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Legends arise in motorsport. In this case I open the history book of rallying and start with the 1988 season. For the first time, the manufacturer of the current test car brought an all-wheel drive sports car to the start. It is the hour of birth of the ancestors of my current test vehicle.
How much space is there in everyday life for a rally legend in the 10th generation? What is cheered in rally sport is usually only admired by the gas station attendant in everyday life. Today the signs point to the energy transition, eco and electronics. Alternative drives and hybridization are aiming for the top positions. Even a rally hero can feel out of place.
It's time to give the legend another “ride”:
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
Bitter evil curve wild boar: After I have laboriously fitted myself into the tight-fitting Recaro sports shell, I like to cry with disillusionment. So this is the grandson of the rally legends? The cockpit looks like in a normal Mitsubishi Lancer - but wait: the speedometer shows 300 as the end station and in the middle next to the cupholders there is a switch to control the active center differential and a rocker is located below the automatic selector lever Button and next to it the word “TwinClutch SST”.
Whoever starts the engine is greeted by the pleasant hum of the four-cylinder. Not a big show, but a strong and deeply frequented grumble about the far too rare moments of the full throttle festival that I want to tell about the upcoming ride and the homage to past successes of the rally time.
Where is the next special stage?
The descent from the home farm feels a bit like I'm on the direct route to the next special stage. At 11,8m, the turning circle of the EVO model is almost two meters larger than that of the standard Lancer. The chassis and the tires indicate the color of the asphalt in a bone-dry manner and with a direct reaction to the accelerator pedal, the turbo four-cylinder can also convince in the roll-off phase. Where is the next rally? I'm ready. It's not just buzzing under the hood - the whole Evo hums and my heart sings to the same beat. Looking forward to a trip in a car that doesn't care about CO² balances. Which is completely okay so far - the Evo is an automotive cultural asset and only finds its way onto our streets in highly homeopathic doses. Evo-driving is considered medicine for car-driver's hearts put to sleep by the eco-craze.
Unplaned in his manners - wonderfully direct and simply without make-up. This is not about LED lighting in the headliner or seats with massage functions. This car, the 295HP turbo engine, the 6-speed dual clutch transmission and the highly complex all-wheel drive, all of this has only one purpose: Maximum lateral dynamics - on any surface!
What about one of the last real rally descendants? The driving report provides information:
- Model Name: Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X
- Equipment: MR
- Test car Price: 49.950€
- Basic price series: 41.990€ (without TC-SST)
- displacement: 1.998 ccm³
- Power: 295 PS
- maximum speed: 242 km/h
- Acceleration: 0-100: 5,6 seconds
To the large Mitsubishi EVO gallery
That's what he wants to be:
One last crude rally expert with street legal approval.
He can do that:
Live out the toughest traction escapades.
He can not do that:
Quiet and quiet, just travel.
Design exterior: “I have wings, yes what?”
Understatement is for people without self-confidence. The Evo sports a large rear wing, its effect is supported by widened fenders and eye-catching air scoops in the bonnet. No other Mitsubishi model has the aggressive jet fighter grille fit better than this highway robber.
Its 17-inch sports rims are almost a bit lost in the wheel arch - there is no tuning box that has been improved afterwards - this is where the shape of the task follows. The wing? It belongs there - those who have been successful on rally slopes are not impressed by stupid comments about seemingly post-pubescent behavior and comparisons of French fries.
I can - if I want, provide an explosive show on any surface at any time - the language of the EVO X is clear and precise, there is no booze here - there is “hump” here.
Fine-nerved elegance is reserved for others - the Evo gets 10 out of 10 points because it can afford this dramatic grand piano language and implements it consistently!
Rating: 10 of 10 points
Design & feel inside: Use me!
Two wonderful Recaro bucket seats clamp the pilots in the right sitting position for the next special stage between the supermarket and kindergarten. The rest of the interior is decorative and serves only one purpose: to pack the bare metal appropriately and with the necessary basic elegance.
The only point of criticism: the steering wheel can only be adjusted in height and not in length - an extra point for the cockpit would have been possible here!
Rating: 5 of 10 points
Driving performance & driving experience: Get it for me, you wild pig!
The drive train of the EVO X knows no mercy with the 245 Dunlop SP SPORT600 - the drive force is mercilessly distributed and each tire is pushed to the limits of its maximum grip. What ultimately leads to an understeering front axle on dry asphalt - allows previously unknown lateral acceleration on roads with a low coefficient of friction. Neutral down to the dolls. With adaptive control of the all-wheel drive, the distribution and reaction of the drive train can be influenced.
asphalt: In the end, there is a lot of weight on the front axle and if you don't row the steering wheel with brutal force or use the handbrake, you won't get the Evo X to oversteer. It is an impressive performance that is possible with the warmly driven Dunlop SP Sport on dry asphalt. Anyone who exceeds the limits of liability here has long since left the limits of the StVO behind them!
Rating: 10 of 10 points
everyday factor: Howdy to you gas station attendant!
Only masochists, boost pressure fanatics or gas station attendant sons drive the Mitsubishi Evo X in everyday life. He is simply too thirsty and the semi-sport tires too stiff in the flank to allow a basic level of driving comfort to arise. In addition, there is a soundscape that takes getting used to for people who previously only drove energy-saving tires 😉
In its MR equipment, the Evo has everything that could be needed for everyday use, even seat heating for the Recaro bucket seats.
Rating: 2 of 10 points
Standard equipment: Sports package
The Rockford-Fosgate navigation package known from other Mitsubishi models is also on board, as is xenon light with cornering light function, automatic wiper and keyless go access to the vehicle.
In principle, everything is unimportant - for the real Evo driver, the button for the switching speed of the dual clutch transmission counts more than the button for the seat heating. And the button for adjusting the highly complex all-wheel drive is of course more important than the “info button” for the on-board computer.
Four electric windows and a cruise control complete the maximum comfort desires of the Evo pilot.
Much more important is the “high-performance package” included in the MR version, which primarily provides the Evolution buyer with the necessary hardware to be able to convince on any surface. The dampers come from Bilstein, the springs from Eibach and the two-part brake disc together with the four-piston caliper from Brembo.
Rating: 8 of 10 points
Engine: sport chic.
Classic fare for fans of compact Japanese athletes: two liters of displacement distributed over four cylinders, 4 valves per cylinder, variably controlled by the MIVEC system and so that enough gas mixture gets into the combustion chambers, the engine is pressurized by a turbocharger. At the end of the day, 295 hp await the courageous pilots and 366 Nm at 3.600 revolutions await the chance to make wrinkles in the asphalt.
The engine neither sounds brilliant, nor does it convince with its moderate drinking habits - according to Ralliart style, the square-shaped power dwarf treats itself to an extreme sip from the bottle when its performance qualities are used excessively.
Turbo runs, turbo drinks - and 5 euros in the tip box for this motorist wisdom.
You can only get less than 10 liters of Super Plus per 100 km if you turn off the engine for the last 20 kilometers and let it roll downhill. Everyday life can be done with 15 liters - the early Sunday ride is usually granted with 25-27 liters.
The manufacturer gets 10 out of 10 points for his courage to let this beast go to work in such unrestrained fashion.
Rating: 10 of 10 points
Gearbox & all-wheel drive: Click-clack grip
With the 6-speed dual clutch transmission, the Evolution should be perfectly equipped - but here too, in principle, the consistent design for the performance ride is evident. Everyday driving off in the city or in a traffic jam is torture for the transmission and the driver is informed of this through delayed reactions and poor controllability.
Switched to S-Sport and clicked the lever in the manual alley, the picture turned. A transmission as the sports driver would like. Badly jagged in gear changes without the bad habit of wanting to patronize the driver. Here only the driver shifts - ideally with the fixed magnesium paddles behind the steering wheel. The transmission does not shift up even if the driver has reached the engine speed limit. That's what you want as a “sports driver”.
I will give a detailed description of the all-wheel drive in a separate article - just briefly mentioned here: I don't know of any road vehicle apart from the full off-roader that is released onto the road with so much technology in the drive train.
A variable center differential, a variable rear axle differential, a differential lock for the front axle and all this is controlled completely dynamically by the “Super AYC” baptized system. In the end it is the result that counts and that is a challenge for every sports driver.
8 out of 10 points, because the entire system always wants only one thing: Full commitment - that can sometimes be too much!
Rating: 8 of 10 points
Multimedia & Audio: wtf
I preferred to turn off the radio navigation system and listen to the lovely patter of pebbles in the wheel arch - that was a Mitsubishi Evolution X and not an ASX.
0 out of 10 points - because completely unnecessary!
Rating: 0 out of 10 points
Lifestyle: Petrolhead style
Either you are in puberty or you have 100 octane in your veins. Driving a Mitsubishi Lancer in the Evolution variant with the MR sports package is a special matter. Drivers with weak character should not embark on the Evo X adventure - the danger of attracting negative attention within public traffic areas is too great.
Anyone who spends every free minute on “track days” at the weekend and otherwise wants to combine turbo boom with traction will feel in good hands in the seats of the Evo.
Full throttle professionals and Trackday friends love the Evo - and there the often misunderstood rear spoiler lover feels in good hands.
Full points - the 10 out of 10 - for a type of vehicle that only wants to indulge in the pleasure of lateral acceleration without make-up.
Rating: 10 of 10 points
The cost factor: who cares?
Paying more so that you are taken harder, I've understood that differently so far.
With the € 49.950 for the MR model, however, you won't do anything wrong - if you have made sure beforehand that you have enough reserves for sports tires and astronomical fuel bills. The consumption of the Evo certainly does not matter for people who use the athlete as he likes: 5.000 km a year - just sporty and rough around corners.
The large two-part Brembo brake and the vehicle-specific sports tires provide an additional cost factor compared to the “normal” range of Japanese vehicles, which the driver can be prepared for!
10 out of 10 points - because you can buy a collector's vehicle here.
Rating: 10 of 10 points
Two sentences to:
Tire:
Dunlop SP Sport 600 - a semi-sport tire with poor wet grip and completely unsuitable for everyday use. The choice of sports tires on the MR model speaks a clear language and once again clarifies the target group of the Lancer Evo.
Consumption:
More like 20 liters than 12 - that's my conclusion on the athlete's consumption at the end of the test period. Of course, you don't have to be surprised at this consumption, as the turbocharger squeezes a proud 295PS out of the small engine.
All-wheel drive system:
I am not aware of any road athlete who currently offers a more demanding all-wheel drive system than the lateral dynamics from Mitsubishi. In addition to the impressive technology package, what counts above all is the unquestionable traction performance on any surface!
Sound:
Unfortunately, far too little. The dirty pattering of a sports engine when the accelerator is released and a clearer screeching when climbing the speed ladder is missing. For me personally, the engine doesn't emotionalize enough about the sound aspect.
And finally ...
"Curve Wildsau“For me personally, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X currently represents the top of the automotive lateral movement. No other road all-wheel drive vehicle has surprised me as much as this Japanese all-wheel drive wild animal. In connection with the Dunlop SP Sport 600, however, there was also a conscious change in vehicle handling on slippery surfaces.
Brake early and stay on the gas before the apex - the fine art of dynamically pulling through the curve under load was an affair that took getting used to, especially on autumn roads. Especially for the passengers.
It was a great pleasure for me to be able to move such an uncouth and wild dog again. The times when more than 300 liters of SuperPlus are allowed to blow under 20 hp are probably coming to an end and so the only personal assessment left is:
Regardless of whether Mitsubishi 30 Evo X sells a year or a week - I am happy for every buyer of the current Evo X - about his uncompromising choice! So that this legend lives on for a long time - not only in rallying!
Ranking: 73 from 100 points
There is no room for discussion: The points result in an overall ranking and are comparable across all vehicle classes - as they are directly and objectively based on the model class and target group. The more points, the better the vehicle. A sports car cannot achieve 100 points because its everyday use is low. A family van may fail in the “straight performance”. The ranking is of course completely subjective - it is that my-car-blog Ranking. Bjoern Habegger
Text / photos: Bjoern Habegger