The Evolution of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

You get on the move, the short engagement period or moment in the clutch pedal really helps you execute some fast shifts. Reader Diesel had also asked about Turnin and balance, and I would say both of those are excellent historically. The Evo has been cornered a bit more flat than its comparable Subaru WRXSTI, and that's still true today. It feels like it's got a lower center of gravity, and it just simply does not roll as much. The ride is firm of course, but it is more compliant than it used to be. That said, Turnin is still sharp; we've got 18-inch Yos on this car and they handle everything nicely.

There is a fair amount of road noise generated from them, but it's not out of keeping with a car of this character. Time to take a look inside I don't know if you could hear it, but the feel of the door handle there is not the greatest; the sound that it makes and all of that is not great. But if you're really concerned about such minutia, you're probably not an EVO driver. Basic instrumentation ahead featuring might not be able to say this from the glare, but a speedometer with hash marks to 190 mph fairly ambitious there but may be useful for all you tuner types. Red line of 7,000 RPM on the large tachometer and up front there's the information display right now it's toggled to snow not for any apparent reason; it was actually in Tarmac before.

But there's a little switch that you thumb here on the steering wheel; blurry, blurry, blurry, there it is right where you would expect. The volume control or track switch are on the CD player and that'll actually modulate the differential tunings here. So, you've got gravel snow and tarmac. The rest of the interior is sort of unsurprisingly largely standard issue Lancer which is to say newly competitive for its Class; A very simple sleek design not the world's best materials decent panel fit; um we did hear over some rough roads a little bit of rattling around not much in the way of squeaking.

Um, but it seems fairly well put together. It's it's definitely a lot cleaner and better integrated than the last one as is true of the latest WRX they've really stepped it up. But for those expecting kind of the switch gear feel; you can hear that sort of feels cheap; um and some of the material uh finishes this is hard touch plastic not soft touch although it's nicely grained. Um, you're going to be out of luck this car is about $33,600 and it basically feels like a $116,000 economy car with a bunch of admittedly very nice modifications to its interior including the attention three-spoke wheel which uh is leather wrapped and just the right thickness feels great in the hand.

Although it doesn't telescope which is kind of a bummer. We've got super grippy Ricaro seats and those look and feel fantastic although I will say I could probably do without the carbon fiber with K insets here; that's really not doing it for me personally um but it does liven up what is otherwise a fairly standard issue Lancer interior. Reader MB Slrm asked if every model comes with a navigation system, and as you can plainly see here that is not the case. Um, what you're looking at here is a six-disk in-dash changer with some very basic switch gear which is just fine.

Um, although I will say that the display over there up at the top with the uh the red readout tends to wash out and direct sunlight so that can be bothersome; that's said. I believe you can spec out a higher-end unit um we'll have to check into that for our readers and uh perhaps we can add that in the text to this post.

Our final question comes from reader Jonathan, fun and uh he asked a pretty interesting question. He said if this vehicle had a theme song what would it be? Now we're not going to be hearing Almond Brothers or Mozarts or Tupac here; I though I suppose you could with all of the technology that's inside this vehicle even though it doesn't have the wind-clutch transmission and with its strong sort of video game generation appeal. I've got to believe that the theme song to the Evo here is techno, and in specific uh I can't think of offhand of any more irreverent to song.

With a driving beat that sort of makes you want to drive faster and faster; uh prodigies Smack My Up maybe a little on PC but throw that disc in this car and uh prepare to lose your license. Thanks guys hope you enjoyed it, and and looking forward to your next questions and your next ask it

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey readers Chris poer Winding Road editor-in Chief here with your latest ask it answers in front of me is the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GSR now for th those that don't have crib sheets in front of them the GSR is in fact the Bas spec Lancer Evo that means you don't get the uh high-tech six-speed twin clutch you get a 5-speed manual transmission and you get the quote unquote base uh suspension and brakes but that's still means some lovely uh Brembo brakes here front and rear discs all the way around obviously 18in wheels on this one uh a little bit more subdued this time out uh in terms of styling though still aggressive Fender vents a number of vents on the hood here uh and of course that big gaping MW right down there as if on Q the intercooler there some fairly aggressive looking headlamps Allin a lot of people are suggesting that maybe this is a little bit softer visually than the last Evo and I have to say I sort of agree but it doesn't really diminish the impact to me this is a more integrated form now the other thing that's happened between this generation and the last generation is the basic styling went and got a lot better looking on the Lancer um and they started using bigger wheel and tire packages on the standard non forced induction cars so there may not be quite the visual differentiation that there once was but the whole package is a lot more balanced and it's still quite aggressive the rear wing the trademark rear wing is a bit more reserved than it was the last time out which helped somewhat with visibility but people will still see you coming and going in this one we still got a lot of thumbs up uh I think one of our contributors actually got a couple of middle fingers so that's the brief outside tour and we'll get into some specific questions uh from your readers here in just a second as I mentioned before performance- wise uh this is the standard car which means it has the 2 L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine which produces 295 horsepower and an even 300 ft-lbs of torque and it's rotted through an all-wheel drive uh setup here with a 5-speed manual a great deal of fun to be add here it's definitely quieter and a a little bit more softly sprung than the last Evo um but I would say that overall um that's actually to its benefit it's more usable on a day-to-day basis it's got more torque throughout the Rev range uh and it's it's a livable car that's not to say however that this car has gotten so soft and gone all Mazda speed 6 or maybe Audi S4 on you not that those aren't both wonderful cars in their own right but this is still a pretty uh precise Tool uh pretty uncompromising it's still loud inside it's still boomy uh both from the engine and the exhaust you still hear the uh blowoff valve you still hear the turbo you still turn heads and it's still an experience in specific reader Z German asked how noticeable is the turbo lag and it's a little bit less noticeable than last time out and in fact I would say it's less acute than on its R trial the Subaru WRX STI but it's still obviously a blown four cylinder you're not going to mistake this for a V6 or a V8 uh there is still a certain degree of that weight weight w and uh that's that's sort of an integral part of the experience of this vehicle and I don't think they're ever going to completely ever going to completely dial that out um reader diesel head asked if the standard manual transmission was good uh it's a fair question um it is a good transmission it's a 5-speed we kind of wish that there was a six-speed um not so much for fuel economy but sort of to keep us out of trouble on the highway uh we figure a super tall sixth gear would not only uh save a little bit of fuel but it might save our licenses as well uh and maybe a little bit of our eardrums uh it's it's fairly boomy at at highway speeds and that that would probably cure a little bit of it that said the sh throws are a little bit more direct and a little bit uh more mechanical in action um in in their feel so we're quite pleased with that the clutch remains sort of an onoff switch uh not terribly easy to modulate most of its uh engagement point is pretty high off of the carpet so you push the pedal all the way in it's fairly firm you release it you release it nothing nothing and then it's that you know last third of travel that really is what engages so it's hard for first timers or people that aren't experienced with such vehicles but once you get on the move the short engagement uh period or moment uh in the clutch pedal really helps you uh execute some fast shifts reader diesel had also asked about Turnin and balance and I would say both of those are excellent uh historically the Evo has been um has cornered a bit more flatter a bit flatter than the comparable Subaru WRXSTI and that's still true uh it feels like it's got a lower center of gravity uh it just simply does not roll as much the ride is firm of course uh but it is more compliant than it used to be that said Turnin is still sharp we've got 18-in Yos on this car and they handle everything nicely uh there is a fair amount of road noise generated from them but it's not out of keeping with a car of this character time to take a look inside I don't know if you could hear it but the uh feel of the uh door handle there is not the greatest uh the sound that it makes and all of that is not great but if you're really concerned about such minutia you're probably not an EVO driver basic instrumentation ahead featuring might not be able to say this from the glare but a speedometer with hash marks to 190 mph fairly uh I would say ambitious there but may be useful for all you tuner types red line of 7,000 RPM on the large tachometer and up front there's the information display right now it's toggled to snow not for any apparent reason it was actually in tarmac before but there's a little switch that you thumb here on the steering wheel blurry blurry blurry there it is right where you would expect the volume control or track swich are on the CD player and that'll actually modulate the uh differential tunings here so you've got gravel snow and tarmac the rest of the Interior is sort of unsurprisingly largely standard issue Lancer which is to say newly competitive for its Class A very simple Sleek design uh not the world's best materials decent panel fit um we did hear over some rough roads uh a little bit of rattling around not much in the way of squeaking um but it seems fairly well put together uh it's it's definitely a lot cleaner and better integrated than the last one as is true of the latest WRX they've really stepped it up but for those expecting um kind of the the switch gear feel you can hear that sort of feels cheap um and some of the the material uh finishes this is hard touch plastic not soft touch although it's nicely grained um you're going to be out of luck this car is about $33,600 and it basically feels like a $116,000 economy car with a bunch of admittedly very nice modifications to its interior including the aention three-spoke wheel which uh is leather wrapped and just the right thickness feels great in the hand although it doesn't telescope which is kind of a bummer we've got super grippy ricaro seats and those look and feel fantastic although I will say I could probably do without the carbon fiber with a K insets here uh that's really not not doing it for me personally um but it does liven up what is otherwise a fairly standard issue Lancer interior reader MB slrm asked if every uh model Here Comes with a navigation system and as you can plainly see here that is not the case um what you're looking at here is a six disk in dash changer with some very basic switch gear uh which is just fine uh although I will say that the display over there up at the top with the uh the red readout tends to wash out and direct sunlight so that can be bothersome that's said I believe you can spec out a higher end unit um we'll have to check into that for our readers and uh perhaps we can add that in the text to this post all right our final question comes from reader Jonathan fun and uh he asked a pretty interesting question he said uh if this vehicle had a theme song what would it be now we're not going to be hearing Almond Brothers we're not going to be hearing mozarts we're not going to be listening to Tupac here I though I suppose you could uh with all of the uh technology that's inside this vehicle even though it doesn't have the wind clutch transmission and with its strong sort of video game generation appeal I've got to believe that the theme song to the Evo here is techno and in specific uh I can't think of offhand of any more irreverent to song uh with a driving beat that sort of makes you want to drive faster and faster than uh prodigies Smack My Up maybe a little on PC but throw that disc in this car and uh prepare to lose your license thanks guys hope you enjoyed it and and looking forward to your next questions and your next next ask ithey readers Chris poer Winding Road editor-in Chief here with your latest ask it answers in front of me is the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GSR now for th those that don't have crib sheets in front of them the GSR is in fact the Bas spec Lancer Evo that means you don't get the uh high-tech six-speed twin clutch you get a 5-speed manual transmission and you get the quote unquote base uh suspension and brakes but that's still means some lovely uh Brembo brakes here front and rear discs all the way around obviously 18in wheels on this one uh a little bit more subdued this time out uh in terms of styling though still aggressive Fender vents a number of vents on the hood here uh and of course that big gaping MW right down there as if on Q the intercooler there some fairly aggressive looking headlamps Allin a lot of people are suggesting that maybe this is a little bit softer visually than the last Evo and I have to say I sort of agree but it doesn't really diminish the impact to me this is a more integrated form now the other thing that's happened between this generation and the last generation is the basic styling went and got a lot better looking on the Lancer um and they started using bigger wheel and tire packages on the standard non forced induction cars so there may not be quite the visual differentiation that there once was but the whole package is a lot more balanced and it's still quite aggressive the rear wing the trademark rear wing is a bit more reserved than it was the last time out which helped somewhat with visibility but people will still see you coming and going in this one we still got a lot of thumbs up uh I think one of our contributors actually got a couple of middle fingers so that's the brief outside tour and we'll get into some specific questions uh from your readers here in just a second as I mentioned before performance- wise uh this is the standard car which means it has the 2 L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine which produces 295 horsepower and an even 300 ft-lbs of torque and it's rotted through an all-wheel drive uh setup here with a 5-speed manual a great deal of fun to be add here it's definitely quieter and a a little bit more softly sprung than the last Evo um but I would say that overall um that's actually to its benefit it's more usable on a day-to-day basis it's got more torque throughout the Rev range uh and it's it's a livable car that's not to say however that this car has gotten so soft and gone all Mazda speed 6 or maybe Audi S4 on you not that those aren't both wonderful cars in their own right but this is still a pretty uh precise Tool uh pretty uncompromising it's still loud inside it's still boomy uh both from the engine and the exhaust you still hear the uh blowoff valve you still hear the turbo you still turn heads and it's still an experience in specific reader Z German asked how noticeable is the turbo lag and it's a little bit less noticeable than last time out and in fact I would say it's less acute than on its R trial the Subaru WRX STI but it's still obviously a blown four cylinder you're not going to mistake this for a V6 or a V8 uh there is still a certain degree of that weight weight w and uh that's that's sort of an integral part of the experience of this vehicle and I don't think they're ever going to completely ever going to completely dial that out um reader diesel head asked if the standard manual transmission was good uh it's a fair question um it is a good transmission it's a 5-speed we kind of wish that there was a six-speed um not so much for fuel economy but sort of to keep us out of trouble on the highway uh we figure a super tall sixth gear would not only uh save a little bit of fuel but it might save our licenses as well uh and maybe a little bit of our eardrums uh it's it's fairly boomy at at highway speeds and that that would probably cure a little bit of it that said the sh throws are a little bit more direct and a little bit uh more mechanical in action um in in their feel so we're quite pleased with that the clutch remains sort of an onoff switch uh not terribly easy to modulate most of its uh engagement point is pretty high off of the carpet so you push the pedal all the way in it's fairly firm you release it you release it nothing nothing and then it's that you know last third of travel that really is what engages so it's hard for first timers or people that aren't experienced with such vehicles but once you get on the move the short engagement uh period or moment uh in the clutch pedal really helps you uh execute some fast shifts reader diesel had also asked about Turnin and balance and I would say both of those are excellent uh historically the Evo has been um has cornered a bit more flatter a bit flatter than the comparable Subaru WRXSTI and that's still true uh it feels like it's got a lower center of gravity uh it just simply does not roll as much the ride is firm of course uh but it is more compliant than it used to be that said Turnin is still sharp we've got 18-in Yos on this car and they handle everything nicely uh there is a fair amount of road noise generated from them but it's not out of keeping with a car of this character time to take a look inside I don't know if you could hear it but the uh feel of the uh door handle there is not the greatest uh the sound that it makes and all of that is not great but if you're really concerned about such minutia you're probably not an EVO driver basic instrumentation ahead featuring might not be able to say this from the glare but a speedometer with hash marks to 190 mph fairly uh I would say ambitious there but may be useful for all you tuner types red line of 7,000 RPM on the large tachometer and up front there's the information display right now it's toggled to snow not for any apparent reason it was actually in tarmac before but there's a little switch that you thumb here on the steering wheel blurry blurry blurry there it is right where you would expect the volume control or track swich are on the CD player and that'll actually modulate the uh differential tunings here so you've got gravel snow and tarmac the rest of the Interior is sort of unsurprisingly largely standard issue Lancer which is to say newly competitive for its Class A very simple Sleek design uh not the world's best materials decent panel fit um we did hear over some rough roads uh a little bit of rattling around not much in the way of squeaking um but it seems fairly well put together uh it's it's definitely a lot cleaner and better integrated than the last one as is true of the latest WRX they've really stepped it up but for those expecting um kind of the the switch gear feel you can hear that sort of feels cheap um and some of the the material uh finishes this is hard touch plastic not soft touch although it's nicely grained um you're going to be out of luck this car is about $33,600 and it basically feels like a $116,000 economy car with a bunch of admittedly very nice modifications to its interior including the aention three-spoke wheel which uh is leather wrapped and just the right thickness feels great in the hand although it doesn't telescope which is kind of a bummer we've got super grippy ricaro seats and those look and feel fantastic although I will say I could probably do without the carbon fiber with a K insets here uh that's really not not doing it for me personally um but it does liven up what is otherwise a fairly standard issue Lancer interior reader MB slrm asked if every uh model Here Comes with a navigation system and as you can plainly see here that is not the case um what you're looking at here is a six disk in dash changer with some very basic switch gear uh which is just fine uh although I will say that the display over there up at the top with the uh the red readout tends to wash out and direct sunlight so that can be bothersome that's said I believe you can spec out a higher end unit um we'll have to check into that for our readers and uh perhaps we can add that in the text to this post all right our final question comes from reader Jonathan fun and uh he asked a pretty interesting question he said uh if this vehicle had a theme song what would it be now we're not going to be hearing Almond Brothers we're not going to be hearing mozarts we're not going to be listening to Tupac here I though I suppose you could uh with all of the uh technology that's inside this vehicle even though it doesn't have the wind clutch transmission and with its strong sort of video game generation appeal I've got to believe that the theme song to the Evo here is techno and in specific uh I can't think of offhand of any more irreverent to song uh with a driving beat that sort of makes you want to drive faster and faster than uh prodigies Smack My Up maybe a little on PC but throw that disc in this car and uh prepare to lose your license thanks guys hope you enjoyed it and and looking forward to your next questions and your next next ask it\n"