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Mitsubishi is a Japanese car company on the rebound. One reason is the front drive Lancer GTS, the bread-and-butter compact sedan counterpart to the high performance EVO models we love to thrash. In the GTS, you get a lot of the EVO look, but with a practical price and powertrain.
The GTS is moved along well, if not smartly, by a 152-horsepower twin-cam four. Our car's 5-speed manual is not made for speed shifting, but it's still competent. After a little over a month, and 5,500 miles, we're thrilled with the 27.0 mile-per-gallon economy on regular grade gas.
The interior also has sporty style, with large gauges under Ferrari-esque housings. Seats are well padded, with good room for four adults. So as small sedans go, the Lancer GTS is a head turner above the rest.
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Most reliable, affordable, and efficient compact sedans are also one more thing. Boring. Not so, the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS. With styling drawn directly from high performance EVO models, the GTS is a standout.
We get a lot of second glances in our long-term GTS, even if its 152-horsepower twin-cam four and rubbery 5-speed manual shifter make it mostly a poser. But, after 3 months and a quick 11,000 miles, we're thrilled with its 27.5 mile-per-gallon fuel economy on regular gas.
The spacious and also sporty interior is impressively comfortable for trips both long and short. Positive log book entries indicate that the GTS is the "right size" for our picky staff.
Negatives include rear vision problems due to the deck lid spoiler, and a hard to read digitized gas gauge.
Otherwise, our Mitsubishi Lancer GTS, is handling our car and image needs equally well.
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The 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS is probably the hottest looking, yet still responsible compact car ever.
Even with styling cues drawn from the hot lick Lancer Evolution, our GTS gets by with a modest 2.0-liter 152-horsepower engine. With a 5-speed manual, it returns a pleasing 27.2 miles-per-gallon of regular gas.
That EVO kinship has its drawbacks, however, as the rear deck spoiler cuts backward visibility sharply.
We've had no mechanical problems in 6 months and 12,000 miles. One nit pick, however - the bar-graph gas gauge is not very accurate.
Still, in a world where looks mean a lot, the Lancer GTS has it going away in practical style.
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