Review: CJ Mitsubishi Lancer

[Mr Hardware]

So over the last few days I've covered several hundred kays in a 2011 MY12 CJ Lancer ES Auto Hatch and a smaller distance in a 2012 MY13 CJ Lancer ES Auto Hatch.

Appearance - Exterior:
Front looks great, angular and sharp. Rear looks lame, rounded pudgy. Looks like someone designed the sedan and then made the hatch as an afterthought.

Appearance - Interior:
Looks like a camry dash - massive brushed silver looking spear through the convex dash and through to the doors. Is relatively nice.

Equipment and layout
Most things are in their expected place. Auto up/down drivers window is good. Seat is comfortable. Aircon is bloody good - both in circulation and temperature and controls. Steering wheel has only tilt movement, no reach adjust, which was a pest because the steering wheel is too close to the dash. One cool feature was in the hatch, you had a handle like a door handle each side which folded the rear seats down automatically. Three things bugged me about the MY12 car: Gumby inset radio, no steering wheel audio buttons, and no map lights. These things are addressed in the MY13 model, with a double DIN stereo that is also bluetooth enabled, and buttons on the wheel too.

On the road - drivetrain
Both cars had the stock 2.0L 4cyl with a CVT auto. The motor was a relatively solid performer, but is the worst sounding motor i've heard in a wholly 21st century car. Despite the sound, it's a square motor which for a 2L, provided relatively good power and torque. The CVT was certainly a different experience. It was slow to get the car in the powerband, but when it got there it'd hold it there in the power for as much road as you had. Exiting a corner required a little bit of accellerator anticipation if you wanted to come out solidly. From a passenger's perspective it's nice not to have the shunt of a traditional auto through the gears.

On the road - handling and ride
I think the car's ride quality was its largest flaw. Roly-poly, bouncy, yet still allowed small bumps to come through too. Front suspension behaved noticeably different to the rear suspension. Unsettled, and therefore unsettling. That being said, the electric power steer was sharp and accurate.

Fuel economy:
Ratings are 7.3L/100km combined, 9.8 urban and 5.8 extra urban. I was able to achieve 5.9 on the highway consistently, but the city driving figure blew out considerably - have even only one or two merges or traffic light hustles and you're looking at 12L/100k easy. As this kind of car is likely to spend most of its time being a city runabout, economy might be dissapointing to some owners.

Overall:
The CJ lancer is a massive step up in virtually every way from the previous model (CH). That being said, it hasn't turned the car into a segment leader, but it is no longer a rubbish car. I would say it is now in the top half of the current medium-sized segment, just.
All things considered: Three and a half stars.