There’s no four-wheel drive, and performance isn’t anywhere near its rally-bred brother, but for a snitch over £11,500, the 2-litre Lancer Sport provides great value motoring.

The Sport offers performance, looks and a stack of extras.  Read on for our full road test or click below to skip to a section.

Looks | Looks Inside | Practicality | Ride and Handling | Performance
Running Costs | Reliability | Safety | Equipment | X-Factor

1. Looks

The Lancer isn’t a bad looking car up against its rivals the Kia Magentis and Hyundai Elantra. Featuring 16-inch alloys, a rear spoiler and funky front lights, the Lancer scores well. Compared to its steroid injected rally alter-ego, it’s more of a sheep than a wolf. The sporty grille adds some pizzazz but it certainly doesn’t look as politically incorrect as the Evo.

7/10

2. Looks inside

Apart from the tacky dials, the interior is pretty inoffensive. The Momo steering wheel and faux-alloy dash add an element of sportiness and the car benefits from all-round electric windows. The interior reflects a car of the Lancer’s value.

7/10

3. Practicality

There’s a wealth of space in the Lancer. It’s easily capable of seating five and there’s plenty of legroom. The front seats are incredibly comfortable and ensure a long drive is a pleasant one. The boot’s 430 litre capacity is more than enough, but being a saloon you can’t lift the parcel shelf to accommodate awkwardly shaped objects. The rear seats can be folded to accommodate long objects such as skis.

7/10

4. Ride and Handling

The Lancer sticks to the road pretty well for a family saloon. The suspension has been retuned and lowered by 30mm to harness the increased performance of the Sport model.

7/10

5. Performance

You’ll rarely find a cheap car which offers impressive performance, but the Lancer Sport ticks both boxes. The 2-litre, 16-valve engine produces 133bhp and 176 lb/ft of pulling power enabling a top speed of 127mph. Dashing from 0-60mph in 9.6 seconds isn’t a bad effort for a car of its size. At a shade over £11,500 none of its rivals can touch it.

9/10

6. Running Costs

Fuel economy isn’t jaw-droppingly good, but the Lancer’s average consumption is 33 miles per gallon which is respectable for a car of its size. Insurance is group 12 so premiums are likely to be quite high. Depreciation is also a problem – you can pick up a year old Sport for under £8,000 and a basic Equippe model for less than £7,000.

6/10

7. Reliability

Mitsubishis are renowned as being reliable and the Lancer didn’t give us a problem with the 900 miles we drove. As with all Mitsubishis, it comes with a 3-year unlimited mileage warranty, 6-year anti-corrosion warranty and in the case of a breakdown, 3-year pan-European roadside, home and accident assistance.

8/10

8. Safety

The Lancer is fitted with front and side airbags as standard along with anti-lock brakes. The car has not been tested yet by EuroNCAP.

7/10

9. Equipment

Once again, for the price of the car you get more than you would expect. All-round electric windows, air-conditioning, power-steering and 15-inch alloys come as standard. The Sport model we tested boasted 16-inch wheels, sporty front seats, CD auto-changer and a lowered suspension. A similarly equipped Peugeot 307 1.6S would cost nearly £3,000 more than a basic 1.6i Lancer.  

8/10

10. X-Factor

The Lancer is a class leader and at under £12,000, it’s an absolute bargain. Performance wise, nothing in its price range can touch the 130mph family saloon.

8/10

Rivals:
You might want to consider:

Kia Magentis
Skoda Octavia
Chevrolet Lacetti

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