Review: CJ Mitsubishi Lancer

[Mr Hardware]

So over the last few days I've covered several hundred kays in a 2011 MY12 CJ Lancer ES Auto Hatch and a smaller distance in a 2012 MY13 CJ Lancer ES Auto Hatch.

Appearance - Exterior:
Front looks great, angular and sharp. Rear looks lame, rounded pudgy. Looks like someone designed the sedan and then made the hatch as an afterthought.

Appearance - Interior:
Looks like a camry dash - massive brushed silver looking spear through the convex dash and through to the doors. Is relatively nice.

Equipment and layout
Most things are in their expected place. Auto up/down drivers window is good. Seat is comfortable. Aircon is bloody good - both in circulation and temperature and controls. Steering wheel has only tilt movement, no reach adjust, which was a pest because the steering wheel is too close to the dash. One cool feature was in the hatch, you had a handle like a door handle each side which folded the rear seats down automatically. Three things bugged me about the MY12 car: Gumby inset radio, no steering wheel audio buttons, and no map lights. These things are addressed in the MY13 model, with a double DIN stereo that is also bluetooth enabled, and buttons on the wheel too.

On the road - drivetrain
Both cars had the stock 2.0L 4cyl with a CVT auto. The motor was a relatively solid performer, but is the worst sounding motor i've heard in a wholly 21st century car. Despite the sound, it's a square motor which for a 2L, provided relatively good power and torque. The CVT was certainly a different experience. It was slow to get the car in the powerband, but when it got there it'd hold it there in the power for as much road as you had. Exiting a corner required a little bit of accellerator anticipation if you wanted to come out solidly. From a passenger's perspective it's nice not to have the shunt of a traditional auto through the gears.

On the road - handling and ride
I think the car's ride quality was its largest flaw. Roly-poly, bouncy, yet still allowed small bumps to come through too. Front suspension behaved noticeably different to the rear suspension. Unsettled, and therefore unsettling. That being said, the electric power steer was sharp and accurate.

Fuel economy:
Ratings are 7.3L/100km combined, 9.8 urban and 5.8 extra urban. I was able to achieve 5.9 on the highway consistently, but the city driving figure blew out considerably - have even only one or two merges or traffic light hustles and you're looking at 12L/100k easy. As this kind of car is likely to spend most of its time being a city runabout, economy might be dissapointing to some owners.

Overall:
The CJ lancer is a massive step up in virtually every way from the previous model (CH). That being said, it hasn't turned the car into a segment leader, but it is no longer a rubbish car. I would say it is now in the top half of the current medium-sized segment, just.
All things considered: Three and a half stars.

[Windsor220]

Have to remember that the CJ is quite old now. Been out for almost 6 years.

I agree on the engine noise. They have a weird exhaust noise that makes them sound like a tug boat.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

12L / 100km is shocking... that's more than the Mrs excel, in all it's carby glory gets.

[Mechan1k]

Makes my FG look like a saint with mid 9's in traffic.

[TC200six]

I wonder does that auto force the engine to suck up more fuel to get it going? That fuel economy figure isn't very good for a 2.0L

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Interesting that the suspension was shocking, in a small car you'd expect it to handle like it's on rails

[mik]

good review, it sounds pretty much like an average front wheel drive econo box , except without the econo lol, perhaps there is a driving technique to get the best out of a cvt equipped car? i don`t know much about them except what i`ve seen in road tests on the tube, what i`ve seen i just point blank don`t like , cvt sort of reminds me of a 2 speed ej holden with a sad auto .

[Mr Hardware]

i think the main answer to the around-town fuel economy and roly-poly dynamics is the fact that it's only 10% lighter than an AU!

[OffRoadFalcon]

Should just buy an AU instead, our wagon makes that that look like a V8 Petrol 4wd. Around town it gets about 8.5L/100, and a good bit less on country roads. Busselton is very flat and pretty much you just cruise around anyway, we can often pick out Perth drivers by their driving style.

Only %10 lighter than an AU is shockin'! What's all this about making cars lighter? I haven't seen any of that goin on much. Supercars yes... most others.....

[TC200six]

I've wanted a large car for awhile and it looks like I have one already.

As it's been mentioned in the past, nameplates that were classed as small are now almost large and the CJ Lancer I drive doesn't feel much smaller than the FG Falcon I've driven. I can't complain about the dynamics because it's about the best handling car I've ever driven.

Nowadays, real "small" cars are now classed as subcompact or city.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

It's tough to compare anything with an AU in terms of handling... it's hands down the best car I've ever driven, even over the FG.

Only got better once I'd lowered it as I could take corners like a go-cart.

[STINKY NINJA]

I have some feedback,i owned a 2010 cj lancer activ for 2 years and it was a great car.city fuel economy was around 7 litres per hundred with a 5 speed manual,autos are rubbish(make less power and use more fuel because of the crap auto)The only real problem i had with the car was the paint was too thin.I am 6 foot 1, 120kg and i had plenty of room in the lancer,its a medium sized car,easy to drive and quite nippy for a 2.0.There was no elbow rubbing inbetween gear changes which is a small car issue.
The motor is noisy on startup because of the mivec/vvt but never gave any issues.
I never had 1 single issue with the car in the 2 years i owned it and regretted trading it on a new falcon ute which will have its 3rd diff fitted in another few weeks after only travelling 5500km.
Cjlancers are a great car,just dont buy the auto.
Also the fit and finish of the lancer is light years ahead of my new xr6 ute.

[Nic85]

FG = mid 9's in stop/start city traffic, and an AU = 8.5L/100km in the same? Get ya hand off it fellas. Proper stop/start traffic, day in, day out, your cars would be seeing closer to 13-14 easily.

My mate had a CJ VRX Lancer with the 2.4L and a manual gearbox - it was a pretty nice drive, but the CJ is due for replacement next year and will get the 1.8L diesel from the ASX. That will be a cracker.

[janddbone]

CVT's take some getting used to. You need to modify your driving style to suit, but they are superb for their purpose. Smooth, efficient running. Essentially it all comes back to throttle control and technique, if anyone actually cares I will happily explain my thoughts otherwise I wont bother... I love CVT's in the average car.