Mitsubishi Lancer VR

By Neil Dowling

The Sunday Times

08 November 2007

Photos
Video

Second round finalist: Lauded for reliability and ease of ownership, the Lancer has rarely topped the beauty stakes.

That is, until now. The new Lancer - possibly for the first time in the badge's history - appeals to a very broad market, collecting the ladies' vote for its neat, well balanced lines and that of the men for its purposeful stance.

It works better inside as well, with a more spacious and attractive cabin that lifts the car from mundane and puts it onto the shopping list of anyone looking for a mid-sized sedan.

The engine size decreases to 2.0 litres from 2.4 but you wouldn't know it, and there's the option of a more efficient CVT gearbox in place of the old automatic. Best of all, it's safer with a stronger body and comes with standard electronic stability control and ABS brakes.

Lancer is now right on the money for buyer appeal and was a no-brainer to get nominated as one of this year's Car of the Year finalists.

Check out the video below and let us know if you think this is a worthy Car of the Year nominee.

For all the latest on the carsguide Car Of The Year each week go to www.carsguide.com.au/caroftheyear

Comments on this story

Displaying 3 of 11 comments

Page 1 of 2

Well, we didn't win that 'Car of the Year' award MITSUBISHI, we only managed 4th place!, not too bad for a car that's only been out since OCTOBER!. But here!, the 1-2 and 3 spots are all miserly little hatch backs, the LANCER being a true SEDAN , I had no problems whatsoever picking it as my choice of new vehicle after doing the rounds of all the 'winners' above!. The add on the telly says,' Love that car', the only thing wrong with that is , you can't take it to bed!!. To sum up, you might have been 4th MITSUBISHI, but in my books," YOU ARE NUMBER 1" .......Dave (P/S, I only got the LS version as well!!)

dave hall Posted at 26 November 2007 11:51am

I really like this new generation of Lancer - the first where it's actually at the front of the class instead of being in the middle as was the case with previous models. I am curious as to why the VR is being featured and not the VRX, given the inclusion of the Impreza RS. I think that the VR will be the volume seller of the range, given that it has the best balance of price and features, and the VRX looks great... but why does it need that hideous large spoiler?!

Peter Posted at 21 November 2007 10:55am

The winner must be the Lancer,the other competitors have their issues that cant be given preferance over the Mitsubishi product,be it price and servicing-parts for the BMW or fuel economy for the Subaru and ergonomics for the Ford in your own words too.The winner is clear from your summeries of the cars tested.COTY Mitsubishi Lancer VR

Phil De-Ath Posted at 21 November 2007 10:55am

Style, build quality, ESP, copetitive pricing, solid performance for a four cylinder, good fuel economy, as big inside as the first Magna. A worthy contender for the car of the year. Now Mitsubishi, can you please weld that front onto my 380 LX. Malcolm Jowitt

Malcolm Jowitt Posted at 14 November 2007 4:54pm

Mitsubishi has definitely set the standard of the small - medium sized class and all with a reasonable price. As massive fan of 6 cylinder engines, this would have to be the first smaller car I could honestly say I would highly consider as my next purchase.

Chris Macdonald Posted at 14 November 2007 4:54pm

I drove one today and Im pleasantly syrprised, its a bloody great car!. It feels more upmarket than expected and its definately the segment leader, this vehicle has just set a new benchmark. The VRX is my favourite with the Paddle Shifts mounted behind the steering wheel, they actually work and very responsive. I expected it would be an ok package but Ive walked away actually wanting one. Mr Bishi, can I get one in a metalic firey orange colour?

Steven A Posted at 14 November 2007 4:49pm

This is by far the best value and safest vehicle in the market today. Mitsubishi has set the standard for cars under $35k. With it's class leading warranty this has to be the COTY winner.

Steve Sheridan Posted at 12 November 2007 2:17pm

a very good car, this is a car for these times,its design paremeters include a first class engine &driveline , chassis dynamics, with saftey features that should be in all other cars, the size of this lancer is spot on, the performance,and the frugal fuel usage is the best for this motoring climate,the build quality is as good,if not better then the other coty contenders, this mitsubishi lancer will stand the test of time ,the cost of parts and services,and insurance takes this car to a whole new level, yes i reckon this lancer is the real deal.......good value for the consumers investment,verdic-------winner, and i drive commordore ute, the next family car will be a mitsubishi lancer.....why not.

john foster Posted at 10 November 2007 10:13am

This is definatly the COTY 07. this car really deserves this award because it excels in all motoring feilds (safety, performance, stability) i would rather have this car in my garage than the mondeo or impreza!!!!! WINNER!!!!!

Lachan McQueen Posted at 10 November 2007 1:35am

It's time to have a comeback to revive the good old mitsubishi lancer!!!!

Francis Posted at 09 November 2007 1:50pm

Read all 11 comments

1 2 >

Add your comment on this story

Comments Form

Enter your comments:

We welcome your comments on this story. Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Please provide your full name. We also require a working email address - not for publication, but for verification. The location field is optional.

Additional Information