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Driven: 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR; better by racing...and more fun, too
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We’re not sure if “racing improves the breed” but it sure does make it fun.
Witness the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR. It’s not really derived from “racing” as such but rather “pro rally,” which is a cross between a drive down a dirt road in Spain or a snow-covered fire-trail in Michigan, and the Indy 500, except that rally cars have a navigator who gets what’s basically a TripTik because neither driver nor navigator has seen the road before.
In other words, pro rally is going the fastest in the worstest. Pro rally drivers are perhaps the best drivers in the world—and the navigators the bravest, exceedingly trusting and most immune to carsickness than any people in the world.
A specific breed of cars has resulted from this form of competition, and they’re all small, powerful and have incredible handling. The rules state that they must be derived from standard production vehicles, with special “evolution” models for the top pro rally class.That’s where the Lancer Evolution gets part of its name. The “X” denotes—in Roman numerals—the current generation of the model. And the MR says that it’s the most radical of all the Evo trim levels.
Without going too deep into technical details, the 2008 Evo MR is powered by a 2.0-liter intercooled-turbocharged DOHC inline-four cylinder engine mounted transversely under the hood, like lesser Lancers. Unlike those lesser cars, however, the Evolution X is rated at 291 horsepower at 6500 rpm and 300 lb-ft of torque at 4400 rpm.
The engine is all new (dubbed 4B11) and does not have a balance shaft, something pioneered by Mitsubishi to calms the vibrations inherent in a four cylinder engine. Then the new engine doesn’t get the shakes because of integral design features that reduce noise and vibration plus it sits on vibration absorbing hydraulic engine mounts.
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The Evo X will be offered in two trim levels. One of the more apparent differences between the “base” GSR and the MR we tested—other than the big rear-view blocking wing on the latter—is that the MR comes only with the new TC-SST…or six-speed Twin-Clutch Sportronic Shift Transmission…instead of the GSR’s conventional five-speed manual. The TC-SST can be left in a full-automatic mode but we suspect that most Evo MR drivers will shift for themselves using the magnesium shifter paddles mounted on the steering wheel.The MR trim level also includes Bilstein shock absorbers and Eibach springs, two-piece brake rotors (for improved cooling), and light-weight BBS forged alloy wheels, plus bright HD headlamps and Bluetooth wireless capability as standard equipment.
The Lancer Evolution X has fenders and hood of aluminum for weight savings and even the roof is aluminum rather than steel. The battery and windshield washer tank have been moved to the trunk area to improve weight balance.
The rally-ready Evolution X has and advanced four-wheel drive system incorporating S-AWC, or Super-All Wheel Control dynamic handling technology. It’s an amalgam of an “active” center differential, active yaw control, active stability control and sport-tuned ABS, plus a helical-type front limited slip differential. The front diff is mechanical but the rest of the system is computer integrated, distributing torque between front and rear axles and by application of individual brakes helps maintain vehicle stability.
The driver can select between pavement, dirt and snow settings to alter the parameters used by the computer to allocated initial torque, and since we didn’t have either of the latter available during our test Evo’s visit we left the control on pavement—actually, “tarmac.”
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My goodness, one might say. In fact, we said a few stronger expletives. To say that the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR accelerates is like saying an anvil is heavy. And the driveline just as hard. There’s less slack than in a guitar’s E-string and the transmission is just as crisp, the twin-clutch gearbox snapping off shifts like raw spaghetti.The Evo X has less of a metallic edge than the Evolution IX, but those who’ve tested the two side-by-side confirm that the latter car is faster in a straight line or around curves.
Ah, curves. Now there’s a problem. Not that the Evo X can’t go around ’em. To the contrary, it’s all too easy tether the little four-door around a corner, slinging it as if it were on a wire, its 245/40R18 Yokohama ADVAN asymmetrical “summer” performance tires sticking like a stain on a favorite shirt. It’s just that on any public road the Evo’s capabilities place it at the distant side of legal if the merest of it abilities are used. Join a club, pay for track time.
There’s another problem with the Evo X. Mitsubishi claims the ride is softer in the X than in the IX. Couldn’t prove it by us. The short-sidewall tires and the hard-bushinged stiff suspension bring a new familiarity to roads you thought you knew. Every bump, every pimple, every seam, every wayward pigeon feather on the pavement will become a new traveling companion. Concrete slab highways will thwock the chassis like a giant metronome.
The ride will annoy the vast majority of humanity, though donkey cart drivers will consider the Evolution X MR’s ride an improvement. For the intended market, however, it’s a four-wheel caffeine buzz. Anything less is a soft and squishy girly-man of wheeled transportation.The same people will nestle into the form hugging sport seats, with torso and hip bolsters that grip driver and passenger for that one-with-the-car sensation that most would find constraining.
Pack in an ever-present exhaust rumble to roar, a not always subtle rear whine and perhaps some wind noise if one could hear it, and the car has a noise and harshness level that could be used as a baseline to measure other vehicles, The vibration that’s part of NVH doesn’t exist with the Evo X, however. Remember that anvil mentioned a moment ago? That’s the Evo’s chassis stiffness.
OK, so fun is relative or at least subject to a point of view. To a select few, the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR is a barrel of giggles, a cornucopia of sensory delight, and a fix for the g-force junkie.
Market for the Evolution X MR is slimmer than that, however, thanks to the base price of our test car. Without options, the window sticker reads $40,840. Add $675 for destination/handling and the bottom line reads $41,515. The EPA rates the Evo X at 17 city/22 highway miles per gallon of premium.
But it’s still the fun that matters, and fun for the few is what the Evo X MR is made to be, Enjoy.
Illustratons: Mitsubhishi Lancer Evolution X MR. Photos courtesy Mitsubishi Motor North America Inc.
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