By EWAN KENNEDY
27 March 2006

Mitsubishi’s Lancer is selling strongly on the new car scene these days, actually doing better than its larger brother, the 380, as buyers swing towards smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.

Fully imported from Japan where it’s built to a high standard, the Lancer is easy to drive and park. In its latest model, released gradually from October 2003, it has overall refinement that’s virtually as good as many cars in the next size up.

Interior space is good in the front, but can be marginal in the rear if the front seats are adjusted rearwards to suit tall occupants. Rear seat headroom can be tight in the hatches, but is generally fine in the sedans and wagons.

There's quite a variety of body types, with two-door coupes, three-door hatches, four-door sedans and five-door station wagons all being offered, though not all bodies were on sale at all times. To cause added confusion, there was an overlap with the station wagon as it didn't always change its design at the same time as the rest of the range. Thus we sometimes saw the old wagons being sold for up to two years alongside the new sedans.

Three-door hatches prior to 1996 were called Lancer, but the name was changed to Mirage with the introduction of the new model of that year. However, Mirage shares quite a few under the skin parts with Lancer and many of the remarks here can be heeded by potential Mirage buyers.

Lancer has handling that’s better than average for the type, though you wouldn’t really call it a driver’s machine. The Lancer MR coupe of 1997 to 1994 has firmer suspension and tauter steering so is an exception to the rule.

Ride comfort in the standard Lancers is generally good, though rough roads can rattle things about at times.

Engines are all four-cylinder units with capacities of 1.5 litres in the early days, a 1.8-litre unit being used in the upmarket versions from 1992, and a 2.0-litre in most models from 2002. The 1.5 engine used a carburettor until 1996 and fuel injection from then.

Mitsubishi sprang a surprise on its opposition in August 2005 by squeezing a 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine under the Lancer’s bonnet. This gives it plenty of torque, excellent performance and safe overtaking, yet doesn’t use a lot more fuel than the other engines. These are still scarce on the used-car scene, but are worth keeping an eye out for.

Manual gearboxes are all five-speed units. Automatic transmissions on most older models were three-speed units until 1996, when they moved up to four speeds. However a four-speed automatic was installed in the topline variants from 1989.

The hot Lancer GSR of 1992 to 1996 is a rally-based special with 4WD and a twin-cam, turbocharged engine. It can cost big money to insure, service and repair and is best left to the revheads. Lancer GSR prior to the hot turbo model, used a non-turbo 1.6-litre and has far less performance than the hot-shot variant.

The highly-specialised, highly-priced Lancer Evolution models are even further up the performance scale, indeed they are so far removed from the rest of the Lancer range that we’ll ignore them here.

Spare parts and repair prices are about average for this class and the Australian Mitsubishi dealer network is widespread and efficient.

The Lancer is relatively easy for the home mechanic to work on, with good underbonnet space and nothing particularly tricky in their layout.

Insurance charges are about average for the class, though you will almost certainly be asked to pay considerably more for the hot turbocharged GSR.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
If possible, start the engine when it is completely cold. It should fire up within a couple of seconds and idle reasonably smoothly and quietly straight away.

Carburettor engines won’t be quite as smooth or tractable when cold as fuel-injected ones, but if one seems too bad call in an expert for advice.

If the engine puffs oily smoke from the exhaust during hard acceleration it may be due for an overhaul.

Feel for an automatic transmission that is slow to engage gear or is inclined to change up and down unnecessarily. A manual gearbox should be slick and easy to use. If not there could be troubles - fast changes down through the gears will show the problem first.

Check for previous body repairs by looking for ripples in the panels, paint that doesn’t match correctly from one panel to another, and tiny spots of paint on glass, badges, body trim and so on.

Rust is uncommon but check the lower areas of the body and the bottom corners of the doors, tailgate or bootlid as applicable.

A Lancer GSR may have had a hard life in the hands of an amateur rally driver. Look for full-harness safety belts, a roll cage, rally instruments and driving lights. Check for under body damage, as well as for panel repairs as described above.

Also listen for a noisy turbo on the GSR, as well as louder than standard exhaust and look for oily fumes form the tailpipe. Beware the turbocharger that’s slow to respond.

CAR BUYING TIP
Where possible buy a car with a full service record. And check that the mileage on the service book corresponds with the speedo reading.

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