Faults:

Nothing yet. I will update site as things go wrong.

General Comments:

This car is amazing. We now have a Sportback, and a SE sedan. I am getting 32-38mpg. It handles like a dream. It has the Fuse system, which works well. It also has cruise control.

We just returned from the Smokey Mountains, and I took it to Tail of the Dragon on U.S. 129; 318 curves in 11 miles. The car handled like a dream; did great in every turn. The engine performed excellent.

I cannot say more how much we love this car. We had 4 folks in the car for the 460 mile drive to the mountains. Was kinda tight, but tolerable.

Faults:

Nothing yet, it is new.

General Comments:

The car is very comfortable. Except the steering wheel is far away, but I got used to it quickly.

The Fuse system is very nice. I like the ability to listen to music off my phone, and I do not have to take it out of my pocket.

The hatchback is very convenient.

It handles like a dream.

The CVT transmission takes some getting used to. but the MPG is awesome, getting 32 currently. Should get better as the car gets broken in.

I test drove every compact car on the market; this is by far the best for me. Plus I was able to get the dealer to drop a extra 2 grand off the price. I have had a lot of new cars, and never have been able to get them to budge from the price like that.

The Lancer is a great product, and isn't boring like many compact cars.

Faults:

No issues so far.

General Comments:

This vehicle was not originally on my list. Having decided to downsize to a smaller car that could better navigate more crowded urban streets, I wanted decent fuel economy and sporty handling.

The Mazda3 and new VW Jetta were both on my list, and I checked out the Nissan Sentra and Honda Civic as well.

The Mazda was way too pricey for what it included. Even getting "real" (aluminum) wheels required a car north of $25K. The VW had been decontented and was more "German Corolla" than performance sedan. The Sentra was okay to drive, but its solid rear axle delivered subpar ride and handling. The Civic was competent, but very expensive.

I test drove two Lancer models -- the ES mid-range model and the top-of-the-line GTS. The GTS was everything I wanted -- fast, with decent fuel economy (comparable to the 2.5L Mazda), great safety, and great handling (comparable to the Mazda3).

Mitsubishi sells a fair number of Lancers in the USA, but nowhere near as many as Mazda sells 3s, Honda sells Civics, and Nissan sells Sentras. The Mitsubishi dealer was willing to bargain -- so I picked up the CVT-paddle-shifter-equipped model, nicely loaded with voice control, automatic temperature control, and the 2.4L MIVEC engine for around $18,600 including incentives. GREAT deal -- a comparable car from other manufacturers I looked at was between $4,000 and $6,000 more.

I've only had it a couple of months, but so far it's doing well. It has a 5 year, 60K bumper-to-bumper warranty and 10 year, 100K powertrain warranty, so I feel confident. The dealer is one of the largest in the area and has been selling cars for years, so service isn't an issue.

The only niggling complaint I have (and it's a small one) is that the car has more tire noise in the cabin than other vehicles, which can cause some "booming" after a while. There are also a couple of squeaks from the dashboard areas on rough pavement in sub-freezing temperatures. But neither problem is serious enough to warrant thousands more for another make.

So far, I'm quite happy with Mitsubishi. I will update with progress in time as the car ages.