Mitsubishi Lancer 2.0 DI-D Juro Review & Road Test (2011)

Mitsubishi Lancer 2.2 DI-D Juro Review & Road Test

“Wow, cool car,” said my teenage niece when I pulled up outside the house. “Can you take me to school in it?”

Which of course I could. Which made her very happy. But what made her happy was that she thought she’d had a lift to school in an Evo; the supercar for the Playstation generation, so beloved of teenage boys with faces like pizzas and trousers they buy by hip size.

What she’d actually got taken to school in was the Mitsubishi equivalent of a Focus Diesel. Which would have made her curl up with embarrassment if she – or any of the friends she made sure saw her getting out of the car – had realised what she thought was an Evo was in fact a family oil-burner.

And that is the strength of the Mitsubishi Lancer. And its weakness. Because for the kids it’s a family car that looks like a hot Playstation on four wheels. But most families – at least most families I know – don’t know there is a family hatch at the root of the Evo madness, so wouldn’t give it a thought when planning what car’s next.

Which is all a bit of a shame. And it makes you wonder why Mitsubishi don’t seem to make the most of the Lancer. Or maybe I’ve missed the marketing push? Or maybe the Mitsubishi Lancer 2.0 DI-D Juro we’ve got in this week for review and road test is the marketing push? And if it is, it’s all rather promising.

Mitsubishi Juros are, on the whole, about the extras. Adding toys and options to a regular model to make it more appealing. Just like the Outlander Juro we recently reviewed, which was an upmarket version of Mitsubishi’s latest Outlander. And now Mitsubishi are pulling the same trick with the Lancer.

And you do get an awful lot for your money with this Lancer Juro. Yes, there are a few bits that seem a bit low rent, but you have to remember that this is a sub £15k car. Well, it was until this month, but I’m guessing the VAT rise this week has put paid to that. Still, a bit over £15k Evo look-alike can’t be bad.

For that £15k you get a decent-sized, well bolted together family car. With a very practical hatch and decent leg and headroom in the front and back. And all wrapped up in the shape of an Evo.

But what you also get in the Lancer Evo is extra ‘Stuff’. Stuff like a very decent Kenwood System (apart from the fiddly little buttons) with SatNav, Bluetooth, Reversing Camera and iPod connection. You also get leather seats and Cruise; Alloys and multi-function wheel. A really big spec.

What you don’t get is hundreds of horses and four wheel drive. Instead, you get a 2.0 litre turbodiesel with a slightly more modest 138 horses to play with. But that does make more sense for a family car than a turbocharged Playstation.

But does it make for a good family car?

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By Cars UK