2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR Ultimate Test

DESIGN
Mitsubishi's Lancer Evolution is one of Japan's most-loved performance cars. Much like fellow Japan Domestic Market (JDM) super stars - Nissan Skyline GT-R and Subaru WRX STi - the Evo earned it's notoriety in the U.S. on digital racetracks in living rooms across the country via Playstation's Gran Turismo line of games.

Where the Evo really made its reputation though, has nothing to do with video games. It was in the World Rally Championship - or WRC for short. Mitsubishi won it's first championship in the WRC in 1996 with the Evo 3. They then went on a tear, winning the title four years in a row with Finnish driver, Tommi Makinen behind the wheel of Evos 3, 4, 5, and 6. That level of domination is what led to the car's popularity in the world of Playstation.

So essentially, the Evo is a rally replica. An homologation special built so the company could go kick-ass on an international level. But due to the lack of interest and fan support for rallying in the U.S., Mitsubishi didn't offer the Evo here.

But as the fan base grew with the popularity of Playstation, so too did the frustration of U.S. based Evo fanatics. Mitsubishi finally relented and brought Evolution 8 to our shores in 2003 - partially due to Subaru's success with their own rally replica - and Playstation star - the WRX STi.

The Evo 8 quickly found a hard-core group of followers in this country; mostly guys - and some girls - who had spent years "driving" the car on their TV screens. The Evo 9 that followed was - aptly enough - an evolutionary step up from the 8.

The new car, officially known as the Lancer Evolution by the way, not the Evo 10, is an all-new design. Beyond the aggressive, scowling lines of the car, the most significant feature of the new Evo is Active Yaw Control, or AYC. Available on JDM versions since the Evo 4, AYC is an active rear differential that can apportion power side to side via two clutches on the diff depending on the All Wheel Control systems calculations. The system is nothing short of amazing, making average drivers look good, and good drivers look great. Having driven the car on track, we now know how they got all of those crazy slides in those Best Motoring videos. Along with AYC, there are several other super-techie systems on the car that help the Evo go through corners like few other cars in the world. One other notable new feature is Mitsubishi's new SST twin clutch transmission available on the top-of-the line 2008 Lancer Evolution MR. We'll review that gearbox in more detail in our performance and technology story.

With all it's WRC success, gaming popularity, and leading edge technologies, the Evo continues to prove it is worthy of it's fanatical following.

Design
The Evolution MR is the latest and greatest - well - evolution of Mitsubishi's much respected performance icon. Redesigning the "halo" car in your line-up is no easy task. Mitsubishi recognized this and decided to test the waters before committing to the design of the "Evo X" by producing a showcar - the Concept X - to judge the public's reaction. That concept was an absolute homerun, leaving Mitsubishi with a clearly defined next step: Building it.

The end result is pretty true to the concept version. Ok, so the wheels are smaller and the greenhouse is a bit taller, but the overall look of the showcar is there. And in fact some of the details - such as the flared fenders - are actually better resolved on the production car than on the concept.

We'll start at the back with the feature that says "Evo" more than any other: the rear wing. Big enough to make an Airbus A380 envious, it actually works - even visually - on this car. Normally, throwing a massive wing on the trunk lid would give you an unbalanced car (aesthetically) front to rear. Something like the automotive equivalent of a mullet: "business in the front, party in the back." But as we'll see when we get around to the front, it's quite aggressive on that end, as well. It works because of the massive, muscular front and because it's a signature element of past Evos.

In the back, there are twin exhausts for the first time on an Evo. They exit through a pair of diffusers, and combined with the scowling tail-lights, continue the aggressive attitude of the car.

The Lancer origins of the Evo are more difficult to disguise in profile. It's a little tall and the wheelbase a bit short. That is the result of being based on what is essentially an economy car, but the clever designers at Mitsubishi have drawn your attention away from its proportions with some nice details, such as the 18" forged wheels and the rocker panel extensions that hunker the car down visually. However, one definite negative mark for the design team is the Maytag lint-filter used to cover the front fender vent. Come on guys!

One of the most important elements of a car's design, the front graphics are made up of the headlights, air intakes, side markers, etc. and their overall arrangement. A car's front graphics can be likened to a person's face. And in this case - no surprise - we see an angry, aggressive face with scowling headlights and a big gaping intake. You'll notice that the bumper intersecting the intake is always blacked-out no matter the color of the car. This is done so that it sort of disappears, becoming part of the air intake graphic - we see Audi doing this with their front ends, too. And in this case, it works very well.

The design of the Evolution MR is quite successful. It feels honest in its various elements - wings, scoops, vents, all functional. It's cohesive, making perfect sense from front to back. And it's very much in keeping with the Evo's performance heritage. In fact, it's a strong enough design that Mitsubishi seems to be adopting it as the company's new design language, as evidenced by it's latest concept cars which feature many of the Evo's characteristics.

INTERIOR & USER EXPERIENCE
The only real criticism you'd ever hear about the previous generation Evos centered on their Lancer interiors. To be fair though, the only way Mitsubishi was able to offer world-class driving dynamics for budget-class money was to skimp on the trimmin's in the cabin, and focus on the meat in the drivetrain.

But now the company has decided to take the top dog Evo model – the Evolution MR - up-market to contend with the likes of BMW and its 135i. This required spending a little more time and energy looking after the design and build-quality of the cabin. So, have their efforts paid off?

Well, the only honest answer is, "mostly." The improvement over the Evo 9 is noticeable immediately, no question. But the face-off with the Germans on interior quality will have to wait for another day. However, there are still a lot of positives to focus on in the interior of the Lancer Evolution MR.

There is a ton of content for the dollar. The 650-watt Rockford Fosgate audio system with navigation and a 30 gig hard drive is impressive. A lot of cars nowadays have navigation systems, and not all of them are completely useful. The system in the Evo worked flawlessly, even getting us to our secret track location without one wrong turn. Impressive - and the interface of the touch screen is also well done.

The plastics in the cabin are also much improved, with most of the surfaces you'll touch on a daily basis feeling pretty good. Speaking of things you touch often – in the cabin - the steering wheel has an assuring feel, as do the magnesium shift paddles that operate the SST gearbox. I'd rather see them mounted to the wheel itself instead of the steering column, but they work well regardless. The gear lever also feels good with a positive movement and the correct orientation; push for downshift, pull for upshift.

The seats are probably the first thing you notice inside the cabin, and just like past Evos, these Recaro thrones are track worthy; extremely well-bolstered, lacking only some lumbar support. You’ll need a prolonged stay in them to notice though, and once you've driven in these seats at the track, you'll forgive them any shortcomings.

We found living with the car relatively painless, with the exception of the corporate card getting a hell of a workout at the gas pump. With gas prices here in Southern California just passing $4 a gallon, I'm sure I'll be hearing about that expense report. I imagine if you kept your foot out of it, your mileage would improve dramatically. Still, given this car's potential thirst, the gas tank is rather small and your range between stops is limited.

The trunk is also surprisingly small considering the shape of the car. When we asked a Mitsubishi staffer about this, he pointed out the Evolution version of the Lancer has a completely different rear suspension module under the trunk which caused it to shrink a bit compared to the regular Lancer. The way I see it, if that's the price that had to be paid for the incredible handling, good riddance to the extra trunk space.

Overall, the Lancer Evolution proved very easy to live with. Which is part of what makes this car such a bargain. It's not only a great performer, it's also also quite practical.

PERFORMANCE
Dr. Bruce Banner was a physicist who got caught up in the blast of a gamma bomb, which transformed him into a raging monster called, The Hulk. Two characters in one, he was a mild mannered guy one minute, and a green beast the next, when he became angry.

Meet the Evolution MR. The automotive equivalent of The Hulk. Ok, so it's not green, but you get the picture.

The Evolution MR has four doors, a trunk, and a dual-clutch gearbox that can play mild mannered "automatic" very convincingly. And with it's Bilstein shocks and light-weight forged wheels, it provides a surprisingly complaint ride. It's quite practical and can be used everyday, for whatever you may need. And if you're able to stay off the boost – good luck with that – it even gets decent mileage. All very "Bruce Banner."

But when you get it to a racetrack and make it angry - look out!

It's at the track that the Evo really shines. Its All Wheel Control four wheel drive system is arguably the most advanced AWD system in the world.

All Wheel Control incorporates data from sensors on it's various sub-systems (Active Yaw Control, Active Center Differential, Active Stability Control, and Sport ABS) and interprets that data via countless algorithms to determine what the driver is trying to do. It then uses those same systems to maximize the car's performance through a particular corner. Steering position sensors, throttle position sensors, yaw rate sensors, etc determine your intended path, and then help you get there. You're really then left with just one job: To steer the car where you want to go. It's simply amazing and has to be experienced to be believed.

But Evos aren't only about handling, they're also about power, and the all new 2 liter, four cylinder, turbocharged engine puts out plenty of it. With 295 hp and 300 lbs/ft. of torque, it is plenty strong, but the seamless delivery lacks the spike of power normally associated with turbo motors. It's more effective, no doubt, because what you're missing is turbo lag, but it's just not as exciting as the Evo 9.

The brakes, however, are even more impressive than those seen on previous Evos. The calipers are once again by Brembo, but this time the MR employs two-piece rotors up front. Along with the power of the brakes themselves, the various electronic systems help inspire confidence by providing the car with great stability under braking. And while you may get them to make some noise after multiple laps of abuse, they never seem to fade.

So how about that SST gearbox? Yet another piece of technology that moves the game forward. The dual clutch transmission can be as smooth as any automatic, and with the flick of a magnesium paddle, nearly as quick or quicker than some of the best sequential manual transmissions from the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, and BMW.

So what to make of all this technology? Well, no doubt it makes for a quicker and safer car that – when pushed hard - is much more tolerant of mistakes (and hooligan behavior). So it's easier to drive quickly. But I'm afraid that in making the car's performance more accessible, something's been left behind: and that something is total driver involvement (read: adrenalin rush. Ed.).

It's not that it isn't fun to drive, because it is. It's just that all of that technology has made the experience a little bit Playstation-like in that anyone can approach the Evolution's limits and play now, which is good but at the same time, it's bad. The culprit here is a thing we call progress. You see, cars are getting better and better, and this one represents one of those quantum leaps that happen from time to time. It's a milestone car. An automotive first down that moves the chains forward another ten yards.

So the Evolution MR represents a new kind of performance car. One whose performance is accessible and whose price makes it attainable. We can call it progress. But progress has a price. While we end up with better cars, we do so by removing more and more control from the one element that progress cannot control; and that is, the spacer between the seat and the steering wheel.

Watch the video

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR

Performance
- Acceleration: Doesn't have quite the punch of the Evo IX
- Handling: Makes you look like a hero
- Braking: Stable on the brakes, with impressive stopping power and zero fade

Design
- Exterior: Great job of masking its econo-car roots - and true to the fantastic Concept X showcar
- Interior: Better than past efforts, but still room for improvement

Utility
- Comfort: Recaros a bit unforgiving, can get tiresome - ride too
- Space: Back seat quite small, trunk ridiculously small

Safety
- Dynamics: Active Yaw Control takes the cake, but ABS and stability control also very good
- Technology: Much stronger body (side impact) with all the usual airbags

Value
- Price: Getting a bit expensive, but still worth it
- Mileage: Turbo loves revs which means it loves fuel as well

Emotional Appeal
- Heart thumpin' factor: Any Evo guy or gal will have to trade up to the MR
- Fun to spank: Can not be driven quickly without smiling

SPECIFICATIONS

Layout: Front engine / All-wheel drive
Engine: Turbocharged and intercooled, 2.0 liter, inline 4 cylinder
Power (SAE): 295 hp @ 6100 rpm
Torque: 300 lbs-ft @ 4000 rpm
Redline: 7000 rpm
Gearbox: Dual-clutch 6 speed
Curb Weight: 3580 lbs.
0-60 mph: 5.2 sec. (with launch control)
1/4 mile: 13.8 sec. (with launch control)
Top Speed: 155 mph
Mileage: 16 city / 22 highway
Base Price: $38,000 (mfg. estimate)
Competitors: Subaru Impreza WRX STI, BMW 135i