Mitsubishi has finally decided to bring an up to date compact to American shores. The Lancer has been available in other parts of the world for a while so the mechanicals of the car and chassis are reliable. Additionally, a big plus (for me at least) is that Lancers are assembled in Japan.  
 
The first thing you'll notice about the Lancer is that its exterior design stands out from the slightly "jellybean" Corolla, Civic, and Elantra bodystyles out there. Mitsubishi gave the car crisp lines which establish a clean look. The headlights and integrated turn signal assembly look more European than Asian in origin. The only area which looks a bit plain would be the tail light clusters, but remember we're talking about a sub $16k car, and most other compacts are no better in this regard.  
 
Now on to more mechanical matters:  
 
First, the 4G94 2.0L Mitsubishi engine is the smoothest, quietest, 4 cylinder powerplant I have ever driven. I test drove Focus, Elantra, Protege, and Civic high level trims. The Mitsubishi engine is simply a jewel while running and absolutely puts the Ford Zetec and Hyundai engine to shame.  
 
The 5spd manual transmission shifts nicely and has a real 5th gear overdrive which drops the revs for quiet highway cruising. In 5th gear at 70MPH, the Lancer is only turning approx 2750RPM. The clutch has a high engagement point compared to other manual tranmission cars I test drove, but it's not a big issue.  
 
EPA fuel economy rating is 28/33 with the 5spd manual. However on my first tank I got 33mpg in mixed city/hwy with the A/C on almost all the time. Considering the car now has only 272 miles on it, I'd say that's pretty encouraging.  
 
Additionally, the Lancer's engine provides very decent off the line punch to get the car moving up to speed. You do NOT have to rev the engine up to near redline in order to achieve satisfying acceleration.  
 
The Lancer's chassis is an area that will probably disappoint pocket rocket enthusiasts expecting race car type cornering and go-kart like reflexes. However, for the rest of us, a Lancer in stock form (across all trim levels) provides a quiet, comfortable, controlled ride across a variety of pavement surfaces. Handling is not sloppy, but probably a bit behind the Protege. Protege is much more controlled during quick cornering, but at the expense of a somewhat harsh and jittery ride - especially on bad pavement.  
 
The Lancer OZ is supposed to be a bit more sporty, but doesn't have anything mechanically to "kick it up a notch" in the handling department versus the LS or ES trims. The only chassis related complaint I have is that the power steering is overboosted at low speed and the suspension allows a bit more body roll that I would normally like. My Lancer came with Goodyear Eagle LS tires, which are a pure passenger car tire with no performance inclination. If there was a weakest link on my OZ as delivered, this would be it.  
 
Brakes are front ventilated disc / rear drum and provide sufficient stopping power for normal duties. All the other cars I've mentioned with the exception of the Protege ES use a disc/drum setup, but it would have been nice if Mitsubishi had installed four wheel disc brakes (on the OZ at least) for increased stopping power. The only quirk is that Mitsubishi only offers ABS on the Lancer LS trim level, it's not available on the ES or OZ.  
 
To sum it up, when you drive the car under normal use, it's amazingly smooth and refined. You simply feel as if you have a larger car beneath as you go down the road. Body rigidity is excellent which supports very low NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness) levels that the auto journalists are always checking on.  
 
Interior design-wise, Mitsubishi provides a very roomy interior within a small size car. I believe they probably stole a little space from the trunk to give to back seat passengers, but if I have three friends in the car, I think they'd appreciate it.  
 
The material(s) quality is good overall for the price range of the car. I would rate front seat comfort as very good - I'm 6'3 and 245lbs and long legged. The driver's seat goes far enough back that I can stretch out while driving and a dead pedal is provided for your left foot for even more comfort. There is plenty of leg room for rear seat passengers, no matter how the front seats are adjusted.  
 
The benefit of the OZ for me was that a slightly upscale black interior is used with nice looking black fabric cloth for the seats. Otherwise you'd be stuck with the typical light grey or tan interiors available in Asian cars. Another nice perk for the OZ is that the gauge cluster is styled after Mitsubishi's Evolution rally car. Gauges are creme faced, round, easy to read, and glow a soft orange/red at night for easy visibility.  
 
I just traded my 2001 Toyota 4x4 4Runner in on my new Lancer. I am going to grad school and wanted to get a much more economical car that was more suited to my needs. After a week with my new Lancer OZ, I've gotten all that and much more, including a vehicle which is fully paid off.  
 
If you're in the market for a new compact, you'd be negligent if you didn't go to your Mitsubishi dealership to at least test drive a new Lancer. I'm sure that Honda and Toyota loyalists may decree that Mitsubishi doesn't have the goods to compete since they're the more established players in the arena. However, a quick test drive may enlighten you to the fact that Mitsubishi has done their homework here and at the very least now offer a product on par with their Japanese rivals.  
