Mitsubishi Lancer News

There are plenty of deals on wheels in the race to the end of the year.The two best-selling cars in Australia -- the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3 -- are in a neck-and-neck race to become Number One for the year.The Corolla leads the year-to-date tally and Toyota as a brand is trying to eclipse 200,000 sales for the 10th time -- as market leader for a record 12th year in a row.The reigning champion Corolla overtook the Mazda3 in the year-to-date tally in July by just 21 sales -- but the pair have swapped the monthly lead three times in the past four months.The Mazda3 landed the most recent punch, outselling the Corolla in November and closing the gap to top spot and now either brand could win for the year. In decades of Ford versus Holden rivalry the finish was never this close.Even if these two cars are not on your shopping list this is still good news because their discounting has dragged other brands into the battle, giving buyers more bargaining power than usual.December and January customarily make for sharp buying because dealers are trying to clear 2014-built stock.But the tight battle at the top of the charts has increased the pressure in the biggest segment of the market. Here are the best deals we found this week, in order of each car’s popularity on the 2014 sales charts.Toyota CorollaThe discounts are hard to find online but they’re available at the dealer if you go in with a reasonable target price rather than a made-up one.Toyota is trying to walk customers up to the Ascent Sport ($23,990 drive-away for manual and $25,990 drive-away for auto) but the best deal is still on the most affordable model.Aim for $21,990 drive-away for the Corolla Ascent hatch or $22,740 drive-away for the sedan. Both come with seven airbags but the sedan gets a standard rear-view camera and parking sensors.Mazda3Mazda is being discreet with its discounting and dealers will try to upsell you to the dearer models. Once again, the cheapest models are the best buying. The website says "free on-roads", which effectively means you can take the RRP and turn that into a drive-away price. Aim for $19,990 drive-away for a manual and $21,990 drive-away for an automatic.Hyundai i30The Hyundai i30 hatch comes with a $1000 EFTPOS card, but you can turn that into a $1000 discount. Aim for $19,990 drive-away for a manual or $22,540 drive-away for an auto -- if you don’t take the spending card. There’s also a finance offer: no deposit or repayments until 2016, but be sure to check the interest rate.Holden CruzeThe Australian-made Holden Cruze is struggling, sales are down, and it is on track to go out of production at least one year before the Commodore (when Holden will import the new generation Cruze). Which is why Holden has an epic deal: $19,990 drive-away with automatic transmission plus a five-year warranty. The only catch: metallic paint is $550, the dearest of the mainstream brands.Vokswagen GolfThe German brand wants to overtake Toyota for global sales leadership by 2018 and is dropping Golf prices the world over. At $22,990 drive-away for the manual and $24,990 drive-away for the automatic it is about $4000 off the full RRP. But the best buying is the Jetta sedan (an updated model is due early next year). The price is an unbelievable $19,990 drive-away for a manual and $22,990 drive-away for an auto, about $7000 off the full RRP.Ford FocusThe Ford Focus Ambiente sedan and hatch have been trimmed to a super-sharp $18,490 drive-away for a manual or just $19,990 drive-away for an auto -- once you take up the $1000 discount or “cash back” offer funded by Ford.Nissan PulsarThe Nissan Pulsar is the sharpest buying in the small car class: $18,476 drive-away for a manual or just $19,476 drive-away for an automatic if you ask politely. There is just one catch: Nissan wasn’t very good at clearing stock this time last year, so these deals are on 2013-built cars.Even though they’ve been sitting around for at least a year, the dealer will prep them so they’re as good as new and the three three-year warranty starts the day you take delivery. But it’ll be marked down slightly at resale time because you’re trading in a 2013 model, not a 2014.Mitsubishi LancerGiven that the Lancer is one of the oldest cars in the class (it has been with us in this guise for seven years) its discounting could be a little sharper than this: $18,990 drive-away for a manual and $21,490 drive-away for an auto -- once a $1000 cash back is taken into account.Hyundai ElantraRecently given a freshen up the Elantra can be had for the same money as the Hyundai i30 hatch: aim for $19,990 drive-away for a manual or $22,540 drive-away for an auto if you don’t take the $1000 spending card. Not the sharpest deal around but not the worst.Kia CeratoLast but certainly not least, the Kia Cerato is among the sharpest deals out there, especially when you consider the market-leading seven year warranty: $19,990 drive-away for a manual or an automatic (yes, same price for both), about $4000 off.

Mitsubishi drops prices amid spec and model revisions across Lancer and Evolution lineup.

The Lancer Evo will not survive an upcoming liaison between the three companies that will produce an all-new Lancer for Mitsubishi and an unnamed small car to be shared by Nissan and Renault.The turbocharged and all-wheel drive package that makes the Evo so successful, with Australian sales of the Evo X continuing from $56,990, cannot be switched to the new-age compact that should be on the road by 2017.“The volume of the sales is not as high as the love and passion towards that car,” the president of Mitsubishi Motors, Osamu Masuko, reveals to Carsguide during a visit from Japan. “In Europe, actually, the Lancer Evolution in certain countries stopped this year. Other countries that don’t have that (emissions) issue will continue.”Masuko admits the Evo has done a good job of brand building for Mitsubishi, but says the company is working on a new hero as the PHEV hybrid becomes a motorsport star. “I think with the new PHEV SUV we might consider to challenge in motorsport. Last year in August we have participated in an Asian rally from Thailand to Laos.”So, what about the Dakar Rally where Mitsubishi scored many wins with its Pajero? “It’s not going to be that race, but a lot of other tough races we will consider.” Masuko is not ready to reveal details of the model sharing program with the Nissan-Renault Alliance, but says the companies are close to a sign-off.“It’s just the platform we are considering. We are studying in various scenarios,” he says. “It hasn’t been completed as a deal, but we are progressive well. It can be a different engine or body for each brand.”This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover 

To fend off ever-sharper competition in the small car class, Mitsubishi has sharpened its entrant with a re-specced Lancer GSR Sportback. Lancer has been around for years and the GSR Sportback adds a dash of sportiness to the lineup.It's the only Sportback in the Lancer range  and is fitted with a 2.4-litre, 125kW MIVEC powertrain, sport tuned suspension, the choice of five-speed manual or CVT automatic with sport mode and paddle shifters.The GSR gains 18-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels, Ralliart style front grille, side air dams, rear sports spoiler and cloth sports-style front seats. Standard safety kit includes reversing camera, voice activated Bluetooth with audio streaming, climate control air-conditioning, privacy glass, smart key access, rain sensing wipers, dusk sensing headlamps and 6.1-inch full colour touch screen with iPod compatibility and rear view camera interface.The price is $22,990 for the manual, $25,240 for the CVT.  Entry level Lancer is now the ES four door sedan starting at $20,390. 

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo axedMitsubishi has confirmed it will not develop an Evolution XI to follow the current model, with a spokesperson saying there were no plans for another generation of the iconic rally legend. However while they are farewelling the Evo, there is hope for development of another performance model utilising the Japanese brand's focus on electric vehicles.2015 Holden Cruze | spy shotsGeneral Motors’ next Cruze world car has been scooped in a totally undisguised state in a Shanghai holding yard, previewing the model we’ll see as the replacement for the locally manufactured Holden JH Series II model.Schumacher’s wife building $18m home medical suiteThe wife of seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is reported to be preparing a £10 million ($17.9 million) medical facility at their family mansion in anticipation of her husband being forced out of his current hospital intensive care unit place.Carmakers get in on April Fools Day adsCar brands love April Fools Day, using it as a channel to let off some marketing steam even more ludicrous than some of their regular advertisements and merchandising. And we love it too, because no car idea is too ridiculous to consider.

Mitsubishi has confirmed it will not develop an Evolution XI to follow the current model, with a spokesperson saying there were no plans for another generation of the iconic rally legend. However while they are farewelling the Evo, there is hope for development of another performance model utilising the Japanese brand's focus on electric vehicles.“Mitsubishi Motors does not have any plans to design a successor with the current concept, as a high-performance four-wheel drive gasoline-powered sedan,” spokesperson Namie Koketsu told Automotive News. “Mitsubishi Motors will explore the possibilities of high-performance models that incorporate electric vehicle technology.”Koketsu stopped short of saying when production of the current generation of the four-wheel drive sedan would halt, but the signals from Mitsubishi for some time have pointed to its demise. The brand has unveiled plans to source its sedan product lines from its alliance with Renault-Nissan, leaving the in-house effort to concentrate on its core strengths of utes and SUVs, and its focus on expanding the electric vehicle line-up.Just a few years ago, the notion of electric motors powering a high-performance car would have seemed unlikely, but with the likes of the BMW i8, Porsche 918 Spyder, McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari -- and news that Audi has put the e-tron R8 back on the table -- it's become a reality.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

The top-two sellers will be driving the competition; an all-new Mazda3 is around the corner and Toyota will introduce an all-new Corolla sedan to sell alongside last year's champion.Good supply of the two all-new top-selling models means that everyone else in the small-car class -- representing almost a quarter of all new vehicles sold -- will have to sharpen their pencils or risk becoming old stock.To that end, the Mitsubishi Lancer will be in runout for most of the year, while Suzuki will also be pushing hard to clear the decks of its popular Alto city car, ahead of the new model which has grown in size.The locally-made Holden Cruze will also find the going particularly tough against the newer models; Holden has already admitted it loses money on each one it builds and can't limbo much lower on price.Volkswagen will likely maintain its promotional pricing on the Golf every other month as the German factory ramps up production, while Hyundai also has its revised i30 hatch and Elantra sedan twins to take to market."There's never been a better time to buy a new car," said Toyota Australia executive director Tony Cramb, intentionally repeating an old industry cliché.Low interest rates and improved consumer confidence have helped drive sales, he said.Several runout models -- particularly the Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi Triton utes, both of which were Top 10 finishers -- have prompted unprecedented discounts.The new-car market dipped by up to 3 per cent from August to November 2013 in the wake of the Rudd Government's proposed changes to Fringe Benefits Tax rules on company cars, but the industry expects a full recovery in 2014 after December's modest rise of 1.4 per cent.The industry has forecast an increase from last year's record of 1,136,227 new-car sales, to 1,145,000 in 2014.However, Mr Cramb said new-car sales in 2013 would have been higher if not for changes to Fringe Benefits Tax rules proposed by the former Labor Government."The FBT announcement made by the former government definitely slowed down business sales … there are many companies still just making their way back to normal purchases," said Mr Cramb.He said it took the market "a lot longer than we had anticipated" to recover form the botched plan that would have quadrupled the tax on company cars."Companies have extended leases, delayed purchasing decisions, and rather than coming back once … the new Government made it clear they were going to implement previous Government's policies, there was a skepticism in the market among the big fleet companies."This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling

Rumours of a hybrid drivetrain for Mitsubishi’s next-generation Evolution performance flagship are gaining momentum, with a new report by Japanese magazine Holiday Auto suggesting that the next Evo will maintain its traditional turbo petrol and all-wheel drive attributes with green-friendly plug-in hybrid power.According to the report, the Evo will benefit from technology developed for efficiency-focused models like the new plug-in Outlander SUV to improve on the current model’s combined fuel consumption of at least 10.1L/100km, while boosting performance to new levels.Porsche, McLaren and Ferrari have recently proven that the words performance and hybrid are not at all mutually exclusive with their 918 Spyder, P1, and LaFerrari fastest-ever models, and it’s only a matter of time before such tech trickles down to more affordable performance models like the Evo.The Mitsubishi is not the only bang-for bucks champion in line for hybridisation, with Nissan’s next GT-R also set to incorporate some form of efficiency-boosting electrification and Honda has confirmed a similar shift for its upcoming NSX.Holiday Auto suggests that the Evo will use a similar dual electric motor layout to the Outlander PHEV, but will ditch the SUV’s atmo 2.0-litre petrol engine for a smaller 1.1 litre turbo unit similar to that used by the XR and AR concepts shown in Tokyo recently.Mitsubishi is reportedly targeting outputs similar to a 3.0-litre aspirated engine for the Evo-spec 1100cc unit, which suggests something in the vicinity of 170kW, before electric power is factored in.   Such a 155kW/L specific output would mark a significant jump from the 108.6kW/L achieved from the 217kW 2.0-litre turbo unit in the existing Evo X, and exceed even the 133.1kW/L achieved by 265kW 2.0 litre four powering the Mercedes A45 and CLA45 AMG twins.Even with the Outlander PHEV’s dual 60kW electric motors, a circa-170kW petrol engine would have the potential to trounce the current Evo X, but these could be uprated in the pursuit of GT-R rivalling performance reported elsewhere.Also key to a hybrid Evo’s performance potential will be maintaining the Outlander PHEV’s battery system location ahead of the rear axle for the benefit of weight distribution.Other reports have suggested that the next Evolution will require a bespoke platform to deal with its unique packaging and performance demands, suggesting it could lose the Lancer name for the first time in the model’s history.Such a repositioning would mirror Nissan’s GT-R, which was distanced from the Skyline nameplate for the first time when the current R35 model launched in 2007.The next-generation Lancer is set to ride on a platform shared with the Renault-Nissan Alliance, but it is unclear whether this strategy extends to the mooted Evo replacement.This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn

Mitsubishi has announced a global safety recall on their performance hero, the Lancer Evolution, for a faulty clutch master cylinder on the five-speed H-pattern manual transmission. The defect means the rally rocket's clutch could fail and the vehicle be unable to be shifted in and out of gears, risking a collision.The recall affects more than 12,000 cars around the world built at Mitsubishi's Mizushima plant -- the sole source of the Evolution model -- between December 12, 2007 and March 5, 2013, and 407 in Australia. "There have been no incidents of failure in Australia," Mitsubishi spokesperson Shayna Welsh says. "A fix will take approximately three hours and customers will be advised to contact their local Mitsubishi dealer to book in their vehicle."The carmaker will notify owners, and their local Mitsubishi service centre will replace the clutch master cylinders of any affected cars.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

Two men pretending to be undercover cops stole a man's car after pulling him over for "hooning" in the Perth suburb of Thornlie on Friday night.The 28-year-old victim was driving his Mitsubishi Lancer on Warton Rd about 9.30pm when a Holden Commodore approached him with a blue flashing light on the dashboard.The victim pulled over and was confronted by two men claiming to be undercover police officers, who said they were seizing the man's car for hooning. One man then took the black Lancer and the other man drove off in the Commodore, leaving the victim on the side of the road.Police have described one man as 180cm tall and the other 165cm tall, both with dark skin and dressed in casual clothes."Police are reminding members of the public that if approached by anyone claiming to be a police officer to ask for identification," a police spokeswoman said."All WA Police personnel carry an identification badge. This badge has a photograph of them, their police service number and a police badge/logo on the identification."Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.