G R I P!
This car has it... and lots of it. First things first, the EVO is not your standard Mitsubishi Lancer. On the outside, it may look very similar and the interior may be just as bland, but the all the important bits have been not just upgraded... but completely replaced. Gone is the anemic four cylinder in the Lancer and instead it is replaced by a newly designed 2.0 L turbocharged, all-aluminum inline four cylinder engine. Now you may think... ugh, 2.0 L of engine can't do anything worthwhile. Well, let's just say this is 2.0 L of dynamite. This car pumps out a whopping 300hp out of a tiny package. Romp on it from idle and there is some turbo lag, but I understand there is a launch control feature available to solve that problem should you want to smash your brain against the back of your skull. Once moving, you roll on the throttle and a wave of torque propels you forward.
The transmission is new for the year. It is a new sequential semi-automatic six speed Twin Clutch SST twin-clutch transmission. This twin clutch system baffles the mind, but suffice to say, it does what it needs to do. Executes beautiful lightning fast upshifts and flawless downshifts at the flick of the steering column (not wheel) mounted paddles or the console mounted shifter.
Now the business end of the transmission is tied to an all new full-time all-wheel drive system named S-AWC (Super All Wheel Control). This is an advanced version of AWC system used in previous generations. The S-AWC uses torque vectoring technology to send different amount of torque to any wheel at any given time based on what many fancy computers think you are trying to do. The level of perceived grip that this translates to the driver is down right phenomenal. You can push harder through corners and fancy computers send power to the wheels that they need to so you can stay on your desired path. Laws of physics surely can't be broken, but the S-AWC has the ability to bend and even rewrite them at times. It has the ability to tell Sir Isaac Newton to look the other way as you power through corners like a man on a mission. If you aren't careful, you can easily turn the car one direction and have your lunch go the other.
Interior is nothing special... it basically is a slightly upgraded Lancer interior with really nice and supportive seats. Be forewarned though, if you are any bit out of shape, you're going to be too wide for these seats. They are very supportive, but you'll find yourself at the gym much much more to keep your weight down and your backside in check so you can fit comfortably in those seats.
Exterior enhancements included an upgraded front bumper, hood, bigger wheels and brakes, redesigned rear bumper and a much larger boy racer wing. This is the point where I tell you that the boy racer wing is "very" boy racer but some design monkey wasn't thinking when he put the rear spoiler right smack dab in the middle of the rear window. Looking through the back glass you get a great view of the spoiler, but not much else.
At 41,000 this isn't the cheapest pocket rocket on the market. Especially since the interior looks like that of it's 13,000 brother. However, when you drive this car, it's very evident that the extra 30,000 some odd dollars is all spent on the go fast goodies of the engine, transmission and all-wheel drive handling system.
You want to go fast? Then this is probably the best pocket rocket you are going to find for the price. Just be forewarned... you will need to spend some money to upgrade the exhaust because the Mitsubishi engineers did a great job of muffling the exhaust, but left you with the unmuffled sound of the overpowered blender under the hood. Plus... you will need to be prepared to start making three point turns to get in and out of parking spaces because it has the turning radius of a school bus.
It's all a small price to pay for the ability to bend the laws of physics at the flick of your wrist. Plus, with the amount of grip this car has, you can pretty much adjust the earth's rotation as desired. I heard that as a result of this car, too many drivers were going the same direction and the shear level of grip has cause engineers to think we are going to need to add another second to our clocks next year.
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