Saw the Lancer in person today. (long)
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Evolving Member
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From: OH
Saw the Lancer in person today. (long)
So, I took a drive to my "local" Mitsu dealership to see the Lancer in person. I wanted to see the base model as a preview for the EVO. And to sit in it since the interior will probably be mostly unchanged. So, I posted this is the Future Evos forum because I'll be making comparisons. And of course, interjecting a lot of my personal opinion.
Exterior:
First impression; the Lancer is a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be from the photos. They've said the '08 is taller and wider than the previous generation, but shorter in length. I can definately see the shorter length, but didn't see the height and width increases as readily. I'm happy it's a small car still. I've developed a liking for the little things.
There are certainly some unflattering angles, and the base Lancer isn't very aggressive looking for the most part. However, they did have one model that had a very slight body kit on it. It was subtle and I can't find it on Mitsu's site, but it was definately more than the other lancers had. But even just a minimalist body kit really improved the look.
The other noteable thing is the high "beltline." The pictures of the EVO don't really show how high it is. But what probably emphasizes it is the lack of rear fender flares on the base lancer. Without the flares, there is just a tal expanse of metal above the rear tires. Being left-to-right readers unlike our friends in Japan, vertical distances appear taller to us. But with the Evo, the fender flare will break up that stretch of bodywork into two pieces and will nearly eliminate that tall-body appearance.
Another noteable thing is the hood length. The pictures I've seen really make it look long, but in person it appears much shorter. I'm not sure where that difference comes from, but perhaps the Evo has a slightly longer nose. The windshield sits far forward, and as someone who slides the driver's seat all the way back (nearly, in the Lancer), the windshield feels WAY out ahead of me. But if you look at the lower corners of the windshield, you'll see that the A-pillar blends fully with the fenders and hood. This goes with the B-pillars which I'll get to later.
And lastly, the taillights had red surrounds. Bonehead that I am, I forgot to check the other colors to see if they had body-color or red surrounds in their taillights also. If they are all red, I definately see a market for color-matched taillights. EDIT: Just looked at the pictures at Mitsubishicars.com. Looks like the taillights will have red surrounds for all colors. I would *DEFINATELY* buy a set of body-color (black) taillights for my EVO X if they can't be disassembled and repainted. That's Money right there for anyone who can make them.
Interior:
The interior was of interest to me since, traditionally, Mitsu hasn't changed the interior much between the lancer and the Evo. Overall the interior felt solid, but in a small-japanese-car sort of way. Definately not BMW or Mercedes quality here. But who's expecting that?
The instument cluster is small! I was surprised and a little dismayed. Made me feel like I was sitting behind the wheel of a go-kart. I guess that may be because my current car, an '86 Toyota Corolla, has an instrument cluster you can set a large pizza on. Left and Right guages with an LCD info center in the middle. I hope Mitsu surprises us and makes a new cluster for the EVO with a Tach in the middle, but I'm thinking they won't. :/ But the upside is that the well between the speedo and tach is ripe for some custom guage to fit in there. Someone should make a moulded pod for that spot, they'll sell a million of them.
The radio is positioned high, obviously because the GPS nav has to be closer to the driver's eye level, but it does feel weird. There's a large gap, or pocket, between the lower center console and the dashboard, making the dashboard look like a separate piece. Not a design choice I like, but not a deal-breaker. HVAC controls were kind of plain and looked tacked on, a disappointment.
The shifter was in a good position, and there is no center arm rest. I know some people would like a center armrest, but it's not a big deal for me as my current car doesn't have one. The upside is that, other than any drinks put in the cupholders, there's *NO* interference for shifting if you get the Manual.
The e-break was right next to my thigh. Not the best position in my opinion. I wonder if the JDM center console has it on the other side?
Front Legroom is exceptional. I tend to slide the seats in my cars all the way back. But in the lancer I had to go one click forward from full back. This little car loves tall drivers. There was plenty of headroom for me too, which is rare because I sit very tall. Really, with a slightly lower seat (which I'm sure the Recaros are) I'll have no problem fitting in there with a helmet on. I was very surprised.
Rear legroom was surprising. With the lancer being such a small car, I thought I'd try to sit behind the driver's seat where I had it. I'm a big guy, 6'4" 260+, but I could actually fit in the seat and clsoe the door. It was tight but not hugely uncomfortable. The rear seat can actually be used as seats, unlike my friend's Mustang which cannot sit someone in the rear seat if someone is in the front.
The lancer I was looking at didn't have folding rear seats for trunk access. I could have sworn I saw a picture of the Lancer's trunk with that feature, but I guess not.
Body Construction:
This car is built like a tank. If you want to know where the majority of the weight increase came from, it's the unibody. The B-pillar, where it meets the doorsill is curved in an arc. ANd if you wrap your hand around it, you'll find that, at that joint, the box is literally 4-5 inches thick! The rear seats sit IN the body. Opening the rear doors, you can see the metal run along the side of the rear seat. And as I mentioned above, the A-pillar has an equal amount of bracing.
I'm sure this body is the stiffest Lancer ever. Hell, I'd lay money that this is the stiffest car in it's class if not in most other classes. Honestly, if you get the chance, open the front door and reach down to where the B-pillar blends into the door sill, you'll have no concerns about the Evo flexing.
A lot of this over-design is to adhere to the side-imact standards that will be required come 2009. And the NHTSA ratings show it. Their only concern was that the rear door opened on impact. That's a little worrysome, but I think that indicated a weak latch rather than a weakness in the chassis.
Engine Compartment:
Tuners are going to love this car. The pictures under the Prototype X's hood looked like it was overflowing with stuff. But if you look under the Lancer's hood, you'll see that it's the opposite.
There is a MASSIVE amount of space behind the block. Looks like you could fit a small child in there. Fitting a big turbo in there will not be a problem. Hell, you could probabaly fit two.
There is also tons of space everywhere under the hood. When you look at the design; how the intake is routed, where the airbox is, space to the sides of the block, battery position, etc, you can see that putting a turbo on this car was First on Mitsu's mind. Even the way the intake piping is routed from the airbox to the manifold just says "Turbo". It will be SHORT runs for the FMIC piping, meaning less lag.
Granted, some of the space behind the block may go to the DSG. And some of the space elsewhere in under the hood may go to the S-AWC. But we'll have to wait and see. Overall I don't see losing all that much space to those features.
Admittedly, I have no experience with the 8 and 9. But from the pictures I've seen, there wasn't a whole lot of space where the turbo was. But in the 2008 Lancer, the space behind the block actually looked like something was MISSING from the car. It's just SCREAMING for a turbo in that spot.
Salesman Talk:
I managed to get a salesman that at least had an interest in cars and modding them. He said he had a DSM with a 16g. If he did or not, who knows? But he seemed to have a good idea of what was what and where Mitsu was going with the Evo.
There were some things that smelled like FUD however. One was that the new Lancer, Outlander, and (forget the third model), were Mitsu's last stab at the USDM. If they fail, Mitsu will pull out of the US. As with all salemen, I take everything with a grain of salt.
The other odd piece of information was that he thought that Mitsu would be offering Turbo upgrade packages through the dealers for the Lancers. This seems a bit far fetched, and a warranty disaster in the making, but who knows? It would make some sense. It would position the Lancer as a tuner car for the masses that don't want to get oil under their fingernails. If mitsu publicises something like this, it could mean a lot of sales. Base cost of 14K + 2500 for a turbo and you've got a poor-man's Evo for half the cost of the real thing. I know that's not something that the people here would like to see, but it could mean a ton of sales for Mitsu.
Conclusion:
Overall, I'm very happy with what I saw. I'm really looking forward to the Evo X, and the look at the Lancer today really gave me more confidence in it as a platform for the Evo, and in Mitsu as a manufacturer.
I can't wait for the X!
Exterior:
First impression; the Lancer is a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be from the photos. They've said the '08 is taller and wider than the previous generation, but shorter in length. I can definately see the shorter length, but didn't see the height and width increases as readily. I'm happy it's a small car still. I've developed a liking for the little things.
There are certainly some unflattering angles, and the base Lancer isn't very aggressive looking for the most part. However, they did have one model that had a very slight body kit on it. It was subtle and I can't find it on Mitsu's site, but it was definately more than the other lancers had. But even just a minimalist body kit really improved the look.
The other noteable thing is the high "beltline." The pictures of the EVO don't really show how high it is. But what probably emphasizes it is the lack of rear fender flares on the base lancer. Without the flares, there is just a tal expanse of metal above the rear tires. Being left-to-right readers unlike our friends in Japan, vertical distances appear taller to us. But with the Evo, the fender flare will break up that stretch of bodywork into two pieces and will nearly eliminate that tall-body appearance.
Another noteable thing is the hood length. The pictures I've seen really make it look long, but in person it appears much shorter. I'm not sure where that difference comes from, but perhaps the Evo has a slightly longer nose. The windshield sits far forward, and as someone who slides the driver's seat all the way back (nearly, in the Lancer), the windshield feels WAY out ahead of me. But if you look at the lower corners of the windshield, you'll see that the A-pillar blends fully with the fenders and hood. This goes with the B-pillars which I'll get to later.
And lastly, the taillights had red surrounds. Bonehead that I am, I forgot to check the other colors to see if they had body-color or red surrounds in their taillights also. If they are all red, I definately see a market for color-matched taillights. EDIT: Just looked at the pictures at Mitsubishicars.com. Looks like the taillights will have red surrounds for all colors. I would *DEFINATELY* buy a set of body-color (black) taillights for my EVO X if they can't be disassembled and repainted. That's Money right there for anyone who can make them.
Interior:
The interior was of interest to me since, traditionally, Mitsu hasn't changed the interior much between the lancer and the Evo. Overall the interior felt solid, but in a small-japanese-car sort of way. Definately not BMW or Mercedes quality here. But who's expecting that?
The instument cluster is small! I was surprised and a little dismayed. Made me feel like I was sitting behind the wheel of a go-kart. I guess that may be because my current car, an '86 Toyota Corolla, has an instrument cluster you can set a large pizza on. Left and Right guages with an LCD info center in the middle. I hope Mitsu surprises us and makes a new cluster for the EVO with a Tach in the middle, but I'm thinking they won't. :/ But the upside is that the well between the speedo and tach is ripe for some custom guage to fit in there. Someone should make a moulded pod for that spot, they'll sell a million of them.
The radio is positioned high, obviously because the GPS nav has to be closer to the driver's eye level, but it does feel weird. There's a large gap, or pocket, between the lower center console and the dashboard, making the dashboard look like a separate piece. Not a design choice I like, but not a deal-breaker. HVAC controls were kind of plain and looked tacked on, a disappointment.
The shifter was in a good position, and there is no center arm rest. I know some people would like a center armrest, but it's not a big deal for me as my current car doesn't have one. The upside is that, other than any drinks put in the cupholders, there's *NO* interference for shifting if you get the Manual.
The e-break was right next to my thigh. Not the best position in my opinion. I wonder if the JDM center console has it on the other side?
Front Legroom is exceptional. I tend to slide the seats in my cars all the way back. But in the lancer I had to go one click forward from full back. This little car loves tall drivers. There was plenty of headroom for me too, which is rare because I sit very tall. Really, with a slightly lower seat (which I'm sure the Recaros are) I'll have no problem fitting in there with a helmet on. I was very surprised.
Rear legroom was surprising. With the lancer being such a small car, I thought I'd try to sit behind the driver's seat where I had it. I'm a big guy, 6'4" 260+, but I could actually fit in the seat and clsoe the door. It was tight but not hugely uncomfortable. The rear seat can actually be used as seats, unlike my friend's Mustang which cannot sit someone in the rear seat if someone is in the front.
The lancer I was looking at didn't have folding rear seats for trunk access. I could have sworn I saw a picture of the Lancer's trunk with that feature, but I guess not.
Body Construction:
This car is built like a tank. If you want to know where the majority of the weight increase came from, it's the unibody. The B-pillar, where it meets the doorsill is curved in an arc. ANd if you wrap your hand around it, you'll find that, at that joint, the box is literally 4-5 inches thick! The rear seats sit IN the body. Opening the rear doors, you can see the metal run along the side of the rear seat. And as I mentioned above, the A-pillar has an equal amount of bracing.
I'm sure this body is the stiffest Lancer ever. Hell, I'd lay money that this is the stiffest car in it's class if not in most other classes. Honestly, if you get the chance, open the front door and reach down to where the B-pillar blends into the door sill, you'll have no concerns about the Evo flexing.
A lot of this over-design is to adhere to the side-imact standards that will be required come 2009. And the NHTSA ratings show it. Their only concern was that the rear door opened on impact. That's a little worrysome, but I think that indicated a weak latch rather than a weakness in the chassis.
Engine Compartment:
Tuners are going to love this car. The pictures under the Prototype X's hood looked like it was overflowing with stuff. But if you look under the Lancer's hood, you'll see that it's the opposite.
There is a MASSIVE amount of space behind the block. Looks like you could fit a small child in there. Fitting a big turbo in there will not be a problem. Hell, you could probabaly fit two.
There is also tons of space everywhere under the hood. When you look at the design; how the intake is routed, where the airbox is, space to the sides of the block, battery position, etc, you can see that putting a turbo on this car was First on Mitsu's mind. Even the way the intake piping is routed from the airbox to the manifold just says "Turbo". It will be SHORT runs for the FMIC piping, meaning less lag.
Granted, some of the space behind the block may go to the DSG. And some of the space elsewhere in under the hood may go to the S-AWC. But we'll have to wait and see. Overall I don't see losing all that much space to those features.
Admittedly, I have no experience with the 8 and 9. But from the pictures I've seen, there wasn't a whole lot of space where the turbo was. But in the 2008 Lancer, the space behind the block actually looked like something was MISSING from the car. It's just SCREAMING for a turbo in that spot.
Salesman Talk:
I managed to get a salesman that at least had an interest in cars and modding them. He said he had a DSM with a 16g. If he did or not, who knows? But he seemed to have a good idea of what was what and where Mitsu was going with the Evo.
There were some things that smelled like FUD however. One was that the new Lancer, Outlander, and (forget the third model), were Mitsu's last stab at the USDM. If they fail, Mitsu will pull out of the US. As with all salemen, I take everything with a grain of salt.
The other odd piece of information was that he thought that Mitsu would be offering Turbo upgrade packages through the dealers for the Lancers. This seems a bit far fetched, and a warranty disaster in the making, but who knows? It would make some sense. It would position the Lancer as a tuner car for the masses that don't want to get oil under their fingernails. If mitsu publicises something like this, it could mean a lot of sales. Base cost of 14K + 2500 for a turbo and you've got a poor-man's Evo for half the cost of the real thing. I know that's not something that the people here would like to see, but it could mean a ton of sales for Mitsu.
Conclusion:
Overall, I'm very happy with what I saw. I'm really looking forward to the Evo X, and the look at the Lancer today really gave me more confidence in it as a platform for the Evo, and in Mitsu as a manufacturer.
I can't wait for the X!
Last edited by Draco-REX; May 26, 2007 at 07:34 PM.
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but X is not real evolution beacuse they stop use 4G63 heart beat motor of rally n tuner.. but evo x look good but use 4b11 that full aluminum.. it able to blow up easy if over boost or mod. i could be mistake but i perfer 4G63 AND IT STRONG.. and 12 years 4g63 on evo 1 to 9
Thread Starter
Evolving Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 400
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From: OH
but X is not real evolution beacuse they stop use 4G63 heart beat motor of rally n tuner.. but evo x look good but use 4b11 that full aluminum.. it able to blow up easy if over boost or mod. i could be mistake but i perfer 4G63 AND IT STRONG.. and 12 years 4g63 on evo 1 to 9
And besides, to call the Evo X not a true Evo because of the motor is a bit unreasonable. If the 4G63 was all that made the Evo, then there would be Dodges, Chryslers, Plymouths, and Hyundais racing in the WRC. The motor is only a fraction of what makes the Evo what it is.
This new platform and engine are showing huge potential. Let's keep our minds open and I'm sure the X will surprise us all.
