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some article which shared similar view that i said earlier today on the lancer's interiors quality and comparing with civic....read on:
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2010
Proton Has Recently Launched The Inspira....So How Does The Original Drive? A Look At The Lancer GT
I did an article way back in 2007 on the Mitsubishi Lancer GT when it was launched. I think it would make a compelling read to those who want to know more about the original version of the Inspira. Of course, the facelifted version of the Lancer GT with that chrome strip around the wide-mouthed grille has some better plastic than this first batch model. I really felt the plastic in this 2008 model was really, really crappy.
It reminded me why Proton interiors were so crappy as their 'sifu' or master, Mitsubishi, also uses crappy plastic too. How can you learn to walk straight from a crab in the first place?
A friend of mine recently sold of his GT as soon as he heard the Inspira was being launched so I had first hand news on the car as well as sitting in it quite often before he let it go at 30,000km or two whole years of use.
Nowadays, after sitting in one quite often, I still think the Lancer GT is a decent car, but it still does not live up to the the 'GT' badging. It needs at least 20 more horses to feel competently fast due to its weight and CVT gearbox feel (although it is possible for it to out drive a Honda Civic 2.0 on the highways most of the time). The CVT is too rubber band like although it one of the better ones as the gear ratios seem spot on if you were shifting manually.
It had tons of cornering grip. The front end would just grip, grip and grip. The rear was pretty competent too...quietly assisting the front end into a corner. It was a competent long distance cruiser (maybe this is what the GT stands for) although the ride was actually too harsh for our B-roads, kampung and pot holed city roads. It was bordering on jarring sometimes. You get the feeling that at high speeds, a large mid-corner bump may put you into low orbit or over the nearest cliff. The GLS or later EX versions, which I had a ride in a few occasions were much better riding cars than the GT. Smaller brakes and a smaller anti-roll bar helped the ride a lot.
The interior also wore decently well after two whole years and I still thought the door grip was pretty cheap feeling after a while. The car looked good, drove good (CVT feel aside) but was let down by the interior materials. I suppose you can't win 'em all sometimes.
Here are some photos of the exact car, two of it were at a used car lot after he sold it. The rims were the only mod the owner did to the car.
For a read of the earlier article posted sometime circa 2007, (below)
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2007
Cars Recently Launched In Malaysia, The Lancer -Civic Comparo ...And The Winner IS.....
Yes, I’ve been pretty busy and haven’t posted anything here recently yet there have been tons of new cars on the market. Maybe I just don’t really care about those new launchings. Actually I did care, but was too swamped due to work commitments and outside projects. One of these projects was the assistance I provided to help set up an Audi auto dealership located at the Jaya 33 Shopping Centre, Section 13, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. It has started two weeks ago and hopefully all goes well and if any of you readers (the 2 or 3 of you) ever have the cash to go buy Audis, you know where to look for. The First free plug just made over here!
Now, the Kia Optima and Kia Spectra 5, Honda Civic Type R as well as the very much anticipated Mitsubishi Lancer 2.0GT and the Proton Persona was launched within a span of a few days or weeks from each other. The Kia Spectra 5 effectively replaces the older Spectra sedan which was the favourite of most Malaysians who did not want to buy Protons but wanted the same shitty rubbish standard as the Protons at a slightly more expensive price. NAZA was and NAZA with this new car will still be laughing all the way to the bank due to gullible Malaysian consumers. But I must admit that the new Kia would not be a piece of rubbish as most new cars from Korea improves by leaps and bounds. If you looked at the Kia Picanto, their best attempt at a mini with cheery looks and decent build quality you’d know what I am jabbering about.
The Kia Optima is as usual value for money. A large new 2.0liter Accord sized car at a price slightly higher than RM100,000 with traction control, an Infinity Sound system and leather seats. Expect lots of bookings for those who want space and not so much class. The old model sold extremely well despite a really horrid interior. It was a class of its own. It was so cheap for a large 2.0liter car but so large that many Malaysians bought them. It was also ridiculously cheap in the UK where it was called the Magentis and sold at prices on par with the Proton Waja. Imagine a big car at small car prices. However, I have never felt or seen so much cheap grey plastic everywhere inside that previous model in any post 1995 car aside from maybe the Proton Saga which was first built when Tunku Abdul Rahman shouted Merdeka 7 times. But I hear the new one’s so much better. Kia is moving in leaps and bounds with all those new models and concept cars displayed at International motorshows recently. Not that I would buy one in the first place unless I suddenly decide that I like the large executive barge looks of a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry but I like to pay Toyota Corolla Altis prices. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s certainly not a good thing either.
The Honda Type R for slightly below RM200K is another good buy. 225bhp in a Civic chassis is all you actually need. You get space and handling to match. Coupled with the anonymity of blending in with another ten thousand Civics will give you the ultimate Q car, Malaysian wise. Why? I’d imagine lots of normal 1.8 and 2.0 Civic owners painting their Civics white and slapping those Type R stickers left right and centre creating a hundred thousand replica TypeR without actually buying one. No that it’s a bad thing, but if you want looks, find it elsewhere but if you’re actually buying one for its performance and handling, go ahead. Actually, that futuristic and really advanced looking 4 door family sedan body is pretty huge but Honda has made it out handle and out drive the 2 door Honda Integra DC5 at Tsukuba is an achievement. Amazing what Honda can do nowadays. Amazing that you will notice that Honda has no 2 door all out sports cars on sale at any market at this very moment. They’re like Toyota, with no Supra replacement, Celica replacement or an MR2 replacement model. The UK Civic Type R hatchback aside and the dumpy Accord coupe in the States don’t count. They’re not pure sports coupes. This is what’s lacking in the Honda current lineup. A replacement for the CRX or the NSX is long overdue. So the Civic Type R is around. Things are certainly improving in the Malaysian car industry.
The Proton Persona. When I first saw it and then heard that there were 16,000 people who put money down for the car I was happy for Proton. They finally realised that people were looking for large cars from Proton and not hatchbacks. Why did they launch the Gen2, Savvy and the Satria Neo before this car I’d fail to fathom. The problem with Proton is now that the Persona is a refined car with all the stupid problems of the Gen2 sorted out that’s affordable to the general public; who will buy the Waja? It has the same wheelbase, interior space and only slightly better plastics. Proton somehow likes to steal from its own cake first, which is the problem with Proton in the first place. I hope they come out with a Perdana replacement soon and think on how to improve the Waja too (the last facelift wasn’t anything special, more needs to be done).
The new shark nosed aggressive looking Mitsubishi Lancer is another new car that’s selling like hotcakes here in Malaysia. This is because it looks good; exactly like an Evolution X with the exception of wider arches and a larger rear spoiler and light years away from the previous model. Its also outrageously low price of around RM118,000 amazes me and a whole lot of other motor journalists from what I can read in the local publications. How Mitsubishi priced it that low is a feat on its own. But all the better to the ones who wish to purchase it.
I’ve actually driven this car recently some after its official launch which I had the pleasure of attending (It had nice food, nice lady usherettes in dresses which Mitsubishi Malaysia will not ask them to go out with for free even if you bought a Lancer that day). I have to say that as a car with the GT badge stuck on its rear end it needs more grunt. It has a wheelbase as long as the Galant Eterna based Proton Perdana (2635mm) and heavier by 60kgs. It is larger than an Audi A4. It is a huge car that somehow has a small family sedan name stuck on it. Maybe that is why Mitsubishi is selling it as the Galant Fortis in Japan. It also got me thinking whether Mitsubishi pulled out the plans of the Eterna, strengthened the chassis with new manufacturing techniques, added the latest suspension geometry (utilising McPherson struts instead of a costly double wishbone style front suspension) and soundproofing to create this new car. Cars nowadays are confirmed to be getting larger and maybe in some cases too large for their own good. This Lancer is proof if this.
Back to driving this Lancer then. It handles marvellously. When I drove it in the wet around Glenmarie there was no sign on any understeer even when braking last minute and being aggressive on the steering (which had a nice feel to it). It could be down to the car being a little heavy (1395kg) and the 215/45/18 ADVAN tires that it was running on (this is another really expensive tire and size which would kill unsuspecting buyers who are cheap). The power was not as exciting as you’d expect from a 2.0liter 150bhp engine. The low end pull was lacking for 150bhp. I suppose it was bogged down by the weight of the car (which is a bane to all new models of cars as they seem to be getting heavier – I have to add again) and buy the CVT transmission power drain. The CVT may shift sportily (and feels like an ordinary auto box with its preset ratios especially when you downshift), but like most CVTs it may attribute some drivetrain power loss. But I think it needs at least about 25 more horses to actually deserve using that GT badge. These are small details actually as its mid-range pull is pretty good, it cruises well and it handles excellently overall.
I don’t like the interior though; they may have used nappa leather for the seats, steering and side door panels, but the plastics used are still too second grade for my liking with too much hard plastics. The rear seats are alright, but there’s a plastic squab on the floor which is the covering for the front seat mounts that I will always step on if I sat behind the driver’s side which irritates me a little. The older Lancer seat mounting is totally different from this newer design and somehow works better. Space wise, it somehow is large on the outside, but cozy on the inside. I also have the notion that the previous Lancer (been in a few EVO VII and the basic 1.6 Lancer) feels it has more legroom and is roomier. It must be down to the extra usage of padding in this new car. Boot space is helped by using gas struts to hold up the boot, but this is offset by the large multi-link rear suspension
This is a nice car, but I think if you’re not into driving really sportily and want a total package, buy the Honda Civic, it actually does everything well overall with better build quality, futuristic looking body, decent ride and handling as well as interior space. If you can’t afford the 2.0 at RM128,000, there’s always the 1.8 which does the same with some little exceptions. In short, compared to the Civic which would score an average rating of 7.5/10 for ride, handling, design, equipment, performance and brakes, the Lancer would score a 9/10 for handling, a 7.5/10 for design (I’d rate the Civic higher here due to its forward thinking design) but a disappointing 4/10 for interior due to cheap feeling plastics in the door handle and the usage of a lot of hard plastic in the design as well as lacking the airy feel of the Honda and a 5/10 for the MIVEC engine that’s surprisingly lacking in low down torque. There’s a certain maturity that Honda has while building the Civic which Mitsubishi haven’t yet reached. This is the most obvious difference.
As a complete small family sedan that does everything decently, competently and without fuss, buy the Civic even if it is slightly soulless (due to doing things too competently maybe) and even if there are a million of the on the road, but if you’re solely into handling (which I like) and aggressive looks as well as having slightly more soul (only the Type R Civic would have tons of soul), buy the Lancer then. This then is the actual problem faced by individuals when purchasing something. Do they go with their head or their heart? In comparing the Civic and the Lancer, I’ve decided that the Civic is the better all rounder, but the Lancer is the more engaging car thus better to own. Therefore, the Lancer wins! However, I’ve decided yet again! Go buy a Mazda 3 2.0 hatchback in white. I seem to like that even more.
Posted by Mohamed Rigval Reza at 2:51 PM Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Google Buzz
Labels: Lancer GT Test Drive, Mitsubishi Lancer GT
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Dec 12 2010, 01:30 AM, updated 15y ago
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1.8MT Black. What do you plan to do with your car?
i still can wait 3-4 more days, oh my darling come to me 
wish can take her home
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