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Writer. Wheelman. Occasional DIY mechanic. Walking collection of hang-ups. Hopeless romantic. Old-school. Analog soul in a digital world. I am all of these things and more.

Saturday, November 01, 2008

2008 CY4A Mitsubishi Lancer GT: Shotgun impressions

Lately I've had the chance to sample my dad's new Lancer as a shotgun passenger.

The interior is a gaping black hole, but with nicely supportive seats. Interior fit and finish isn't quite a patch on the FD Civic just yet, due to a few cheap, hard plastics, but what is there works quite well. The folding grab handle doesn't feel comfortable to hold after half an hour though.

In-car entertainment consists of a 6-CD multichanger that can read MP3 files. ID3 tag information displays on the narrow LCD screen, but doesn't seem to display more than 60 characters. The head unit (HU) then powers what seems like a 6-speaker setup, with a pair of tweeters hidden in the front mirror mounts. Audio quality is okay, with nice imaging, but I'm sure it can be improved with the fitment of an aftermarket HU. How that will fit in place of the integrated HU will be a big headache, though.

My dad was stoking the 2.0L 4B11 engine along the length of NLEX. The engine has impressive overtaking punch and grunt, and it did not want for smoothness either. According to the instant fuel consumption gauge it could do 10 km/L. How reliable these gauges are remains to be seen, though.

The best part about the CY4A, however, has to be the suspension and chassis. Tuning of the springs and dampers hovers on the stiff side, but the ride quality does not suffer and the car handles road acne quite well on its 45-profile tires and 18-inch wheels. One has to force clumsiness to make the Lancer pitch and roll.

Color me impressed.

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