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April 3, 2008 http://www.thecarconnection.com/fullreview/mitsubishi_lancer_2002

  Marc K. Stengel
EditorMarc K. Stengel

2002 Mitsubishi Lancer by Marty Padgett (5/20/2001)
Write your own review of the 2002 Lancer

No, what you're seeing is not a mirage. It's a Lancer, Mitsubishi's all-new-for-'02 entry-level sedan that's meant to displace — not replace — the Mirage four-door sedan.

The distinction is an important one, because this new Lancer is a compact car that now leaves Mitsubishi without a four-door sub-compact. The Mirage coupe remains as Mitsu's only sub-com, yet even its days are numbered. Eventually, it too will be phased out, and the Mirage — whose ancestry dates all the way back to the Dodge Colt of the dismal '70s — will simply and appropriately disappear into thin air.

This is not to say, however, that Mitsubishi is disillusioned with illusion. Quite the contrary. The Lancer's very identity depends upon a less-than-ingenuous ploy to imbue its new commuter compact with the fire-breathing reputation of its phenomenal Lancer Evolution family of world rally-car champs. The reasoning goes, I suspect, that only bug-eyed cable-TV junkies will know that the latest street-legal Evo VII is a 276-horsepower ground-pounder with twin-scroll turbocharging and all-wheel-drive. It's available everywhere else in the world except North America. Yet the sideways-at-100-mph exploits of the Flying Finn Tommi Makinen have made a mantra out of the Lancer name that Mitsubishi is only too proud to propagate.

Rally-less Lancering

Although we dimwitted Yankees rank international rallying right up there with world soccer on the mass-consumption scale, now there's a Lancer for us too. All 120-horsepower's worth. So, with a pat on the head, we're as much as told to "get along now and don't hurt yourself" with a car whose name may not replace "Mirage" but whose performance image certainly is one.

Ultimately, Mitsubishi's condescending approach with the U.S.-version Lancer obscures the critical fact that this is an able car at an attractive price. Since the Lancer doesn't go on sale until August, Mitsubishi will only acknowledge a price range of $14,000 to $18,000 for now. This competes fiercely with archrivals like Ford Focus, Subaru Impreza, VW Jetta, Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, and Mazda Protégé. For reasons that have very little to do with hot-rod performance — namely, the car's roomy, solid feel and abundance of standard amenities — Lancer will battle vigorously for its share of the market. Still, there will always be a nagging vulnerability to charges that our Lancer doesn't quite live up to its worldly
reputation.

The U.S. Lancer comes in three flavors: a basic ES model, the upscale LS version, and an O-Z Rally Edition that's born to strut. All three come with the same 120-hp single-overhead-cam four-banger making 130 lb-ft of torque. All feature front-wheel-drive and four-wheel independent suspension. All wear disc brakes up front, tiny drums out back. This last item is significant for two reasons: Mitsu engineers were able to get by with cost-saving rear drums because there's really not enough speed potential here to require more energy efficient discs. But those same little eight-inch drums look mighty puny through the spokes of the sexy aluminum wheels from aftermarket manufacturer O-Z, which lends the sporty-version Lancer its name.

Loaded secret

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Mitsubishi admits that 60 percent of their Lancer sales will likely be ES models, leaving 20 percent apiece for the LS and O-Z versions. Not only that: 60 percent of Lancer buyers are destined to be young, single women. After sporting about in all three models in Cajun Country outside New Orleans during the Lancer's recent media debut, I couldn't agree more with these estimates. Moreover, I couldn't be more certain that a bottom-dollar ES, with its manual transmission, perky character, and generous array of standard features, will be a sales champ if it's priced anywhere near the $14,000 mark.

Here's why: The ES comes with power windows and locks, air conditioning, an eight-way adjustable driver's seat and 100 watts' worth of AM/FM/CD stereo. The only significant options will be an automatic transmission and a convenience package that includes remote keyless entry and a 60/40 folding rear seat. My only twinge of complaint about the ES concerns the chirpy 14-inch wheels and tires. Otherwise, I'm positively keen on the way this Lancer's manual five-speed complements its revvy little motor. Combined with a firm-handling feel, the powertrain yearns for a toss-about along twisty backroads. All kinds of sound-deadening materials, from epoxy foam to sandwiched asphalt to liquid motor mounts, render an appreciably quiet ride. Front driver and passenger room is spacious; and rear legroom is ample, thanks to those three extra inches compared to Mirage.

It takes the LS model to get 15-inch wheels/tires; but the LS comes only with a four-speed automatic. Something called INVECS-II gives the automatic the wits to match shift patterns to a driver's innate habits. It seems to work, but it's still not as sporty as the manual. LS options include ABS brakes and dual side airbags up front. The showboat O-Z Rally model comes with either transmission choice but is basically a fashion experiment using trick bumpers, side skirts, and 15-inch O-Z wheels. A conspicuous but meaningless option is a rear wing.

Lancer, I think, is poised to succeed in spite of the burden of its name, but perhaps not entirely to Mitsubishi's credit. Pricked by the haughtiness of the U.S. Lancer's pseudo-reputation, this country's energetic hot-rod community may yet rise to the occasion and transform the ES Lancer — starting with big wheels, low-profile tires, radical body kits, and serious motor mods — from a priced-right commuter into a barnstorming street fighter. Only then will our Lancer earn a legitimate performance rep, and only then because free-lancing motorheads took up the challenge that Mitsubishi curiously evaded.


2002 Mitsubishi Lancer
Base price range: $14,000-$18,000 (est.)
Engine: 2.0-liter four-cylinder, 120 hp
Transmission: five-speed manual or four-speed automatic, front-wheel drive
Length: 177.6 in
Width: 66.8 in
Height: 54.1 in (ES); 54.9 in (LS, O-Z)
Wheelbase: 102.4 in
Curb weight: 2646 lb – 2745 lb
EPA (cty/hwy): N/A
Safety equipment: Dual airbags
Major standard features: Power windows, mirrors and locks; AM/FM/CD player; air conditioning
Warranty: Three years/36,000 miles

2002 Mitsubishi Lancer by Marty Padgett (5/20/2001)Write your own review of the 2002 Lancer No, what you're seeing is not a mirage. It's a Lancer, Mitsubishi's all-new-for-'02 entry-level sedan that's meant to displace — not replace — the Mirage four-door sedan. The distinction is an important one, because this new Lancer is a compact car that now leaves Mitsubishi without a four-door sub-compact. The Mirage coupe remains as Mitsu's only sub-com, yet even its days are numbered. Eventually, it too will be phased out, and the Mirage — whose ancestry dates all the way back to the Dodge Colt of the dismal '70s — will simply and appropriately disappear into thin air. This is not to say, however, that Mitsubishi is disillusioned with illusion. Quite the contrary. The Lancer's very identity depends upon a less-than-ingenuous ploy to imbue its new commuter compact with the fire-breathing reputation of its phenomenal Lancer Evolution family of world rally-car champs. The reasoning goes, I suspect, that only bug-eyed cable-TV junkies will know that the latest street-legal Evo VII is a 276-horsepower ground-pounder with twin-scroll turbocharging and all-wheel-drive. It's available everywhere else in the world except North America. Yet the sideways-at-100-mph exploits of the Flying Finn Tommi Makinen have made a mantra out of the Lancer name that Mitsubishi is only too proud to propagate. Rally-less Lancering 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer LSEnlarge PhotoAlthough we dimwitted Yankees rank international rallying right up there with world soccer on the mass-consumption scale, now there's a Lancer for us too. All 120-horsepower's worth. So, with a pat on the head, we're as much as told to "get along now and don't hurt yourself" with a car whose name may not replace "Mirage" but whose performance image certainly is one. Ultimately, Mitsubishi's condescending approach with the U.S.-version Lancer obscures the critical fact that this is an able car at an attractive price. Since the Lancer doesn't go on sale until August, Mitsubishi will only acknowledge a price range of $14,000 to $18,000 for now. This competes fiercely with archrivals like Ford Focus, Subaru Impreza, VW Jetta, Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, and Mazda Protégé. For reasons that have very little to do with hot-rod performance — namely, the car's roomy, solid feel and abundance of standard amenities — Lancer will battle vigorously for its share of the market. Still, there will always be a nagging vulnerability to charges that our Lancer doesn't quite live up to its worldly reputation. The U.S. Lancer comes in three flavors: a basic ES model, the upscale LS version, and an O-Z Rally Edition that's born to strut. All three come with the same 120-hp single-overhead-cam four-banger making 130 lb-ft of torque. All feature front-wheel-drive and four-wheel independent suspension. All wear disc brakes up front, tiny drums out back. This last item is significant for two reasons: Mitsu engineers were able to get by with cost-saving rear drums because there's really not enough speed potential here to require more energy efficient discs. But those same little eight-inch drums look mighty puny through the spokes of the sexy aluminum wheels from aftermarket manufacturer O-Z, which lends the sporty-version Lancer its name. Loaded secret I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Mitsubishi admits that 60 percent of their Lancer sales will likely be ES models, leaving 20 percent apiece for the LS and O-Z versions. Not only that: 60 percent of Lancer buyers are destined to be young, single women. After sporting about in all three models in Cajun Country outside New Orleans during the Lancer's recent media debut, I couldn't agree more with these estimates. Moreover, I couldn't be more certain that a bottom-dollar ES, with its manual transmission, perky character, and generous array of standard features, will be a sales champ if it's priced anywhere near the $14,000 mark. Here's why: The ES comes with power windows and locks, air conditioning, an eight-way adjustable driver's seat and 100 watts' worth of AM/FM/CD stereo. The only significant options will be an automatic transmission and a convenience package that includes remote keyless entry and a 60/40 folding rear seat. My only twinge of complaint about the ES concerns the chirpy 14-inch wheels and tires. Otherwise, I'm positively keen on the way this Lancer's manual five-speed complements its revvy little motor. Combined with a firm-handling feel, the powertrain yearns for a toss-about along twisty backroads. All kinds of sound-deadening materials, from epoxy foam to sandwiched asphalt to liquid motor mounts, render an appreciably quiet ride. Front driver and passenger room is spacious; and rear legroom is ample, thanks to those three extra inches compared to Mirage. It takes the LS model to get 15-inch wheels/tires; but the LS comes only with a four-speed automatic. Something called INVECS-II gives the automatic the wits to match shift patterns to a driver's innate habits. It seems to work, but it's still not as sporty as the manual. LS options include ABS brakes and dual side airbags up front. The showboat O-Z Rally model comes with either transmission choice but is basically a fashion experiment using trick bumpers, side skirts, and 15-inch O-Z wheels. A conspicuous but meaningless option is a rear wing. Lancer, I think, is poised to succeed in spite of the burden of its name, but perhaps not entirely to Mitsubishi's credit. Pricked by the haughtiness of the U.S. Lancer's pseudo-reputation, this country's energetic hot-rod community may yet rise to the occasion and transform the ES Lancer — starting with big wheels, low-profile tires, radical body kits, and serious motor mods — from a priced-right commuter into a barnstorming street fighter. Only then will our Lancer earn a legitimate performance rep, and only then because free-lancing motorheads took up the challenge that Mitsubishi curiously evaded.2002 Mitsubishi LancerBase price range: $14,000-$18,000 (est.)Engine: 2.0-liter four-cylinder, 120 hpTransmission: five-speed manual or four-speed automatic, front-wheel driveLength: 177.6 inWidth: 66.8 inHeight: 54.1 in (ES); 54.9 in (LS, O-Z)Wheelbase: 102.4 inCurb weight: 2646 lb – 2745 lbEPA (cty/hwy): N/ASafety equipment: Dual airbagsMajor standard features: Power windows, mirrors and locks; AM/FM/CD player; air conditioningWarranty: Three years/36,000 miles 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer by Marty Padgett (5/20/2001) Write your own review of the 2002 Lancer No, what you're seeing is not a mirage. It's a Lancer, Mitsubishi's all-new-for-'02 entry-level sedan that's meant to displace — not replace — the Mirage four-door sedan. The ...