http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol...cle2641767.ece
From The Times
October 12, 2007
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
Mitsubishi’s next generation accelerates away from its rivals
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
Ben Oliver
Imagine you have £30,000 to spend on a small, well-equipped, executive saloon and are choosing between the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and a few other premium-badged rivals. Now imagine being offered a car at the same price and with the same four-door, four-seat practicality but which out-accelerates and out-handles multicylindered, multisyllabic Italian supercars that are five times the price.
If you are remotely interested in how well your car performs, you would probably forget the others in an instant and buy it immediately.
Such a car has been available for 15 years. It is called the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and it has spawned some of the most successful rally cars and accelerative road cars. So why are we not all driving them? Because until now, their ballistic performance has not been able to compensate for their roughness and rawness, and their vast wings, scoops, foglamps and tailpipes make you worry that the driver is more likely to hold an antisocial behaviour order than a driving licence. Its sales have not grown beyond its tiny but obsessive following.
So for the tenth generation of the Evo, Mitsubishi has decided to give its pitbull house training. Evolution hardly seems the right name; this car is entirely new and aims to marry the old car’s dynamic character to the build quality, refinement and equipment BMW and Mercedes drivers expect.
Its diehard fans and those considering abandoning their BMWs will be delighted that, although the turbocharged two-litre, four-cylinder engine is new, the explosive, almost uncontrolled acceleration is the same. Officially, it produces “only” 280bhp, but privately its engineers admit that the real figure is about 300bhp.The quickest will get to 60mph in 4.5sec, fast even for a supercar. But the four-wheel drive Evo has always been better able to make use of its power on twisting, wet or poorly surfaced roads than a nervous, skittish, rear wheel-drive thoroughbred.
The new version extends that advantage farther with its new Super All-Wheel Control system, which unites an electronic traction control system to rally-specification four-wheel drive hardware to make a hard-charging hero out of even the most ordinary driver. You can feel the system moving the torque to the wheels with the most grip as you corner; it is devastatingly effective but feels slightly odd. In an Evo X, the driver will usually be the slowest, stupidest link in the chain; you may prefer a car where you feel more in control.
There is even an automatic option; Mitsubishi’s new twin-clutch Sport Shift Transmission offers a seamless, fully automatic mode or full manual control with instant shifts from the Formula One-style paddles behind the steering wheel.
The cabin has also had a serious upgrade. The materials used look and feel more expensive and you can have an integrated sat-nav system, Rockford Fosgate stereo, keyless entry and Bluetooth.
Its looks echo the change in the car’s dynamics. It is still unmistakably an Evo; the spoilers, scoops and huge-winged rally seats are there because a car of this performance requires them. But this car has been “styled” in a way that the brutal, functional Evos of old were not.
It will be too aggressive for most, but it now has a slickness and sexiness that will make it acceptable to a bigger market and perhaps make the occasional hooligan out of even the most sober and sedate of drivers.
Specification
Car Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
Engine 280bhp 2.0litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol with 422Nm of torque at 3,500rpm Transmission Five-speed manual, six-speed twin-clutch sequential manual
Fuel consumption Not available
CO2 emissions Not available
Price From about £30,000
On sale March 2008
Alternatives
Subaru Impreza STi The Evo’s only direct rival, about to be relaunched as a hatchback.
BMW 335i Terrific engine and better image, but not as fast.
Vauxhall VXR8 V8-powered Aussie bargain performance saloon
