2002 Mitsubishi Lancer - Driving Impression

Who are they kidding?No, what you're seeing is not a Mirage. It's a Lancer, Mitsubishi's all-new-for-'02 entry level sedan that's meant to displace-not replace-the Mirage four-door. It happens to carry the Lancer name. The distinction is an important one, because this new Lancer is a compact car that now leaves Mitsubishi without a four-door sub-compact. The Mirage coupe remains as Mitsu's only sub-compact, yet even its days are numbered. Eventually, it too will be phased out, and the Mirage-whose ancestry dates all the way back to the Dodge Colt of the dismal '70s-will simply and appropriately disappear into thin air.

This is not to say, however, that Mitsubishi is disillusioned with illusion. Quite the contrary. The Lancer's very identity depends upon a less-than-ingenuous ploy to imbue its new commuter compact with the fire-breathing reputation of its phenomenal Lancer EVO VII world rally car champ. The reasoning goes, perhaps, that only bug-eyed cable-TV junkies (or readers of Sport Compact Car) will know that the street-legal version of the EVO VII is a 276-hp ground-pounder with twin-scroll turbocharging and all-wheel drive. By now, it's available in nearly every other major market in the world except North America; and the sideways-at-100-mph exploits of the Flying Finn Tommi Makinen have made a mantra out of the Lancer name that Mitsubishi is only too proud to propagate, particularly in response to Subaru's preemptive decision to unleash a bona-fide Impreza WRX upon U.S. enthusiasts. After all, Mitsubishi's Lancer program represents a factory WRC rallying effort that's snatched more than 25 first-place finishes and four world championship titles to date.

Although we dimwitted Yankees rank international rallying right up there with world soccer on the mass-consumption scale, now there's a Lancer for us, too. All 120-horsepower's worth. With a pat on the head, we're as much as told to "get along now and don't hurt yourself" with a car whose name may not replace "Mirage" but whose performance image certainly is one.

Ultimately Mitsubishi's condescending approach with the U.S.-version Lancer obscures the critical fact that this is an able car at an attractive price. From the outset, the Lancer was slotted for that critically competitive price range of from $14,000 to $18,000, and this decision has immediately subjected it to fierce competition among arch-rivals like Ford Focus, Subaru Impreza, VW Jetta, Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, and Mazda Protg. For reasons that have very little to do with hot-rod performance-namely, the car's roomy, solid feel and abundance of standard amenities-Lancer will battle vigorously for its share of the market. Still, there will always be a nagging vulnerability to charges that our Lancer doesn't quite live up to its worldly reputation.

The U.S. Lancer is actually a sixth-generation update of a commuter car that the rest of the world has known quite well for some time. Our Lancers come in three flavors: a basic ES model starting under $14,000, the upscale LS version with a base price of $16,000 (automatic only), and an O.Z Rally Edition that's born to strut and costs $16,000. All three come with the same 2.0-liter, single-overhead-cam four-banger-Mitsu's 4G94-that delivers 120 hp at 5500 rpm and 130 lb-ft of torque at 4250 rpm. (By way of heartbreaking comparison, the EVO VII's turbo-2.0-liter 4G63 is rated at 276 hp at 6500 rpm and 283 lb-ft at 3500 rpm.)

All our Lancers feature front-wheel drive and four-wheel independent suspension that combines MacPherson struts and coils up front with Mitsubishi's Multi-Link and coil spring layout at the rear. Moreover, there are 10.1-inch vented disc brakes up front, tiny 8.0-inch drums out back. This last item is significant for two reasons: Mitsu engineers confided during the Lancer's media debut in New Orleans in May that they were able to get by with cost-saving rear drums because there really isn't enough speed potential here to require more energy-efficient disks. But those same little 8-inch drums look mighty puny through the spokes of those sexy alloy wheels from aftermarket manufacturer O.Z, which lends the sporty-edition Lancer its name.

Here's an interesting little secret: Mitsubishi admits 60 percent of its Lancer sales will likely be ES models, leaving 20 percent apiece for the LS and O.Z Rally versions. Not only that: 60 percent of Lancer buyers are expected to be young, single women. After sporting about in all three models in Cajun Country during the Lancer's media intro, I couldn't agree more with these estimates. Moreover, I couldn't be more certain that a bottom-dollar ES, with its manual transmission, perky character, and generous array of standard features, will be a sales champ, thanks to its aggressive pricing.

Here's why: even a bare-bones ES comes with power windows and locks, air conditioning, an eight-way adjustable driver's seat and 100 watts worth of AM/FM/CD stereo. The only significant options are an automatic transmission and a convenience package that includes remote keyless entry and a 60/40 folding rear seat. Enthusiasts' chief complaint with the ES will undoubtedly be the clunky 14-inch steel wheels and chirpy, high-profile 185/65R-14 tires. Right off the bat, in other words, that means forking out for new spins-and-skins, because opting for the 15-inch aluminum wheels on the LS model means foregoing a five-speed manual gearbox in place of a four-speed auto. And truth be told, it's the Lancer's crisp-shifting five-speed that manages to elicit best behavior out of this revvy but breathy little engine.

At 2,646 lbs., the Es's curb weight is relatively light and nimble. Damping is a bit soft, but certainly not mushy; so, with its precise steering feel and reactive independent suspension at all four corners, the Lancer ES does indeed yearn for a spirited toss-about along twisty backroads. A generously forward-biased weight distribution of 62/38 coaxes a fair share of squealing from the front 14-inchers, of course, but at least there are all kinds of sound-deadening materials-from epoxy foam to sandwiched asphalt to liquid motor mounts-that render an appreciably quiet ride. During sport-touring jaunts, driver and front passenger can savor the miles in ample spaciousness. Tag-alongs, moreover, will be delighted with rear legroom is more than 3 inches greater than in the Mirage.

As for the four-speed automatic that handles gear changes for the upscale Lancer LS, it's designed with the electronic wits, called INVECS-II, to match shift patterns to a driver's innate habits over time. It seems to work, although one short test drive doesn't exactly produce a mountain of data for INVECS-II to compile into a "style profile." Still, the auto isn't as sporty as the manual, although the Ls's larger wheels and 195/60R-15 tires deliver a marked improvement in cornering behavior.

The most significant options on the LS include ABS brakes and dual side airbags up front. As for the showboat O.Z Rally model, it comes with either transmission choice but is basically a fashion experiment with trick bumpers, side skirts and its namesake's 15-inch wheels. A conspicuous, but meaningless, option is a rear wing. Unintentionally, perhaps, Mitsubishi's Mike Krebs managed to put the entire exercise into perspective when he acknowledged that "the O.Z Rally edition gives a wink and a nod to our rallying heritage." Then, after pointing out the O.Z's various cosmetic surgeries and the dash that "looks like an EVO VII's," he poignantly admitted that "the most important feature of the O.Z Rally edition is 'attitude.'" That same amount of attitude in an enthusiast's hands, however, just might reveal Lancer's wizard of OZ as something of an impostor.

Lancer, we think, is poised to succeed in spite of the burden of its name, but perhaps not entirely to Mitsubishi's credit. Pricked by the haughtiness of the U.S. Lancer's pseudo-reputation, this country's energetic sport-compact community may yet rise to the occasion and transform the ES Lancer-starting with big wheels, low-profile tires, radical body kits, and serious engine mods-from a priced-right commuter into a barnstorming street fighter. Only then will our Lancer earn a legitimate performance rep, and only then because freelancing motorheads took on the challenge that Mitsubishi has curiously evaded for the time being.