Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X review 2013
It’s a strange coincidence that, after more than 10 years of simultaneous development, both the Subaru Impreza and the Mitsubishi Evo should go through such major model changes at the same time. The Impreza has gone from saloon to hatchback (and then to both), just as the Lancer saloon (from which the Evolution is derived) goes into its ninth generation since 1973. And both these Japanese rally refugees are further removed from their base models than ever – the Impreza nameplate has been dropped for hot Subarus and the standard Lancer is no longer sold in the UK.
The Evo, conceived as a rally homologation model for the faster-paced world of motorsport, is here notching only its 10th iteration since 1992. Perhaps the fascination with rally replicas is not what it once was, however. When Mitsubishi executives talk about rivals for the Evo, there’s almost an air of resignation about the inevitability of its comparison with the Subaru WRX STi. They now think, “Our car shapes up to the likes of premium German brands.” And that’s a taller order. It’s certainly moved upmarket in terms of its perceived quality and comfort, but just how good is the Evolution X?
If the inevitable Subaru/Mitsubishi scrap includes an aesthetic judgement, then the Evolution X will steal an early victory. The Evo is based on the Lancer, itself a sharply and neatly styled car. Design changes to make it an Evo are all functional, but they end up seeming cohesively integrated into the basic, quite aggressive design.
All Evos come equipped with excellent adaptive bi-xenon headlamps and a huge rear wing. The latter improves the car’s aerodynamic properties, but does impinge on rearward visibility. There’s the usual selection of functional cooling vents in the front wings and bonnet, but it’s the front bumper that most sets the Evo apart. It has a repositioned front numberplate to improve airflow to the radiator and front-mounted intercooler, and there’s a pair of suitably large and loud exhausts exiting from both corners of the rear bumper. Multi-spoke alloy wheels measuring 18in and 350mm ventilated discs gripped by Brembo calipers complete the visual impact.
The Evo X’s torsional rigidity is up 39 per cent over its predecessor. It has a 25mm longer wheelbase and 30mm wider track, and the battery has been relocated to the boot to improve weight distribution. Once again, the Evo has an aluminium bonnet, wings and roof. Suspension is by MacPherson strut at the front, multi-link at the rear.
This is one of the areas where the Mitsubishi Evo X follows a similar theme to its predecessors: the cabin is large and comfortable, but seemingly developed after most of the budget was spent on the oilier parts and dynamics. There’s still a large amount of plastic that feels cheap to the touch, and it’s perhaps here more than anywhere that the Evo fails to live up to its premium German rivals.
Still, other boxes are ticked: the boot is of a reasonable size, there’s room for adults in the rear seats and although cabin plastics are no more than reasonable, they’re still better than an Impreza’s, and are seemingly well assembled.
The driving position is good, too. The nicely sized steering wheel could do with a wider range of adjustment, although it’s not disastrous for tall drivers. The standard Recaro front seats are excellent, although they might be a little tight for the larger driver, and the seat itself is a little too high. The major driving controls move with well-weighted precision; of particular note is the quality and accuracy of the automatic gearshift in SST-equipped models.
For a car that piles on speed so quickly it’s slightly odd that the speedo reads in 20mph increments. But the switchgear and other dials are clear and, on our test car, the comprehensive Rockford Fosgate music server and navigation system was easy to find your way around – and very loud with a 25cm subwoofer in the boot.