The Lancer is a sporty driver with a taut chassis and a sleek appearance. I put a commuter lap on this Mitsubishi, and I found the four-banger with a modest 168-hp output to be surprisingly respectable, working ably with the CVT to propel me to speed and negotiate the congestion of the morning rush hour. This gearbox isn't my first choice, though aside from some awkward distribution of the power, it's acceptable.
I like the outside appearance, which has athletic lines and cuts a fairly unique profile. I'm not a fan of this wing in back, as it obstructs vision for the driver. Conversely, the cabin is Spartan, with a lot of hard plastics and very basic-looking materials. At least with this black-and-silver color scheme, it presents fairly well.
The Lancer's athletic ethos continue in its drive character, which make it a bit fun to toss around. Sport sedan? No. But it's not a dog, either, and enthusiasts who like to wring everything out of regular cars won't be disappointed with the potential offered in this one. It did churn through plenty of fuel during my one-night stint. Overall: It looks and drivers decently, but there's better overall values available.
DIGITAL EDITOR ANDREW STOY: Mitsubishi continues to have what amounts to a decent small car in the Lancer, despite the fact that the interior desperately needs a refresh. The styling still looks good even after a few years, and available all-wheel drive still sets the Lancer apart to some extent. But what can the company do to sell it?
I repeatedly found myself surprised by how entertaining the Lancer was to fling around corners, with great balance and steering feel that's woefully absent in many new cars thanks to misguided electric power-steering tuning.
About that interior: It's cheap, to the point of being almost nasty cheap. It's almost as though Subaru and Mitsubishi are in a competition to build great-looking, great-handling AWD compacts, but they're also trying to see who can put the worst interior in the cars. Mitsubishi wins, but only by a hair, thanks to a bizarre misaligned dash seam between the instrument pod and the windshield that falls right in the driver's line of sight.
Our Lancer used a powertrain straight out of the Dodge Caliber, featuring a 2.4-liter I4 and a CVT. I'm not going to harp on the small-four-CVT issue: Yes, it sucked, but I've driven worse-even in other Mitsubishi products. The software was set up to move the little car along fairly well, but this particular engine isn't smooth no matter what it's bolted to. The CVT only exacerbates the drone.
That brings us back to the question of why Mitsubishi doesn't sell many Lancers. The answer is simple: At that as-tested price, and frankly even at that base price, there's just no reason for most consumers to even bother visiting the dealership. There are a dozen brands without questionable futures on the market that offer better cars for less or equal money.
You need a fire sale, Mitsubishi, to get folks coming to check out your cars. Hell, try a real ad campaign. But if you keep doing what you're doing, you're going to keep getting what you're getting, which in this case is shut out of the U.S. market.
SENIOR ART DIRECTOR CHERYL L. BLAHNIK: When I think of Mitsubishi, I immediately think of the Lancer Evolution because that's the company's only buzz-worthy car to enthusiasts. So when I got into this regular Lancer, I was a little bummed out because I expect more. However, this car does have a somewhat sporty demeanor with attractive looks on the outside-and that black hole of an interior.
The four-cylinder performed well enough, and having the all-wheel drive would surely benefit those in areas that experience real winters. A little more power would be welcome, and the interior needs to be buttoned up more to cut out the wind noise that seeps in.
It's an entertaining car for the price range, but I certainly long for the performance of the Evo. When are we getting one of those in again?
ASSOCIATE EDITOR DAVID ARNOUTS: Everyone has hit on my thoughts about this car, but I'll attempt to put my own spin on things.
I have always been a big fan of the Mitsubishi Evolution vs. Subaru WRX STI wars, and while fully aware that the Lancer is not on par with the Evo, I was still looking forward to driving something in the same gene pool as the Evolution.
Holy smokes was I surprised, and not in the good way. The Lancer, like me, has over the years put on substantial weight and slowed down. While the body remains athletic in appearance, and retains athletic handling, a quick glance at the go-kart-size wheels indicates that this is not a performance car.
While the Lancer's interior is Spartan, the seats took the cake. They reminded me of Lego-block-constructed lawn chairs. For me, there was no support and no way of getting comfortable; it was just dealing with it.
When I pulled out the window sticker of the car, I saw the nearly $25,000 tag. I laughed loud enough that passing pedestrians shot a concerned look my way. For reference, the windows were down and I was parked on the street.
The engine and the CVT buzz more than I would prefer, and while the fuel mileage was a decent 28 mpg, I expected more from something that felt and performed like a hybrid.
The single most frustrating experience was the door operation. Not only did the doors sound tinny when in use, but for some reason, they wouldn't close using a standard amount of force. It's a nit, but it's frustrating. If I had to deal with that type of operation on a regular basis, I would flip.
I don't want to dismiss that, for a commuter or someone who wants a slightly sporty car with decent fuel mileage and some sporty qualities the Lancer would do its duty adequately. But for the money, I would spend it elsewhere.
ROAD TEST EDITOR JONATHAN WONG: I've always liked the Mitsubishi Lancer from a driving standpoint. It's a tighter-driving car with snappy reflexes, quick steering response and grabby brakes. This particular test car is an all-wheel-drive example, which is rare in this class. Besides the Lancer, if you want all-wheel drive, you are looking at the Subaru Impreza, which also is saddled with continuously variable transmission if you don't want the standard five-speed manual transmission.
The CVT is a major letdown here, which is true about most of these gearboxes. To get up to speed you need to really stand on the throttle, and that's accompanied by a lot of noise. It's a buzzy drivetrain combination with not much punch. Power can be considered adequate. However, in its defense, my 26.7-mpg reading on my fill-up is impressive for an all-wheel-drive sedan.
But as I said, it's about how this car handles bends. Toss it around some and it responds and is an entertaining ride. The planted performance does come at the expense of ride quality, which is on the rougher side, but I usually am all for giving up a little in the comfort department to gain on the handling front.
The interior is still cheap-looking, with hard surfaces everywhere. Mitsubishi needs to kick up the quality of the materials a few notches, but the driving position is nice. A little more sound insulation would help, too, to cut down on road noise and wind noise.
Then there is the price, as Andy rightly points out. It's a lot of money, but if you option out a Subaru Impreza Limited with navigation, it comes in at $24,645, meaning that the Mitsubishi is on par pricewise with the competition. Between the two, I would tip my hat toward the Subaru for the nicer cabin, though.
More Pictures of 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer SE
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