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Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IV

An excerpt from Driven Magazine, NZ's WEEKLY WEB AUTOZINE.

I'm not a great fan of Rallying, but I do like what Rallying has given us as road cars. Homologation specials are on the verge of dying out as World Rally Championship rules change again, but it's nice to see that Mitsubishi has just released the Lancer EVO V. If it's anything like the EVO IV I drove it will be one hell of a car.

It's hard to imagine a car that grabs attention more than the EVO IV. Spoilers front and rear, bonnet ducts, and huge driving lights all mark the Lancer out as one serious motor car, or does it look as if someone's bought a standard Lancer and gone seriously overboard with the optional extras? That was the feeling I got the fourth time I attempted to check for traffic through the rear view mirror, only to see a huge rear wing you could have a picnic on. To those in the know, the EVO IV is as close to a supercar as you can get, but to others it just looks like a ridiculously over-spoilered-boy-racermobile.

No such complaints about the performance though. 205kW from a two litre engine requires some pretty impressive turbocharging, which turns the Lancer from family transport into your girlfriend's father's worst nightmare. Probably best to show up on the Honda Blackbird then....

Being turbo'd, and to such an extent, you would expect loads of turbo lag and an engine that won't do anything until 4000rpm's on the dial, but in reality the car just pulls from way down around 2000rpm and won't give up until it's beyond 6500. Accompanying the surge of power is a rising scream from the turbo and wastegate that although sending a thrill up and down your spine, could and should be much, much louder. The usual restrictive environmental regulations deny the EVO IV the ability to warn people 2km away that it's coming.

For much more of this article and others, go Back to the reviews by Driven Magazine, NZ.

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