Drive along Forever.... Review on Mitsubishi Lancer SFX

I see it, you must have seen it and we both may have turned our heads when we saw it, at least the first time. It is definitely a head turner. What is?

Mitsubishi Lancer. When I saw it the first time, I saw it in a yellow version. Very different and attractive. Glamorous look. The lamps ahead were sleek and right there between the lamps was a triangular symbol, more like a therefore sign. It was filled with red. Seen that sign before – where? (Scratch, scratch…ah yes the Pajero!). But this ain’t an MUV, it was a sedan – a seductive sedan. I stopped there to have a good look at it, then moved towards the rear end and saw the words “Lancer” behind.

I have been lucky enough to be on the inside, once, when I was with dad and our Ikon was up for servicing. Dad’s friend offered us a lift from South Mumbai till Thane station.

The car is a beauty and a definite head turner. The frontal portion slopes neatly and looks more like the Honda City but slightly wider. The front bumper is more aggressive, and gives the car the mean sporty look. The lamps are sleeker like the Opel Astra. The car looks slightly bulky when you see it from the rear and sideways. In other words it looks tough, not fragile like the Esteem. The rear again is a typical Cielo or Honda City look. Quite a mix, the car can be. The differentiating aspect is the trapezoidal rear brake/turn/reverse light. The rear seems bulky too due to the rear bumper and is slightly raised to give the car some aerodynamics. From the external appearance it looks like it has the best of all cars in its segment and thus has a snob appeal. My dad’s friend reflected that snob appeal too, in his talk.

The interiors! From what I have said about the car you must be raving to know how is it on the inside. I would say it is a lot of plastic. You see gray moulded plastic everywhere. No wood finish anywhere. Though better than our Ikon, I feel Opel Astra Club excels in this area. The front seats are a bit stiff, though the driver has the privilege of adjustable seat. The leg space in front is reasonable though. The rear seats are a relief and even have a foldable hand rest in between. I guess it was designed mainly as a Chauffeur driven car. But this is where my dad and his friend sat while I was chilling in the ac vent directed on me, on the front side. The car is quieter on the inside and the suspension is very good. You absolutely don’t feel the bumps. Also the car enjoys reasonably good height and is not so much of a worry on speed breakers. And when I earlier mentioned that the car is sporty, I wasn’t exaggerating. The driver was racing at near 150 Kmph on Eastern Express Highway, but had to slow down eventually. The car’s top speed is 170 Kmph, Whoa! And the braking is suitably designed with this high speed driving in mind.

Some info I gathered on the car engine and performance is as under: It has a 1468 cc 4 cylinder, 16-valve engine that has 85 bhp. It makes 0 to 100 Kmph in 13 sec. But like all race cars this car needs more fuel when it sweats more. It gives a very low average of 9 Kmpl for city driving (with the ac) and a reasonably good 14 Kmph on highways. So here it excels over Honda City and Astra Club.

Besides the car has,

1) Power windows

2) Power steering

3) Rear Defogger

4) Window washing squirt

5) Central locking for doors.

6) Door mirrors, bumpers that are of same color as the car.

Business class should go for white, silver-grey or such colours while the youth should stay with the yellow and red or even the black colour.

So at the end, I will say that the car is awesome, mean and sporty. If you like stunning looks and speed and if you are rich and full of attitude, this one is for you.