Cars Service

2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution review

If your looking at the Evo you obviously know what this car is about. Throw you back in your seat acceleration, insane cornering grip, and brakes that would have stoped the titanic. All this for a little over $30,000 and you have a car that will compete with cars costing hundreds of thousands more.

If your buying this car your looking for the thrill of driving. Not a spectacular interior but build quality is outstanding. The list of standard features is respectable with everything you would expect from a car in this price range.



The ride is a bit choppy on my small town Wisconsin roads but it does nothing to take away from the pleasure of driving this awsome machine. Be warned though. Everyone wants a ride in it and everyone wants to see what its got. This can get you in trouble. Believe me. In my opinion you cant find a better new car for the price. Excellent!

THE 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR is the fastest ugly car in the world. I mean that in the nicest possible way.

After all, making ugly fast is no small feat. Fast cars are typically low-slung, wide and rakish, aerodynamically optimized in the wind tunnel for high speeds and stability. Our innate sense of aesthetics responds to this kind of sleek-ifying in the same way we recognize a cheetah, a porpoise or a peregrine falcon as beautiful.

The stubby and thick Evo MR, on the other hand, is more like a rocket-powered groundhog, or a baby hippo fired out of a cannon. Fast. Ugly.

As appropriate for the name, it has taken many years of selective genetics to bring the Evo MR to its current fast/ugly nexus. The Evo line began in 1992 when Mitsubishi started building amped-up versions of its geeky Lancer sedan to compete in World Rally Championship racing.
In the next decade, while Evos tore up the WRC circuit, the ever-more-powerful street versions became the golden idols of performance pagans everywhere - everywhere, that is, except the U.S., where emissions standards made importation too expensive. This left thousands of young American men grieving in their parents basements, as the car was a star in video games such as "Gran Turismo" and "Need for Speed."

Inside and Out

Heres where it does hurt: no radio. No speakers. No power windows, no power door locks, no power mirrors, no keyless entry, no center console, no map lights. No sound deadening in the body, no carpeting in the trunk, no wiper in the rear, no paint on the naked door handles or mirrors. Amazing what we take for granted until its gone. Cant live without these life sustaining necessities? Then stay away from this track-ready Evolution RS - something that all but about 200 of Mitsubishis customers did last year. Honda sells that many Accords in two hours. On a slow day.

Since those voids can be easily filled with a step up the Evo ladder, lets focus on whats common to all Evos, most of which is common to all Lancers. Its just your basic retro-90s Japanese economy car interior: plain but perfectly functional. The few controls work exactly as expected, with a quality feel that belies their cheap appearance and new cupholders for this year. If it pleases your eye, you should have nothing to complain about. Especially if you like black.

Unique to Evos are the enveloping Recaro seats, which add side bolsters that aggressively hold you in place while maintaining the high comfort levels of the standard Lancer. There should be enough room and adjustability in them for drivers of all heights, though fatties might not fit within the narrow width. Also, those Recaro guys copied one of Volkswagens wrong answers by placing the angle adjuster on one of those frustrating knobs that must be turned ten thousand times to recline the seat one degree. And in some conspiracy against ergonomics, the knob has a freakin annoying triangular shape and is nearly impossible to reach with all that bolstering in the way. In a two-driver household, this car could inspire divorce.

Some more Evo exclusives are the Momo steering wheel (nothing wrong with this piece) and the sportier red gauges, in which the tachometer stands front and center. And of course, no other Lancer has the switch to toggle between Tarmac, Gravel, and Snow settings on the Active Center Differential.

The back seat is standard Lancer fare - adequate for two adults, possibly tolerable for three. Good legroom and footroom, but seat cushion too low, short, and soggy. The built-in head restraints are pretty flimsy, too, and there are no side air bags in any position. A mix of average-feeling leather and nice-feeling Alcantara (suede?) covers all surfaces.
The back seat doesnt fold down into the trunk like on other Lancers, no doubt to keep the car as stiff as possible. But the trunk is fairly roomy, even if, on this RS model, it looks like a looter made off in the night with the contents.

On the outside, the Evo MR looks like it went into a performance parts store and got dressed in the dark. New for this model is the inch-deep chin spoiler under the front air dam and the oval ports letting air flow around the intercoolers inlet and outlet pipes. In addition to the aluminum fender panels bulging like a can of bad Spam, the car sports a carbon-fiber rear spoiler complete with a small vertical "wickerbill" on the trailing edge. Most curious, though, is the "Vortex Generator," a row of small fins on the roof that create turbulence in the airstream over the spoiler, for an extra soupçon of downforce. Some guys have a comb-over. This car has an over-comb.

performance

The driver inputs are all perfection. The six-speed gearbox (with Teflon-coated cable linkage) is slick and affirmative. The close-set pedal position makes heel-and-toe driving effortless - and theres nothing quite like downshifting and blipping the throttle in the Evo. Frank Sinatra should have such ring-a-ding-ding. And, it will surprise no one, the steering is phenomenal. This car has one of the quickest steering ratios this side of Laguna Seca providing powerful sweeps of angular momentum with slightest inputs off center. And yet, on the freeway, the car tracks like an arrow.

This race-like responsiveness does have its downside. The rack ratio combined with the front wheels AWD linkage gives this car a truly ridiculous turning radius. Escalades are easier to park.

Of all the Evos phenomenal statistics, Im pole axed by this one in particular: Mitsubishi warranties the powertrain of this shrieking-sucking torque pig for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Holy groundhog. The car may be ugly, but that warranty is a beautiful thing.
2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR

Base price: $36,299

Price, as tested: $36,894

Powertrain: Turbocharged and intercooled iron-block inline four, 16-valve DOHC, with variable-valve timing and dual-stage exhaust; six-speed manual transmission; full-time all-wheel-drive with active center differential; front and rear limited-slip differentials

Horsepower: 286 at 6,500 rpm
Torque: 289 pound-feet at 3,500 rpm
Curb weight: 3,285 pounds
0-60 mph: 4.5 seconds (est.)
Wheelbase: 103.3 inches
Overall length: 178.5 inches
EPA fuel economy: 18 mpg city, 24 mpg highway
Final thoughts: Revenge of the nerd

Need 4 Speed?Get u some EVO


Pros: Turbocharged goodness, 4wd, Recaro seats, smooth shifting 6-speed, awesome brakes

Cons: The speed limit, I cant drive it 24 hours a day

This car is, without a doubt, the best performing car under 35k you can buy. 0-60 in 4.5 seconds, braking from 60 in ~115 ft, and awd traction so ferocious, itll put a grin on your face everytime you take a high speed corner. Seriously folks, do yourself a favor and go test drive one (if the dealer will let you). Once the turbocharger kicks in at around 3200 RPM, youll be shoved back into your seat and before you know it, youre 2x over the speed limit. Make no mistake about it, this car isnt for the weak. Its not made for luxury or people who dont find passion in driving. This car is made for thrills and every drive in it is definately exciting. So if you want all that GPS, dual climate control, messaging seats junk, go buy yourself a Lexus. The Evo is made for hardcore motoring only.

Peace easy