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2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS Road Test

It hardly seems fair, but the world's beautiful people rise up to the highest levels of success more often than the visually challenged, and for obvious reasons a similar reality can be seen in the automotive world.This should mean Mitsubishi's new Lancer is destined to be a top-seller, and while held back by a Japanese parent that still struggles to get on the shopping lists of America's new car buyers, it is already breaking sales records the old model could only have dreamed of achieving.

Yes, the outgoing Lancer's styling was the epitome of frumpy, especially when it debuted here with its large, luxury car grille and boxy, utilitarian shape. It was a good car, and in Ralliart trim one of the best handling in its compact class, but even the much lauded Evo was as uninspired to look at as it was awe inspiring to drive.

The new car is gorgeous, especially in GTS trim with its fog lights, racy front and side aerodynamic add-ons, tall rear spoiler, chrome exhaust tips and big alloy rims. It's so good looking in fact, that I wouldn't be surprised to see premium buyers move down market away from their Acuras and BMWs to get one of their own ...well at least they might do so for the hyper-performance Evo

For a company trying to get noticed, a lineup of stylish new cars is critically important. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

X, available later this year. Everywhere I drove, and I hardly got out of the car this week despite having a Porsche Cayenne Turbo in the other stall (truth be told my dear wife, Jennifer, claimed the Turbo thanks to a need to transport my six-year old to bike camp and three-year old to day camp ... likely story), people stared. Even when walking up to fill my parking meter a young woman walked by and said, “Nice car”.

The Lancer's interior is nice to look at too, and it's put together very well to boot. All of its panels fit together tightly, and some of the switchgear, especially the steering wheel controls, is top-tier stuff. The steering wheel itself is a candidate for best in autodom, leather wrapped and perfectly designed for optimal hand positioning and grip, and the pedal setup for the standard five-speed manual equipped car is ideal for enthusiastic driving.

Hard plastics mar otherwise superb interior. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

Despite some really nice metal trim, only a complete lack of soft touch materials left me feeling dismayed, especially considering that such warm and fuzzy features have proven to be very popular with new car buyers, pushing cars like Nissan's Sentra, long known for cheap interior materials, and now even Saturn's future Astra, the Ion's initial cabin quality made Junior's Little Tykes pedal car seem upscale, to VW Rabbit levels of quality.

The Lancer GTS is so much fun to drive, mind you, that even I, the biggest interior snob in auto journalism, am willing to overlook any shortcomings. Much more than any previous Lancer, Ralliart aside, its Evolution rally car roots are ever-present in the new 2008 car, especially when the road starts to wind. I got my first taste of its capabilities throughcity traffic on a busy Monday afternoon (when isn't it a busy afternoon in the land of bridges)? Yes, the Mitsu might be the perfect car for making late meetings, its sport-tuned suspension setup ideal for abrupt lane changes and its powerful little 2.0-liter

Good on the curves up the longer, wider "track one"... (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

four meaty enough for squirting between slower moving vehicles.

After allowing my “married with children” better senses to relieve themselves and my “hope I die before I'm 25” high-school persona to take control, I left the city for a quick drive through some nice winding roads onto the city's famed suspension bridge, hardly noticing the spectacular ocean and mountain views on this gloriously sunny West Coast day; it's that much fun to drive. At the end of the bridge I dove into a tight right hander, feeling more like a Monte Carlo rally driver than the forty-something journalist cum businessman that my curriculum vitae purports.

Heading up the mountain, I soon realized that the car was much more capable than the three-lane (two lanes up) ski hill access road could expose. Truth told, while its 152 horsepower MIVEC variable valve timing-equipped 2.0-liter mill was adequate zipping through city streets and more powerful than anything else in the compact class in base trim, it couldn't muster the power needed to fully exercise the Lancer's dreamy suspension through corners that would otherwise seem tight in a

....and even more enjoyable amid the tighter confines of "track two"! (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

V6-powered Galant. Test track two was in order, an extremely narrow (often single lane) tree-lined stretch of circuitous pavement that leads to a remote group of waterfront houses just east of my home.

The Lancer was close to magical, dicing up hairpin corners with the type of confidence inspiring stability usually experienced with the Acura TSX or Audi A4s of the world, making me wonder why I'd want to spend more for one of these premium brands (oh, yes, there's that interior issue again). The steering is accurate, responding intuitively to minor input when requested and almost unflappable when severe tugs push the car into predictable bouts of understeer, and when thrown sideways with a sharp twist of the wheel this little sedan is even capable of power sliding oversteer. What a blast! Certainly its sticky P215/45R18 performance tires and 18-inch alloy rims are important components to the GTS handling equation, but the Lancer's 56-percent improvement in torsional rigidity and 50-percent improvement in bending rigidity underpins its road worthiness.

Of course, responsible people would never drive like that anyway, right? Well, these will be happy to know their little Lancer GTS is also a comfortable city cruiser at more moderate speeds, with an easy, smooth

The shifter feels great, and the setup and functionality of all ancillary controls is excellent. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

clutchrelease and progressive throttle control. The shifter, while superb during aggressive action thanks to shorter than average throws, is also wonderfully precise and easy to operate when puttering through stop and go traffic due to triple-cone synchronizers, and the car is once again stable and easily controlled at posted highway speeds. Those who'd rather let the transmission do all the work will be thrilled with Mitsubishi's optional CVT at $1,000, which features genuine magnesium alloy paddles and six forward “speeds” in GTS trim. And safety minded shoppers will be happy to hear that the same body stiffness that makes the Lancer so much fun to drive also contributes to an excellent crash test rating ... well that and its standard side curtain and driver's knee airbags.

ABS brakes are also standard with the GTS model, and the four discs, which trickle down from the larger, beefier Outlander are easily up to hauling this much lighter compact down from high speed in short order.

The GTS seats are very comfortable, and thanks to larger than average bolsters keep driver and front passenger in place during spirited maneuvers. Heated cushions would be a nice addition, but not a must with cloth upholstery. An optional feature normally associated with premium brands but now showing up in select entry-level vehicles is a proximity remote sensing keyfob and ignition system

The new Lancer GTS drives almost as good as it looks... a feat it would almost be impossible to surpass. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

dubbed FAST Key. Its ultra convenient, as is the standard automatic climate control.

Speaking of features, the GTS can be had with the $1,500 Sun and Sound package and the $2,000 Navigation and Technology package, the only options other than the CVT gearbox. The Sun and Sound is comprised of a power glass sunroof,Sirius satellite radio, an auxiliary audio input jack and a seriously powerful 650-watt Rockford Fosgate sound system with an SPL-grade “Punch” subwoofer that booms better than anything else in the compact segment. The Nav and Tech includes a 7-inch touch screen DVD-based navigation system, the aforementioned FAST Key and a 30GB hard drive that can store thousands of songs.

All in all, the Lancer is a very good compact four-door, and in GTS trim is a real joy to live with. Of course, this little teaser has only made me more excited about the upcoming Ralliart version and its fully stroked 2.4-liter four-cylinder, said to be much more powerful than the last one, and drooling uncontrollably (ok, that's a nasty thought) in anticipation for the next-gen Evo, making at least 300-horsepower and driving all four wheels, not to mention all of the other upgrades that make it one of the most capable road cars money can buy.

All said Mitsubishi has a serious winner on its hands with the new Lancer GTS. It's so nice to drive and so good looking that it could single-handedly entrench the tri-diamond brand into America's automotive landscape, one entry-level buyer at a time.

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