Tried & Tested: 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (Evo X) with TC-SST

Living with an iconic moniker like ‘Evo’ (not the auto mag) or ‘Evolution’ does have its plus point of customer ‘blind’ loyalty and faith. A close associate of mine – who is incidentally a German car fan - just signed up for one without batting an eyelid, being one of the first thirty owners in Malaysia who took delivery of the latest Lancer Evolution (X) with TC-SST. On the flipside, expectations are high for this all-new Evo X since its predecessor, the Evo IX MR was such a capable, brute beast with plenty of grip and intoxicating turbo kick!

Mitsubishi Motors has done well in styling the Lancer 2.0 GT, so much so its biggest selling point must be its pseudo-Evolution X outlook and image. A check with the on-road population in Kuala Lumpur/Petaling Jaya would reveal almost half of ‘em running around with after-market square frontal registration plates shifted to the right, while the tranverse bar dissecting the grille and air-dam gets darkened out with black paint. (Errr...the slim shady keeps it in the centre!). To the regular Joes and Janes (?) the new Lancer GTs must have been heaven sent. But for someone who forked out a third of a million Ringgit, I could feel the disdain of how too much unassuming the real McCoy can be. Strangely, not many cars in front ever gave way to my onslaught in a 295bhp and 366Nm sports machine. In fact, no other motorists ever could ever discern an Evo X in motion having front ventilated bonnet and fenders made of aluminium, the truly superb AFS bi-Xenons being projector items, those rolling lightweight 18” BBS alloys with all-round Brembos or those ‘pregnant’ wheel arches and the shorter tail/rear bumper plus the taller rear spoiler. Not helping much is the ‘Evolution’ badge at the rear that is smaller than your regular RM1 ball-point pen. My esteemed associate at NST-CBT - when he earlier took out this very same Mitsu - was even asked by a petrol attendant: "Is this a real Evo?".

Here is a lethal driving machine that is almost as famous as James Bond. But...just imagine the suave (and well-toned bodied) 007 wearing a pair of synthetic leather shoes in the upcoming ‘Quantum of Solace’. That’s how you feel as you usher yourself into the cabin. Don’t get me wrong: the fancy heated, leather-suede combo RECARO seats, leather-rimmed multi-function steering, leather-stitched gear knob, sporty shift gate, TC-SST toggle switch and magnesium alloy paddle shifters are indeed excellent. It’s things like the ever-remnant plasticky dash-top, door trim, sharp-edged inner door handles, unlabelled (red sticker missing) door lock switch and lateral rear view mirrors lacking tinting that just doesn’t cut it for this top-of-the –range model.

You will also wonder how the powerful 9-speakers Rockford Fosgate audio with a bassy sub-woofer in boot, auto headlamps and rain-sensing wiper fit into all of the earlier cost-cutting deficiencies, especially the ever-nasty low rent interior plastics. The piano-black glossy inserts, much like a Samsung flat panel TV frame – on the dash and front door trim - could have been real aluminium bits to lift its cabin ambience from all sombre black to something classier, with a more convincing sportier intent.

In all these scheme of things, you’d also probably not expect a sunroof, but there IS one as standard fitment for the 2008 Lancer Evolution in Malaysia. Before I get hate mail accusing me of nitpicking and being long-winded, I still feel obliged to highlight the auto-function for all four windows of my 2005 Colt Turbo Ralliart. There is only a stingy, singular item for the driver’s window of this RM323k Lancer Evolution, that also just for one-touch winding down i.e. semi-auto. Gosh!

So after all the bitching, has the latest edition of Lancer Evolution gone soft? If you are referring to the ride and cruising comfort, that’s a very welcoming and emphatic, yes. All for the betterment of things, since the latest E90 M3 sedan (with M-DCT) is indeed ‘softer’ too in this respect while the new 911 Carrera 4 and C4S with PDK (997 facelift) driven in Berlin recently were almost as pliant. As for the latest Evo’s cornering prowess: an emphatic no. This all-wheel driven techno-gizmos on Dunlop SPSport is what I likened to a budget, smaller engined GT-R laden with S-AWC which encompasses active yaw control, active centre differential, sports ABS, traction control etc. I have not managed to unsettle it with my rather amateurish skills and I reckoned most of us could not take the new Evolution to its absolute limit given its enormous AWD traction. All I managed was to sense a wee bit of oversteer into one of the corners I had taken at higher-than-normal speed (I was alone in the car) and the electronics were quick to rein me back into safety zone.

What about the TC-SST then? Leaving the drive in ‘Normal’ mode, the twin clutch gearbox changes very smoothly with gears mostly left in 4^th, 5^th or 6^th. Fair enough, granted it’s destined to optimize fuel efficiency (for the record, the term fuel economy cannot be found in the new Evo’s lingo or dictionary). Toggle the TC-SST switch forward into 'Sport' and the automated ‘box downshifts upon braking just before a corner, accompanied with blips of the throttle; resulting in rev range mostly 3500rpm upwards, wherein lies the new turbocharged all-aluminium 4B11’s responsive and torquey powerband.

With engine braking you get even more traction into and out of bends. Wicked and lovely. I have not sampled the SST’s 'SuperSport' mode seeing that I am thankful enough already for MMM to loan me this car. For Evo X owners who’d like to try this, apparently you can do launch control at 5,500rpm and the clutch will bite and blast the Evo off like there’s no tomorrow, for the robotic gearbox that is (yes! this can and will cause premature wear and tear it seems). On more than a few occasions in ‘Normal’ mode, I found the SST to be a wee bit slow-witted executing upshifts e.g. from 4th to 5th and 5th to 6th. Perhaps its fuzzy logic software has yet to get my 'drift' of things. In all fairness though, the SST’s downshifts engagements are definitely more incisive than VW’s DSG. And in Sports-manual mode the gearbox doesn’t downshift for you at all, only until you reach a toll-plaza should you have forgotten to paddle down to lower cogs, it just jumps to gear position ‘1’, lest you’d stall the car.

The new Evolution’s steering is a bit of a letdown though, since upon licking the 2^nd rung of triple digit speeds the rack loses communication somewhat and becomes a tad too feathery in weighting. Yep! It requires you to have near rigor mortis – conviction and tension - at your wrist and elbow cruising at higher motorway velocity. It's not like the new Evo is unstable, far from it actually, but it can be tiring and stressful ''watching-over" the steering on long interstate jaunts. Just for heck of it, the Civic Type-R’s rack comes into contrast here, but that’s another story for another day (in another post).

In these times, I supposed most of you would like to know of the fuel consumption I have managed over my near three days of sampling the latest Lancer Evolution. The picture immediately above is worth a thousand words then. For the record, it averaged 16.5l per 100km (much like a 3-litre Mercedes E280 AMG Sport Package) for my mostly granny-on-a-Sunday drives, whenever my kids were put in the backseats (and my wife was seated beside me). The good thing was they didn’t even get carsick (motion sickness and the associated partial-projectile mess)…you can’t achieve this familial state of bliss in the old Evo IX can you?

Mini picture gallery:



Windshield cleaner reservoir moved to the back for better chassis weight distribution.





This would make any BMW owner proud of their 50:50 weight distribution obsession.





Lancer's A/C vents lack air-flow control and complete shut-out roller or slide lever.





All metal panels at front are of aluminium, but our Sunway boys will likely peddle carbon-fibre items soon enough. Note vents on top of hood.





Boot space is almost of a C-segment hatchback's.



The Lancer Evolution looking comfortable blending into a bungalow house frontage...no?



Related posts:

First Drive: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution with TC-SST

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X GSR

Full Road Test: Mitsubishi Lancer 2.0 GT

First Drive: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution with TC-SST (Evo X)

As promised earlier, here is my first drive impression of the all-new Lancer Evolution (Ver. X) with its highly acclaimed twin-clutch SST gearbox. Since the registered car has barely 300km on its odometer, I was pretty gentle on the throttle but fret not my fellow readers...a full test will be done soon, hopefully along with a Civic Type-R, if things go as planned.

The all-aluminium 4B11 engine along with the SST in 'Tarmac' mode is very civilised, so much so I couldn't believe I was piloting the all-new Lancer Evo. There is no manic urgency as compared to my wife's Colt Turbo Ralliart. In fact, revving the AWD machine up to 3000 rpm was rather refined (read: lethargic) much like the many Mercedes-Benzes and German marques tuned for luxury (non-lurchy) refinement.

The real punch comes in mid-range wallop...and all the way to near-redline (alright, I have been a bit of a bad boy)! While power delivery comes in surge of smooth waves - there is no wicked turbo kick - the car feels well tied-down with lots of traction. Around bends, the new Evo just hugs the tarmac like an obsessive girl- or boy- friend (or wife/hubby for that matter) and sticks like a leech around corners. It was drizzling when I had that brief run but wet roads were practically of no issue to its ever-planted composure.

Yes! You read right...speedo maxes out at 300km/h. Not the usual JDM-type limiter dictated 180 km/h.


Massive Real McCoy Brembos peeking out of lightweight BBS 18" alloys.


Dash top and door trim plastic still low rent: dull and hard like the Lancer GT/GLS. And this isn't due to weight saving measure for a sports saloon (some casual observer at the launch told me a Lancer Evo cannot have such luxury to save weight, believe it!).


Toggle the TC-SST into 'Sport' mode, you could sense more engine braking and hence, improved traction in tandem. The twin mufflers sings a more menacing, bassy note of higher decidel that's rather entertaining in the Penchala Link tunnel and more so, to the approving witnessing crowd at other places. Engine revs blips profusely with each downshift, resulting a rather jerky drive in slower traffic. In short, the new Evolution isn't much happy in low range of revs i.e. being driven slow. Neither will the driver!!!


The rear boot and bumper are actually shorter than Lancer GT's but looked deceptively standard issue.



Front registration number plate of the TRUE Lancer Evolution isn't at the LEFT side, unlike most Lancer GT turned EVO wannabes :)


The rear spoiler is a smooth one-piece item vs the Lancer GT's - with the under surface in matt black. Evolution badge 'whispers' very softly for this edition, with no indication of the Roman numero X.


Twin exhausts sound great on the run, perhaps a little tiring on the rear passengers' auditory nerves! Rear diffuser the functioning-type, not just for show. Pregnant rear wheel arches covers new Evolution's wider rear track.


Related posts:
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution launched in Malaysia
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Sportback
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X GSR: Final Specs

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR: Final Specs

By Dr Long

Final specifications of the much-anticipated all-new Lancer Evolution X has been released ahead of the Tokyo International Motor Show this month. Sporting S-AWC and Twin Clutch SST and other cutting-edge automotive technologies, the GSR spec (also available with a 5-speed manual transmission) leads the new Lancer Evolution X lineup. The Evo X also continues to offer the RS competition base model, with a less comprehensive and simplified equipment specification to reduce kerb weight. But this model looks more bargain-basement than the Lancer 2.0GT we already have here in Malaysia, so I have chosen to leave it out. After all, with paying some RM300k for a Japanese C-segment sedan – albeit a wicked super-high performance one at that – one will not tolerate an RS-spec Evo X, mostly anyway, for daily urban or sub-urban tarmac use. The Premium Package adds 18-inch BBS lightweight alloy wheels to the GSR.

Click on images to enlarge

Highlights and technical wizardries of the new Evolution X:

The new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X is powered by a new turbocharged engine that adds a high-performance turbocharger to the (4B11) 2.0L 4-cylinder 16-valve DOHC MIVEC unit used in the Lancer 2.0 GT. Developing more power over the full rev range, this all-aluminium petrol motor generates higher torque, a heady 422Nm at 3500 rpm and has better response than its 4G63 predecessor. The new engine is also lighter and returns better fuel efficiency as well as cleaner emission standards. Using a titanium-aluminum alloy turbine wheel and aluminum alloy compressor wheel, the turbocharger features a shape-optimized compressor wheel that improves boost response and increases low-end and mid-range torque.

The application of continuously variable valve timing technology (MIVEC) to both intake and exhaust camshafts realizes valve timing optimally matched to engine speed and load, stabilize combustion characteristics and allow the engine to develop more power over the full rev range. The new engine, excluding auxiliary equipment, is 12 kg lighter than the 4G63 thanks to the use of a die-cast aluminum cylinder block, head cover and chain case.

The adoption of a rearward facing exhaust manifold layout has, as well as improving exhaust efficiency, allowed the engine to be mounted lower, lowering the center of gravity. Other innovations have reduced intake/exhaust system losses and valvetrain friction, contributing to improved engine performance.

The GSR is available with the new Twin Clutch SST 6-speed automated manual transmission that eliminates the need for a clutch pedal and provides slick, smooth shifting. Twin Clutch SST puts odd (1st, 3rd, 5th) and even (2nd, 4th and 6th) gears on separate input shafts each with its own clutch and, through tight cooperative control with the engine, switches between these clutches to realize seamless and lightning-fast shifting for quick and incisive acceleration. Because it uses clutches rather than a torque converter to transmit power, Twin Clutch SST allows superior power transmission efficiency with little loss of motive power while returning respectable fuel economy. Twin Clutch SST allows the driver to choose between Autoshift fully automatic shifting and Manual Shift, where the driver can change gears as with a manual transmission. A toggle switch located at the base of the shift selector allows the driver to choose between Normal, Sport and Super Sport modes for the optimum shift scheduling for a wide variety of situations ranging from driving around town to racing a tight line on a winding road.
Twin Clutch SST models are fitted as standard with steering column-mounted lightweight magnesium paddle shifters that allow the driver to shift manually without taking his hand off the steering wheel.

4WD system (S-AWC)
The GSR trim level comes with Mitsubishi Motors' 4WD vehicle dynamics control system dubbed S-AWC (Super - All Wheel Control) as standard. For Lancer Evolution X, Active Stability Control (ASC) has been added to the ACD, AYC and Sport ABS component systems featured in previous Lancer Evolution series. S-AWC uses integrated management of these systems to exert high-precision control on drive torque and brake force at each wheel to enhance cornering and stability under all conditions from everyday driving to emergency evasion; thereby producing vehicle behavior that faithfully reflects driver intent. S-AWC offers three operating modes — TARMAC for dry, paved surfaces; GRAVEL for wet or unmade surfaces, and SNOW for snow covered surfaces — allowing the driver to select the mode best suited to current road surface conditions and realise greater stability.

ACD (Active Center Differential)

The Active Center Differential uses an electronically-controlled hydraulic multi-plate clutch to optimize front/rear wheel torque split and thereby produce the best balance between traction and steering response.

AYC (Active Yaw Control)

AYC uses a torque transfer mechanism in the rear differential to control rear wheel torque differential for different driving conditions and so limit the yaw moment that acts on the vehicle body and thus enhance cornering performance. AYC now features yaw rate feedback control using a yaw rate sensor to more accurately determine the cornering dynamics on a real-time basis. And the addition of braking force control allows the system to realize vehicle behavior that more closely mirrors driver intent.

Sport ABS (Sport Anti-lock Brake System)

ABS allows the driver to maintain directional control and keeps the vehicle stable by preventing the wheels from locking under heavy braking or when braking on slippery surfaces. The addition of yaw rate sensors and brake pressure sensors to the Sport ABS system has improved braking performance through corners.

Active Stability Control (ASC)

The ASC system stabilizes vehicle attitude while maintaining optimum traction by regulating engine power and the braking force at each wheel. ASC elevates vehicle stability by suppressing skidding in an emergency evasion maneuver or as the result of other sudden steering inputs. It also improves traction under acceleration by preventing the driving wheels from spinning on slippery surfaces.

The new Lancer Evolution X is expected to be available by H2 2008 in Malaysia - in the GSR form with Twin Clutch SST, of course. Incidentally, this GSR version with SST will only be available by November ‘07 in Japan. MMC expects to deliver 4,000 units of Lancer Evolution X in Japan before the end of 2007.

Related posts:

http://for-wheels.blogspot.com/2007/08/mitsubishi-lancer-20gt-road-test.html

http://for-wheels.blogspot.com/2007/08/mitsubishi-lancer-20gt-in-malaysia-now.html

http://for-wheels.blogspot.com/2007/08/full-road-test-mitsubishi-lancer-20-gt.html

http://for-wheels.blogspot.com/2007/08/jdm-mitsubishi-lancer-evo-x-punches-out.html

http://for-wheels.blogspot.com/2007/07/mitsubishi-evolution-xs-twin-clutch-sst.html

http://for-wheels.blogspot.com/2007/04/2008-all-new-mitsubishi-evolution-x.html