difficult situation. If you act accurately, not to bury, Lancer is able to give true pleasure from driving. In addition, this model does not have any stabilization systems, so you can only count on yourself and perhaps on ABS, which is installed standardly on all versions.
 
... And the picturesque road conquered me. For these ten and a little kilometers, I managed to feel almost Tommy Cyakkinnen, who at one time famously managing the racing Lancer here. Here ahead of the hill, in fact that turned out to be a springboard - the suspension was unloaded in the blink, and the wheels even broke away a little from the ground. But the landing, surprisingly, occurred softly, and the suspension, as they say, did not even break. Again, the turn is a skid, I add gas, I correct the trajectory with a steering wheel, and Lancer passes a turn along a beautiful arc. It seems that these roads are simply created in order to educate magnificent riders. However, it is enough to impersonate the athlete and scare the animals of the quiet Finnish forest by the roar of the power unit.
 
Rally. Part two, terrible
 
On the second day, nothing foreshadowed trouble - it was surprisingly warm and sunny, the birds chirped, and colleagues blinked blissfully, deciding that the summer finally reached these latitudes. One of them I gave way to the wheel of a calm sedan with a 1.6 engine and an automatic checkpoint. True, I was immediately alerted by his frankly fighting attitude and ongoing experiments with a manual gear mode, which is equipped with a new machine. It is noteworthy that at the same time, even if the maximum speed is reached and the engine rested on an electronic limiter, you need to switch to an increased level on your own.
 
While the colleague is frolic on the road, I have enough time to evaluate the salon of this version of Lancer. The equipment is almost standard. The instrument shield is completely different - black, with oval speedometer and tachometer. The finish of the instrument panel is simpler, but it does not inspire boredom, and certainly does not look cheap. The chairs have less developed lateral support, but it is convenient to sit in them - you don’t feel fatigue. In addition, a softer suspension provides additional comfort. In one section, I decided to check - what is the case with the place for the rear passengers, and was pleasantly surprised.
Frankly, you do not expect such a legs space in a car of a similar class. This Lancer owes a long (2600 mm) wheelbase, it is 50 mm larger than Carisma. And the trunk of the sedan (430 liters) will also not yield to her in capacity. Meanwhile, in the salon only a little quieter than in the station wagon - noise insulation in both versions of Lancer at a height. In addition, the sedan is clearly less prone to the skidding of the stern. In those turns, where on the eve the station wagon was already starting to slide, he held on a well done, clinging to the dry but still insidious coating with all the wheels. Perhaps this is the inadequately evaluated ability of the car and caused what happened an hour later.
 
Perhaps I would not talk about this, if, firstly, I myself did not end up in the car, and secondly, if the incident had not characterized the reliability of Lancer better than any press releases. So, in the next section of the rally 1000 lakes, my colleague openly went over at a speed in a very difficult bunch of turns. The car suffered, and the man sitting at the wheel was clearly not ready for this. Otherwise, I would not have tried to straighten the situation with the steering wheel for the discharge of gas. The accelerator pedal in this case should, on the contrary, should be drowned in the floor. In general, the result was sad: the car deployed the road to the road at a speed of 100 km/h, and we flew into the trees growing on the hill on a hill. The branches softened the blow, but the two front airbags, of course, worked. At that moment, the wheel flew into the boulder, Lancer soared into the air and twice (!) Turning over, froze on his right side. At the time of the coup, from a strong blow to the left side on the soil, the driver's side curtain also worked. I would not want to survive this ...
 
With grief in half, I got out of the car lying on my side and, looking at what was left of the car body, mentally thanked God for the happy salvation. What used to be a silver Lancer turned into a pile of a melted metal, not a single body part survived, and both right tires flew from the disks. But what is amazing: the living space of the salon remains almost the same! Unless the side glasses are broken. This is what the hardness of the body means, competent tuning of the pillows, and in general - the true concern for the safety of the car. I can say with some reason that if this happened with the product of the domestic auto industry, no one would have survived. And so, the driver escaped with small scratches, bruises and a small bruise of internal organs. Of course, I also received bruises, several scratches and the realization that, if there were no safety belt, I could hardly survive.
 
Still goosebumps run through the body, it is worth scrolling through what happened in my head. There was no more terrible and stupid incident in my life. And all, I will allow myself to notice - the driver’s arrogance, his childish desire to impress. He made without proper skills, and most importantly - without special practice of managing a front -wheel drive car. How to do in a particular situation - you cannot subtract in a newspaper or in a book, and this does not come even with many years of experience. We need many hours of training under the guidance of an instructor so that the driver does not only understand what to do, but reacted to the situation reflexively. Taking this opportunity, I want to once again call for scorching, participants in all street racing and other dangerous and ridiculous fun - sensibly evaluate your strength and skill. Well, at least take the courses! Moreover, separately - on the front -wheel drive, rear -wheel drive or all -wheel drive car.
 
However, it was quite sad, especially since after that I had a chance to go to Lancer with the most powerful 2-liter power unit in the range.
 
With a spark!
 
This version can be called the closest to the legendary Evolution without stretch. The acceleration is very confident and frisky, and standardly installed on Lancer 2.0, a sports package allows you to fully use the potential of a 135-horsepower engine. To rush along an empty winding road on such a car is a pleasure! Brakes are at the level, and there are practically no body rolls in corners. After running this car for more than an hour, I finally calmed down, stopped, and the exterior appreciated properly.
 
Of course, the sedan and the station wagon are quite seriously different from each other not only in running qualities, but also externally. Visually, they are perceived, perhaps, as two independent models. Only an expressive front part is related. There are no characteristic details of the Lancer model of the nineties of the last century. Rather, we can talk about the new European style, begun in Outlander. But, the longer I looked at the new car, the more I was strengthened in the thought that the appearance of Lancer looks very friendly. But in the profile, the novelty still resembles the previous model (the station wagon does not count). At the same time, I personally, as a fan of sports notes in design, oddly enough, I liked the station wagon even more. It hides a certain internal aggression. One way or another, and both modifications look quite in the spirit of time, which allows you to count on a good level of sales.
 
Market potential
 
Needless to say - Rolf, the official distributor of Mitsubishi Motors, knows how to sell cars. It is not without reason that Russia appears in seventh place in Europe in terms of sales of cars with three diamonds on the hood. And Rolf is seriously exploring the Rolf market, which is indicated by the table prepared by the company's specialists, which quite eloquently speaks of the prospects of Lancer in our country.
 
It remains to say a few words about prices. The most affordable Lancer with a 1.3-liter engine, in the basic configuration, which includes a power steering, ABS, air conditioning, an electric drive of all glasses and something else, will cost the future owner of $ 13,990. The most expensive version with a 2-liter power unit and with almost a full set of options will cost about 20 thousand.
 
Andrey Osipov
 

Source: "Automobile Izvestia"