I've put down the deposit, I'm going to tomorrow to pick it up.

Went ahead and got the GTS. I was pretty well set to tell them to order the electric blue, but when I went by to talk to them they had a rally red one sitting in the showroom.

That is one incredibly beautiful car. Don't get me wrong, the electric blue is pretty too, but once I saw the red in person I was sold.

I'll try and post pictures this weekend once I get her home!

 

Congratulations on the purchase, I'll wait for mine a bit longer until Mitsubishi will resolve all the little issues with the new Lancer and introduces the Ralliart version or a 2.4l model. Rally red along with graphite gray and black are my favorite Lancer colors, I think I am in the minority here when I say that the electric blue Lancer in person just simply looks weird and I am not a big fan of it, although the ugliest color for the new Lancer in my opinion is that olive color.

 

they are all using the 4b11 as far as i know.

 

congrats on the car! great choice

 

I picked up an Aqua Metallic GTS. The car looks sharp in this color. It's give it a more luxurious look. I was quite surprised that the big wigs from the dealership and the corporate called me from their offices to congratulate me on the first LANCER purchased in Florida. In Florida, cars go to Miami first and they dropped off 2 of them in Orlando one night and I ended up picking one up the very next morning. I didn't pick one up for racing, but mostly for all around performance. I was looking at the Honda SI, Mazda 3speed and the VW GLI. But the SI was kinda high in the price, and Mazda3Speed's seats were a lil narrow, and the VW GLI seemed like you were not getting enough car out of the price. I hear that RRM is coming out with some tuner parts for the car. Lessee how that goes.
Peace

 

Right now yes, but it is rumored that for 2009 Lancer GTS will get a 2.4l and a also a Ralliart version of the Lancer with detuned Evo X engine with AWD will also be available. I mean the new Lancer is a great car but for its weight, currently, it is a bit underpowered.

 

Depends on what you're after. It is a funny car - if you drive the CVT in auto mode, it feels slow and the engine just purrs along, gradually getting faster. I know several times yesterday I thought I was doing 35-40 and realized I was doing 70! Manual mode is a lot more lively and entertaining.

If horsepower and AWD is your thing, than definitely wait for the Evos or the Ralliarts and whatever other options they come out with. But this little machine is perfect for me; I'm not sure I even see the need for that many mods other than maybe what's been mentioned as far as the K&N air filters and such.

I did test drive a new Mustang as well last night, and that is a very sweet car in the V6/pony package. I've owned three Mustangs in the past and the new one definitely lives up to it's heritage - that is a muscle car through and through. If it had a teeny bit more leg room in the back seat I might have gone for that instead, but I need a car that can carry three adults (at least).

 

Yeah, that's what I heard. That the Ralliart version will have the 2.4L in it. Althought the Evo X has the 2.0 block, the engine has the space for all the necessary upgrades vs the Lancer. But the Lancer is a Lancer and Evo is the Evo. So we all know there is no comparison. But, they sure look good, tho.
LOL!
Holla

 

With the new parts for the Lancer, does anyone know if this will affect the CVT?

 

Congrats man, I have the rally red.... and everywhere I park the car I get a least one complement... very nice color...

 

Hey, make sure to post pics tomorrow and update that "drives" profile from the 'ol Escort! LOL

I watched Motor Trend last night and they "test drove" the Lancer. At the end they said rumor has it a turbo'd GTS edition will be in the works... BTW, the '08 Lancer got great reviews from them, minus the lack of hp to accompany it's looks.

 

And here it is....
Pardon the poor quality of the picture - digital doesn't do so well with all the sunshine, really does not do the color justice.

Wife is now jealous, wishes she had one too. Especially now that she's seen all the bells & whistles that come with it.

A couple of notes. Now that I'm reading through the rather large owners manual (haven't even gotten to the nav/sound system yet), two things really stuck out. One was the need to warm up the CVT for 10 minute prior to driving if the ambient temp is less that -4oF. I know it's typically recommended for automatics but hadn't seen anyone say that you could damage a transmission without properly warming it up. Second is the passing ability -it specifically states that if you want to pass someone on the highway, floor it. That worked quite well this morning while driving to work, the little beast really showed what she can do even in auto mode.

At the guard post, the guards were asking me all kinds of questions about it. One said that he'd just bought a Toyota for his wife, then commented "Should have bought the Lancer instead of the &*$# Toyota". I told him thanks for the compliment!

 

nice car man!

 

nice car man, love the color

 

Now that I've had it for a week and put about 400 miles on it, a few more things I can report:

The car is simply a monster on curves. We have several routes over South Mountain between where I work and where I live. Several have very tight turns and switchbacks. I've covered all of them this week and the car is simply rock solid stable. I've yet to hear the tires complain or give anything even on some of the tightest turns at speeds I would have thought insane a week ago. It stops on a frickin' dime too, simply amazing how good those brakes are.

And now that the car is mine and I've read the manual, the CVT works a lot better than has been reported in the press. If you don't know how to drive with it, it's not like your typical automatic. I thought I'd be using the manual mode more when I've driving 'enthusiastically' but I'm not.

Despite the moutain driving on back roads, I averaged 28 miles per gallon, not bad for the break-in period.

Everyone looks long and hard at the car, trying to figure out what it is. Got a few obviously jealous glares from folks in parking lots climing into their old, box style commuter compact cars.