Test drive Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 2005 - 2007 sedan
The future has already come
You will also understand this when you see the new Lancer. I realized this in Moscow at the MIMS-2006. True, then it was still a prototype named Concept-X. Then it seemed to me that if this miracle reaches Russia officially, at least with small changes, even large corporations for their junior managers would stop buying other brands. Not to mention retail sale.
Will we measure the muscles?!
Compared to the previous one, the new Lancer has become 35 longer, higher by 40 and the shoulders more than 65 mm. The loser remains to hope that the newcomer has other, more important muscles atrophy.
And so he arrived without spectacular air intakes in the hood, but no less aggressive and therefore wildly attractive. The front of the Lancer is especially severe: the evil bevel of the headlights and the torn mouth of an inverted trapezoid-heater beast! Without changes, inherited from Concept-X.
The rear lights in size and slope repeat the design of the front ones, and through their transparent glasses, multi -colored rounds of lights are visible.
By the way, in the dark they look especially advantageous! The body seemed to cling to the asphalt: on the top version, Intense, the clearance is reduced to 150 mm (instead of 165 mm in other modifications). And the anti-wing and 16-inch discs are here so that you hear a voice: hey, if you are going to drive, then I'm the right choice!. It’s not that I often hear the extraneous voices of Lancer that set of characters (2.0 l, 150 h., Anti -wing, aggressive appearance, sprinkled suspension), which does not leave the second option, the car is created for drive and speed.
Sometimes you have to sacrifice In the work on the car, engineers regularly compromise: handling is dull for the benefit of comfort, visibility worsen for the sake of safety and a small luggage of Lancer owes a rather spacious salon.
Prices
The base Lancer with a 1.5-liter 109-horsepower engine costs 482 132 rubles. The base includes ABS with EBD, air conditioning, steering wheel power power, heating the seats, audio training, airbags for the driver and the front passenger. A two -liter sedan will cost 539 752 rubles.
The three-spoke steering wheel, colleague devices, decoration of the salon under chrome and the titanian tells me something that something is really powerful is controlled from here.
The salon is decorated very stylishly, but in fact the materials are inexpensive, and the fitting of the details is not perfect.
The instrument panel is clearly visible between the steering knitting needles, but the indications of the display (at the top of the central console) are visible only in the dark. Note to the tuners: over it to hang a visor above The seats in Lancer are hard, but the back after a two -hour dough answered with grateful silence. But lateral support is still not enough: in particularly steep turns, I had to hold behind the wheel.
The steering wheel itself is cool: a three -spoke, with a heavily configured amplifier, covered with skin and with music control buttons. Only the fact that the steering wheel was not tuned in departure was a little upset. Even in our (top) configuration.
Growing in dimensions was directly proportional to the increase in space in the cabin. Logical, isn't it?! Now Lancer is practically not inferior to the much larger Outlander XL, and perhaps even wins in sight.
The spaces of the rear sofa of an obedient for two are enough for three. True, the trunk of 315 liters is inferior to more than 100 liters of compartments of the sedan Mazda3, Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus. But you have to sacrifice something?
Big but weak heart In the number of horses per square meter of the engineering space, Lancer also devoted Focus (145) and, moreover, Corolla (125), except for Mazda3. But in the acceleration (according to the passport) up to 100 km/h of a dozen with a variator loses to all two -liters of the class!
World Engine series motor with a capacity of 150 liters. With. Made in conjunction with Daimlerchrysler with an eye on America. Here the variator acts as a transmission. Its practical advantage is undeniable: no shocks, jerks, rocks, throws and nods when switching speeds.
When typing, you feel only one long-and-and-and-and-and-and-and-and-and-nin gear, which does not switch up. Funny and a little unusual sensation! But the sound of the upper revolutions does not bother, and the activity of the motor can only be seen by the dull creeps of the speedometer arrows. However, still the speed grows rapidly, but very smoothly
The manual transmission mode is useful to those who want to revive the illusion of manual overclocking control. But this is visibility. And it does not affect acceleration at all.
The formidable appearance of Lancer was deceptive. It intrigues and causes associations with Evolution. But the newcomer turned out to be a rather boring city sedan with a non -residential engine, an overly smooth checkpoint and an impenetrable suspension.
But if the absence of a drive is a sin to rejoice, then any city sedan will envy the energy intensity of Lancer pendants. And on a straight line it stands like a monorail toy electric car! But with the same force with which the new Mitsu extinguishes road irregularities, he exterminates any desire to swing when he enters the turn. Brows and inhibition in reactions are in doubt sports.
True, I expected other things to those who dreamed of Evolution, but cannot afford the tenth, I advise you not to look for a compromise in the new city Lancer, but to take a used ninth or eighth Evo ...
On the other hand, to be safe, it is not necessary to know karate. It is enough to be a bodybuilder or put bags of cotton in a sleeve, where there should be biceps in the city, you do not need to have three hundred horses under the hood. It is enough for the car to look like they really are there. So it is also safer, which means that you can not worry for the future.
Special opinion Compare the new and now old (that is, the ninth) Lancer God himself ordered me. Both are in short supply, both are very interesting from a financial point of view. And most importantly, for almost a year now I am the owner of the Lancer IX with a 1.6 engine. So think: have I hastened with a choice? Maybe it was worth waiting for half a year
The fact that the new Lancer is spectacular than the predecessor what is outside, what is inside is quite obvious. And this is an undoubted plus for the car. Of course, there will be those who like the calm style of a car that has come down from the assembly line, well, without exception, nowhere.
In addition, this is very relevant, Lancer X is simply larger, and which is especially important. Sitting in the ninth lancera on the back sofa, he was terribly envious of the owners of Focus: they had about 10 extra centimeters in their shoulders. Now, the indicators, and most importantly, the sensations in this component were trimmed.
But in driving comfort the advantage of the new Lancer over the old is small. In my opinion, the only obvious achievement of the tenth is a more energy -intensive suspension, responding to the bumps of the road with less twitching, although it is also noisy. On a relatively flat direct advantage, this is very noticeable.
But in general, the chassis settings in the ninth Lancer are more organic. Yes, this is a sedan with some sports bias, but nothing more. The tenth is originally more charged, and this sensation is indirectly emphasized by the appearance of the machine, and the engine of the engine, and the sensitive reaction to the gas pedal, but the steering wheel is no more acute, the rolls in the turns are more significant, and the feeling of impeccable sports harmony does not occur.
I will make a reservation: a serious discount should be made, firstly, on the difference in the engines, and secondly, on the box (my Lancer with mechanics; the variator significantly reduces racing sensations).
Philip Berezin, chief editor of the Wheel magazine
The car was provided by Rolf, an official dealer of Mitsubishi Motors
Text: Alexander Sigalo
Photo: Author and Mitsubishi Motors
Source: Wheel magazine [No. 118/2007]
