Buyers looking for a simple compact car with good levels of equipment, available all-wheel drive, and a robust warranty may wish to consider Mitsubishi’s Lancer. The four-door sedan and five-door hatchback enter 2016 with a new look, more standard equipment and a host of minor interior changes.
Revisions to the front end see a new chrome-accented grille and available LED daytime running lights, plus a new wheel design on the top-shelf trim. Otherwise, the car is visually unchanged. Inside, there’s new cloth upholstery for the seats, and a re-styled centre console. All trims other than the base DE get standard climate control with air condition.
The Lancer DE and ES sedans are powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine which develops 148 hp and 145 lb-ft of torque; it can be had with either a five-speed manual (9.6 L/100 km city, 7.0 L/100 km highway) or an optional CVT (8.6 L/100 km city, 6.8 L/100 km highway). The Lancer ES is also available with Mitsubishi’s AWC (All Wheel Control all-wheel drive), but comes with a larger more powerful 2.4-litre four-cylinder with 168 hp, and standard CVT (10.2 L/100 km city, 7.8 L/100 km highway).
Those looking for a slightly sportier appearance can upgrade to the Lancer GTS which gets the more powerful engine as standard, plus sport seats, sport suspension, 18-inch wheels, and more. It’s available in both manual (10.5 L/100 km city, 7.7 L/100 km highway) and CVT (9.8 L/100 km city, 7.6 L/100 km highway) with front-wheel drive, or with the AWC all-wheel drive system.
A five-door Sportback model is also offered, though it is only available with the 2.0-litre four-cylinder power and front-wheel drive. A five-speed manual is standard, with the CVT available as an optional extra.
Unfortunately, both the hair-raising turbocharged Ralliart and Evolution models are no longer offered.
Pricing for the Lancer starts at $14,998 for the base DE, while the top-of-the-link GTS AWC sells for $25,998. Pricing for the Lancer Sportback starts at $19,798, and tops out at $24,698.
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