Test drive: 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer
Look at the current crop of compact cars and you'll see that virtually every major player has either just been or is about to be revamped. The Honda Civic and Volkswagen Rabbit were all new for 2006. 2007 saw the Nissan Sentra and Hyundai Elantra get redone, while Pontiac got back into the action with the under-appreciated G5. The 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer and Subaru Impreza have already hit the road, with the Saturn Astra, Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla soon to follow.
The Lancer has been on the market for a couple of months now, and frankly I'm surprised I haven't seen more on the road. I'm a big fan of the styling and love the fact that it offers an optional continuously variable transmission (CVT) instead of a traditional automatic. The old Lancer was a pretty ho-hum car (except, of course, for the turbocharged all-wheel-drive Lancer Evolution), so it wouldn't surprise me if it takes a while for the new Lancer to start picking up momentum. I got a chance to spend a week each with the mid-level Lancer ES and the top-of-the-line Lancer GTS; read more about details and driving impressions in my 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer test drive. -- Aaron Gold
Photo © Aaron Gold
Other sources report that the GTS is proving to be the most popular model and most dealers are sold out of it. Still, the problem with the driving position is a major turn-off, a problem that is shared with the current Toyota Corolla and Matrix and the Pontiac Vibe.
I keep looking at it, and wince every time. IMHO, it looks like it’s trying to be cool, but just not getting it. Although the EVO is enticing, I want the car to look great as well.