Standard Lancer is great fun

Sep 1 2008 Peter Hayward

MITSUBISHI¿S Lancer has only been available here as the barnstorming Evo or small-selling estate for many years.

But the new model to bear the name is well worth a look if you fancy a good medium saloon.

It even looks quite like the latest Evo, with rear spoiler and massive alloy wheels with sprayed-on rubber, but I drove the two-litre turbo diesel, with engine bought in from VW.

And there¿s no harm in that because it¿s the excellent latest version, though it does make quite a lot more noise than in the Volkswagen and SEAT models I¿ve tested.

Be that as it may, this is still one good car, with great acceleration and a six-speed gearbox to make best use of the power range.

Road-holding is excellent and although others found it uninspiring to drive, I beg to differ. I thought it was great fun and comfortable into the bargain.

Interior

The dash is simple and uncluttered and there¿s plenty of seat and column adjustment for real driving comfort.

The seats are excellent, legroom front and rear is good and the boot is also a decent size. GS4 trim brings luxuries like heated leather seats, sat-nav and a stereo with a 30GB hard drive and iPod socket.

FAST FACTS

Mitsubishi Lancer 2.0 DI-D GS4 5dr

Price : £18,499

Mechanical : 138bhp, 1,968cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving the front wheels via 6spd manual gearbox

Max speed : 129mph

0-62mph : 9.6 secs

Combined mpg : 44.8

Insurance group : 9

CO2 emissions : 165g/km

BiK rating : 23%

Warranty : 3yrs/ unlimited mileage, 6yrs paint, 12yrs anti-rust

Marks : 9/10

Main rival : VW Jetta