Earlier this week I drove our Mitsubishi Lancer GTS to San Francisco to attend Ford's introduction of the Mustang Bullitt. I figured it would be a good car to jump off of Taylor Street's hills or try some lurid rally-inspired drifts. Erm, or maybe not. Our economy-minded Lancer was, however, a respectably pleasing companion for about 450 miles of driving.
The car feels substantial and a bit European in the way it drives and reacts to road surfaces. I loathe that wing and how it blocks rear visibility, but it helps the Lancer look pretty aggressive – a notable number of San Francisco motorists and pedestrians were checking out the car. (If a modern Lt. Frank Bullitt needed a discrete performance car, a Lancer Evolution, at least in stock factory form, would not be it.)
Having a navigation system was fantastic. San Francisco, with its hills and one-way streets, can be a pain-in-the-ass city to navigate if you're not familiar with it. The Lancer's navigation system allowed me to focus on driving safely rather than where I was headed. It's also easy to program and fast-loading thanks to the hard drive.
I also tried out the navigation system's point-of-interest (POI) feature after realizing that I had a couple of free hours available. In a pinch, POI will work as tourist guide. San Francisco's museums are available, and the biggie tourist draws -- Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square -- are included in the database as well. But wanting something more substantial than just POI, I ended up going to a local bookstore and buying a Lonely Planet guide.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor
toyotatacoma says:
04:31 PM, 11/ 8/07
how is the paint holding up? any scratches in the font from little rocks?
SubyTrojan says:
05:51 PM, 11/ 8/07
The first photo is great, Brent! How much "work" did it take you to set up that shot?
vic_pe says:
07:18 PM, 11/ 8/07
Anyone else other than I thinks headlights without at least one projector light in the casing are becoming very 90s?
I just can't help but feel that when I see those headlights on the Lancer and many other modern and nicely styled cars.
I dunno, I guess the way they look with the wimpy small center bulb and the reflective material around they just don't seem in place with some cars' style (especially the low wide shaped headlight ones). Projection lenses often give a different "eye", an upscale and cool-looking one. Like BMWs with or without the HIDs, you can tell which one is the hot one coming from your rear view mirror.
Or take the Outlander versus the new Santa Fe. Both have similar headlight styles in that they're wide, but the SF has the projection beam lens versus the Outlander's dull old type (I forget how they are called). I feel it makes a real difference in the way they look with the respective headlight type they use, and moreover, the projector lenses often give a nicer more bright and focused light which aids in visibility.
I'm sometimes surprised even low end cars like the Optra have them. Weren't they at some point an upscale option on cars?
bromans says:
08:51 PM, 11/ 8/07
Paint: So far, so good. But our offices are in Southern California. Were we somewhere with crappy weather and sanded roads, it could very well be different.
Suby: Thank you. Not long. Lucked out with a parking space.
Lights: Interesting observation. I'd expect that the Evolution will get HIDs based on what happened with the previous model. Though, interestingly, I remember reading a tech article published by an Evo tuner shop. They weighed the HIDs and found them notably heavier than the regular Lancer halogens. And where's that weight? Right at the front edge of the car, the worst place. -- Brent
chavis10 says:
09:29 AM, 11/ 9/07
HIDs have ballasts, which are essential heavy metal bricks which is what adds that extra poundage. I jguess in 5-7 years LEDs will start replacing projector beam HIDs they way HIDs are replacing Tungsten halogen incandescents now.
vic pe, I see what you mean. Projectors do have a slightly more upscale look than faceted elliptical reflectors behind clear lenses. I do think it depends on the car though... some cars look worse with projectors to me because there's less styling effort put forth.
daveflores says:
09:52 AM, 11/ 9/07
The NAV and the Rockford Fosgate stereo are what sealed the deal for me on the Lancer. You can go on all day about soft touch plastic, the sound of the door closing, leather, the quality of the switches on a car, but give me a nice sound system and you're already 80% of the way toward pleasing me. And the excellent NAV system ensures that I'll get where I want to go and enjoy doing it.
trackwrex says:
10:53 AM, 11/ 9/07
Fisherman's Wharf??? Now seriously Brent, you expect us to believe you're "working"??? ;) How did you like the power going up the SF hills?
dalaw says:
11:23 AM, 11/ 9/07
Not sure about halogen porjector having good output, most of the cars with halogen projectors i see on the road seem to have weak lights.
jr1m90 says:
03:48 PM, 11/ 9/07
You're right dalaw, my Mazda3 has them (halogen projector low beams), and honestly, it's probably my least favorite thing about the car. Compared to most multi-reflector halogen types I've driven, the projectors are a little dimmer, and have a short cutoff. Give me function over form any day.
They do make the car look good though, until I smack into a deer that I didn't see in rural Pennsylvania (as if the cruddy roads weren't bad enough).
bromans says:
04:23 PM, 11/ 9/07
Power: Lamentably underwelming. I don't think we've published acceleration results for the long-term car. Will do so next week.
hondacura4 says:
10:35 AM, 11/11/07
The light looks weak beacuse the light is focused. My former 1996 Lexus ES300 had halogen projectors and I had no issues with them.
But currently the best combination of HID lighting and projector headlamps has to be on the Acura TSX. Behind the wheel at night the visibility is outstanding. S2000 is a close second and the BMW 3 and X5 are right there too.
toyotatacoma says:
08:25 PM, 11/11/07
Well I asked about the paint because many people have complained of this car having a thin paint coat which resulted in stone chips and other nicks.
One other thing, how is the road noise? m looking for a relatively quiet cabin.
hunter312 says:
09:30 PM, 11/12/07
It's such a shame about the engine (especially concerning the CVT transmission), because this thing looks so badass and it should at the very least have a satisfactory engine to back that up. I can't wait for the Ralliart...
vic_pe says:
09:23 AM, 11/13/07
Oh yeah and what's worse than HIDs on reflector headlamps.
There's no luxury feel in THAT!
toyotatacoma says:
08:12 PM, 11/13/07
angel eyes would look nice too!