‘Final Edition’
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution says goodbye
This 2015 Mitsubishi Evolution is the “Final Edition” model for good reason. The car’s run is over and it’s not known whether there will be a next generation or not.
Thiswas the car that created Mitsubishi’s reputation in the U.S. market. Based on a World Rally Car, it was fast, aggressive and had a huge spoiler on its rear. Add to that a blazing bright blue for the rally colors, and their success in rallying, and young car nuts couldn’t wait for it to come to this market.
When it did, they bought them, so oped them up even further, bolted on outrageous wheels, exhausts and gave them paint jobs and created the reputation which sold even more of them. While they were always a niche car, they did a great job of getting young guys in the showroom where their wives convinced them to drive out in a more family-friendly vehicle that also wasn’t quite so expensive.
Not that it was expensive per se. the one I tested had a list price of $41295.00. But there aren’t many people who can afford a BMW or similar road rocket really considering them. It was always a car for a fuel driven twentysomething. But it has now grown too old, and with maybe a bit too much competition and so it’s gone at the end of this year. It will be missed. But frankly it is now clearly old and feels it. This car reminds you just how far cars have come in the past 10 years. It is stunningly analog, andthat’s not a bad thing in the driving and performance aspects. But it is quite noticeable in the things your girlfriend will notice – and find unappealing. No chauvinism here, as virtually all the buyers of the Evo are men.
The Evo is about performance, and just that. The heart of the Final Edition is a turbocharged and intercooled16-valve four-cylinder 2.0-liter engine generating 303 hp. and 305 lb.-ft. of peak torque. That power flows to all four wheels through a five-speed manual transmission.
The engine does a great job of creating power, but its older technology turbocharging system has significant lag, and allows the car very little torque at lower revs – that 305 torque number is at 4000 rpm, where as more modern engines make that max torque closer to 200 rpm. It is not an easy car to get off the line fast, and if you do, you soon cometo recognize the smell of overly heated clutch.
While themanual transmission is well geared for the enthusiastic driving, particularly on an auto-cross or racetrack, as it is geared to keep the revs up where the power is. But that gear spacing means that at 70 mph it is running fairly hard. Shall we say that there is little noise cladding between you and the engine. When having fun, that is great, but poking holes in the air at 65 or 70 mph on a highway is somewhat tedious.
Mitsubishi calls it drive system the Super All-Wheel Control System. It uses an active center differential which will move up to 50 percent of the tires to the front and back. It also integrates yaw control, stability control and the anti-lock brakes to create three driver selectable modes: “Tarmac,” “Gravel” and “Snow.” While it is a very good system, so many cars today have similar capabilities thanks to the integration of the control modules for these systems that it doesn’t stick out much.
On the other hand, the handling can leave you breathless. The suspension uses inverted MacPherson struts up front with a multilink designat the rear. The suspension control-arms aremade of aluminum (as are the hood, roof, front fenders and front and rear bumper beams). To make this car’s handling even better, Mitsubishi added performance Eibach springs and Bilstein shock absorbers.
The brakes are very good though, and will stand up to any competition in stopping power, as it should.
The Evo is fitted with lightweight, two-piece Brembo brake rotors up front.
So the car stays extremely flat, with almost no nose dive even under max braking. Granted this is helped by serious performance tires.
The steering is quite quick and positive – if you move your hands, the car moves right now.
The result is that there are few drivers who actually can get this car to the limits on a public road for more than a couple of corners. That’s because even if they are relatively slow corners, the Evo takes them so fast that it’s just silly.
So for fun driving, the Evo is still delightful.
But inside you simply can’t forget that this is a car of the past. The dashboard is classic, but hard plastic and with a dated look. The touchscreen in the middle is quite small with less-than-average resolution. There’s no backup camera, and the noise, vibration and harshness constantly remind you that this is a car about going fast, and not in a straight line.
It was a car for purists, and in that sense still is. That’s because it is still fast, although there are other compact cars that aren’t too far behind without being primarily for motorheads. It is now a classic and will only get more classical. When it comes to the “Final Edition” there are only 1600 of them being made.
If the Evo appeals to you, go get one. It simply isn’t smart to buy a used one. There are no little old ladies only driving them on Sunday. Or if there is, I’d like to meet her.