Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X test drive since 2008 sedan

Mitsubishi Lancer

A small story about Tokyo Dostoevsky, Japanese luxury and the new Mitsubishi Lancer.
This is not the first time in Japan, but, of course, I can’t say that I understood this country. The look from the 18th floor of a five-star hotel is unlikely to call deep. When I got here for the first time, I was shocked by the view of the Tokyo Bay with a flying arc of a rainbow bridge and a crowd of various skyscrapers on the opposite shore. Undoubtedly, this is one of the most beautiful urban landscapes of the planet. Secondly, I was struck by roads stretching along multi -tiered, bizarrely wriggling overpasses between futuristic office towers, through the glow of neon advertising of trading streets, over a undergrowth of small buildings. Not a country, but a continuous transport system. And only now my gaze has descended to a chaotic pile of one-, two- and three-story houses, the countless quarters of which, in fact, form a huge Tokyo, in which not one, not two and probably not even three Moscow can dissolve. The more the pettiness of the buildings and streets affects. After all, even local five -story buildings are five tiny rooms placed on each other in a column with a lone basketball ring on a fenced roof.
 
No wonder Dostoevsky is so popular in Japan. In his St. Petersburg, life also stvent in small, coffin rooms. This is where passions boil! But Tokyo is a deliberate city, which Fedor Mikhailovich could not even dream of in a nightmare. Of course, even the poorest Tokyan quarters can not be called slums: neon flame of signs, satellite antennas, multi -colored machine guns selling cigarettes and hot coffee. But the impression of all this is even more strange. Quite solid houses are so small that it seems that you can sleep only diagonally in them. And no architectural excesses. Just roofs, walls, windows and doors. Millions of doors and windows to the very horizon, over which the huge cone of the sleeping volcano rises as a symbol of disaster forever hanging over this city.
 
The Japanese are very closed people. Their true feelings are hidden behind the thousands of ceremonies, bow and smiles. Each house is like a tiny fortress. Entishability here is prohibited everywhere. But for guests Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC), some doors are still opened. And very unusual doors.
The summer house of Mr. Masuko
Trees in Tokyo Extraordinary Phenomenon. The land here is more expensive than money, and you need golden rain to let the roots in it. A little greenery was preserved only around the temples, and even then mostly in the form of dwarf plantations in tubs. There are, however, exceptions. For example, the imperial palace, which, according to a long tradition, cannot be seen behind the trees. The European is strange: the palace is not visible. And for the Japanese, this is the steepness. Relatively close to the invisible palace is another cool mansion of the Mitsubishi guest house.
Once on this hill, which has been called palace since ancient times, there was a suburban residence of Segun. Then the first Prime Minister of Japan settled here. And at the end of the 19th century, the Ivasaki family, founder of Mitsubishi, moved here. The building was built at the beginning of the 20th century according to the project of the British architect. However, it in itself does not represent much interest: a typical English estate of a rather gloomy look and with an incomprehensible turret. A sort of Baskerville Hall. Welcome to Mr. Masuko’s dacha, one of the leaders of the company Rolf, the Russian organizer of this trip, pointing to the President of the MMC Osamu Masuko, who acted as a hospitable host, said. The interior of Mitsubishi’s nearby summer cottage was also not struck by luxury. But here is an English park around a real treasure. From one type of lawn under the balcony at each Japanese should spin the head and freeze the heart. Corporate Park in the center of Tokyo! Undervisible luxury! A symbol of power!
 
Only the most important guests are accepted here. Moreover, the estate of not one MMC, but the entire Mitsubishi Group belongs. And Mitsubishi Group is the flagship of the Japanese economy. This is nuclear energy, space program, electronics, machine tool, chemical industry, banks and much more. Rarely, one of the employees of the company itself is honored to be admitted to this territory. Already according to one fact of our presence here it was possible to judge how important the Japanese believe in the Russian market and how significant the successes of the MMC in this market. The case came to the point that the President of MMC Osamu Masuko made a welcoming speech in Russian, and the event was highlighted in the guest house by the country's largest television channel.
The Russian market is growing faster than we expected, Masuko-san admitted. We take this into account in our plans. In particular, until the end of 2007, a decision should be made whether to be a MMC assembly enterprise in Russia.
 
Another special door, or rather, the gates with the hieroglyph outsider are forbidden, which opened before us the next day, became the checkpoint of the landfill of the Japanese Automobile Research Institute (Jari). Here we finally saw what for which we did a short way to Japan, the new Mitsubishi Lancer.
Real Japanese
The most important impression: the new Lancer looks stunning. No comparison with the previous model, whose calm style has now migrated to Galant. The predatory and focused gaze of the head optics was fixed in the space spreading in front. Shark the mouth of a radiator grill. The wedge -shaped body outlines. Student cut of the stern. This car inspires awe, even at the back of the back, slanting lanterns are so menacingly frowning. This is the very spear that the name of the model hints at, simple, effective and reliable weapons. Warrior of the road. Anti -wing looks appropriate on it, and not funny, as is usually the case.
 
It seems that in the whole segment with the new Mitsubishi Lancer few people will compare in external data. True, there are features that can cause accusations of non -original. For example, the fold on the hood at some corners to pain resembles the branded stamping Volvo. And the rear lights give rise to vague associations with Alfa Romeo. Plagiarism? The Japanese themselves called this phenomenon features of international design. In a word, the new Lancer absorbed all the best and at the same time remained a true Japanese, harsh and restrainedly evil. It even seemed that the creators were somewhat overwhelmed with aggression that this car radiates at any perspective. After all, this is still not a racing car. Where does so much anger in a family sedan come from?
 
The answer is obvious: the Concept X immediately stood before his eyes, shown by the public back in 2005. True, this concept was primarily associated with the appearance of the future Evo X, and not with the peaceful sedan of the C. The City Clot of Persona, whose prototype was the prototype of which The welcoming hosts showed us under a great secret (the official debut of this car will take place only a year later). Of course, they did not allow photography. But, I think, I will not give out great secrets if I say that, with the exception of several details and a little greater coolness, the future EVO and the new Lancer are similar as two drops of water. Five meters and cannot be distinguished.
 
By the way, the American version of the new Lancer, which debuted a little earlier at the Detroit car dealership, looks far from so spectacular. Changes in the outline of the radiator grill made it more like Outlander. But they decided not to regret bright emotions to Russia. In our country, Lancer made his debut, although later than in America, but earlier than in the rest of Europe. The Russian-American orientation of the new item is also manifested in the fact that these machines are offered only with gasoline engines. No diesel engines. In addition, first of all, a sedan will go on sale. The hatchback is promised to launch the market in 2008. But the station wagons, alas, are not promised at all.
A serious basis
Another undoubted advantage of the new Lancer spacious salon. The car increased in length by 35 mm, in height by 60 mm and 65 mm wide. In all respects, the salon increased. For example, the distance from the seat to the ceiling is 905 mm. This is more than Mazda 3 (890 mm) and Civic (900 mm). The total length of the passenger compartment (legs space) is 1715 mm (Mazda 3 1665 mm, in Civic 1710 mm). In essence, the new Lancer not only retained leadership in his class in size, but also came close to the D segment. At the same time, the minimum turning radius remained the smallest only 5 m (Mazda 3 5.2 m, in Civic 5.4 m).
 
The decoration of the salon, however, did not cause delight. In terms of ergonomics, no questions. Everything is in its place. Unless the steering wheel is not regulated by removal, which, in principle, is already perceived as a lag from modern standards. But the driver’s seat is adjusted in height. I was pleased with the availability of the control buttons on the steering wheel (for tests we were provided, of course, cars of the richest intense configuration). Climate control regulators are large and comfortable. An interesting feature of the built -in audio control panel. That is, you will not have to carry a removable face with you. The design of the dashboard is notable, but the indications of devices in deep glasses are read well due to adaptive backlight. A simple multifunctional display between the main scale does not cut the eyes with a riot of colors, but gives all the necessary information. There are no complaints about the quality of the assembly. Japan after all. But the materials themselves leave much to be desired. The plastic is hard and booming. Windows buttons Necasists.
 
The consequence of 15 to 16-inch wheels in basic equipment was beneficial to the benefit and running qualities of the new Lancer. The width of the tires themselves increased. Perhaps the only feature that raises questions is a long front overhang. No, the appearance does not suffer from this. And security clearly wins. Actually, modern safety requirements predetermined this feature. A long hood reduces the likelihood of severe injuries to a pedestrian when hitting, and most importantly, protects the driver and passengers in a collision. And if the previous Lancer, according to the result of the EURONCAP Crash tests, earned only three stars, then, according to preliminary estimates, it should receive all five, including at the expense of more metal protruding ahead. But there are also disadvantages: with such an overhang, maneuvers near borders and snow-lane formations inherent in the landscapes of our Fatherland will almost certainly end with a torn bumper, despite the clearance increased to 165 mm.
 
For increased safety, you need to thank not only an outstanding nose, but also seven airbags (including for the first time in the practice of MMS, for the knees of the driver), as well as a more solid body design. With the future EVO, the new Lancer is related not only by external resemblance, but also by the common platform. This is the same global platform, the development of which began even as part of cooperation with Daimlerchrysler and which served as the basis for serious machines such as Dodge Caliber, Jeep Patriot and Compass, as well as Mitsubishi Outlander. As you can see, all these are solid cars, so the reserve of strength to the new Lancer is provided, and an increase in the hardness of the body for twisting by 56%, and the beam rigidity by 50% compared to the previous model is not surprising. A new suspension has become more rigid. Its track increased by 60 mm, by 10 mm stroke. The rigidity of the steering system increased by 20%. All this promises an improvement in handling and dynamic qualities. It is a pity that it was not possible to verify this assumption.
And there is nothing to raise a noise
The ideal coverage of the landfill and the strictest ban on burning rubber (supposedly the screens of the tires scares local residents) led to the fact that hardly one of the journalists was able to say that he fully studied the dynamics and controllability of a new car. However, some features were traced. For example, Lancer, even with a base 1.5-liter engine, turned out to be quite noisy inside. And at speeds of more than 120 km/h, the whistle with which it dissects the air. As for the dynamic characteristics, then, although 109 hp. (11 hp is more than that of the previous motor) of the 1.5-liter engine look pretty decent for the city, the feeling that the chassis' qualities are much superior to the capabilities of the base engine, despite the branded system of electronic control of the MIVEC gas distribution phases. Which, however, can hardly be considered a minus. The mechanical 5-speed box did not cause complaints, but the 4-band automato makes acceleration somewhat sluggish.
A 2 l engine added 15 hp in relics. Compared to the previous model. He can also work in tandem with a 5-speed manual transmission. But much more interesting is the option with such a curiosity as a variator. Unlike a conventional machine, the variator tries to immediately disperse the engine to optimal revolutions in terms of power. This has several consequences, not all of which are pleasant. Firstly, the motor during acceleration is constantly working at high speeds, which makes the car more noisy. Secondly, psychologically, it is somewhat unusual to hear such a monotonous song, without the usual pickup in sound.
 
On the other hand, the absence of ruptures in the stream of power should objectively ensure faster acceleration. However, the comparison of the passport data of the variator with the mechanics did not confirm this theory. However, all the subjective and objective disadvantages of the variator recede into the background next to the pleasure that the Sportronic system with the steering wheel switches provides. The petals work instantly and remove all psychological problems. You control power as it seems more convenient and correct to you. This system is a real luxury for a car of this segment and an undoubted plus of the new Lancer.
 
And finally, about prices. It is no secret that the most attractive feature of the previous Lancer, which made it the most popular in Russia one hundred percent imported model, is its price, which began with $ 14,690. Less than 15 thousand for a real Japanese car! The new Lancer will also be collected in Japan, but the prices for it begin from almost 18 thousand dollars. Raising by 3200 dollars is it a lot or not enough?
 
On the one hand, growth almost fits into inflation. The car has become more spacious, stronger, more interesting. He should cost more. And taking into account 16-inch wheels, ABS, heating of mirrors and seats, electric windows in the basic configuration, the price looks more than moderate. On the other hand, buyers in this segment consider every hundred dollars, so the situation has changed. If earlier Lancer had no rivals in Russia in price/quality ratio, now he will have to compete on equal terms with Honda Civic, Mazda 3, Toyota Corolla, etc. However, it is unlikely that Lancer will be afraid of this competition. This spectacular and comfortable car has something to contrast competitors.
Technical characteristics of Mitsubishi
Lancer 1.5 Lancer 2.0
Dimensions, mm 4570x1760x1505 4570x1760x1505
Equipped mass, kg 1245/1275 1325/1355
Benzine engine L4 gasoline engine L4
Working volume, cubic meter. See 1499 1998
Max. power,
l.S./rpm 109/6000 150/6000
Max. moment,
Nm/rpm 143/4000 198/4250
Mechanical transmission
6-speed 5-speed
Automatic variator
4-band
Front front drive
Max. Speed, km/h 191/178 200
Acceleration time
0100 km/h, with 11.0/14.3 9.5/10.5
Fuel consumption (average),
l/100 km 6.4 8.1/8.4
 
Leonid Sitnik
Photo of the manufacturer
 

Source: Avtopanorama magazine