Faults:

On delivery, the front wheel alignment was out, so the car pulled to one side. Not really a fault of the car, but more a pre-delivery issue, and was fixed by the dealer as soon as I brought it back.

Basically nothing has gone wrong with the car since I bought it, and I have had no warranty issues.

The paint chips easily, and I have found this is common with this model.

General Comments:

Great car for the price. Straight away, from the first day I owned it, I was impressed by the solid feel of the body. The only things that let it down are the interior plastics that are hard-surfaced and easily marked, and the exterior paint that chips so easily. These are the only things that suggest the car is "built down to a price." Apart from that, it looks good, both inside and outside, and is comfortable to drive. It could, however, use a little more soundproofing, but my 2011 model SX Sportback is quieter than a 2007 model VR-X sedan my son bought when the model was first released here in Australia. Driving that car was part of the reason I decided on a Lancer myself when I wanted to update.

The roadholding and road adhesion are excellent, but the car benefits from having the tyres pumped up harder than the 32 PSI the handbook recommends. A tyre dealer recommended I run them at 38 PSI, and I found that the car points better and feels more agile with that pressure in them. At 32 PSI the suspension feels slightly underdamped, like the shocks are too soft, but when the tyres are pumped up harder, it seems to get everything in sync and the car drives much better.

The driver's seat is comfortable, but would benefit from a height adjustment. I've had two Kia Rio's in the past that were dirt cheap, but they still had adjustable height for the driver's seat. Apart from that, the driving position is great.

Fuel consumption is another good point with the Lancer. Over the first six months I owned mine, I found I was averaging 7.7 litres per 100km, including driving around town and a few long trips. That figure sounded too good, so I double-checked my figures and found that they were correct. The low fuel consumption and fixed servicing costs make it a very affordable car to run. Also, apart from the front end alignment issue, in two years and 40,000 km (about 25,000 miles), my Lancer has not been back to the dealer for warranty issues at all. Literally, nothing has gone wrong with it.

The owner's handbook is the thickest I have ever seen in a car, but the instructions to match your phone to the Bluetooth don't seem to make sense. Maybe it's just me, but I had to get my daughter's fiancé to program it, and he said he didn't do it the way the book says.

One last thing, the interior room is okay, but the boot space is far from brilliant. Mine is a hatchback, but even the sedans have a small boot. BTW, if you're reading this in the US, that's what we call the trunk here.

Overall, an excellent little car.

Faults:

Absolutely nothing has gone wrong; the car has performed flawlessly.

General Comments:

We purchased this limited edition 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Activ Sedan around April 2010, as we wanted to downsize a bit for fuel savings. The first impression you get with the Lancer is not the feeling of a small car, but one of more a mid sized family car, that can sit 4 adults very comfortably, and has ample boot space. The 60/40 folding seats also make it very versatile to carry things that may have an awkward shape. I am 6'2, and there is plenty of leg room and head room for the driver; I don't even have to have the seat back fully. In fact, there is ample room for me in every seat of the car.

The exterior of the car definitely has sharp looks, and rather than looking like an econobox, it has a more sporty appeal to it, especially with the spoiler, alloy wheels, and side skirts that the limited edition Activ model included. The paint still looks like new, with no chips and minimal scratches (through no fault of myself).

The build quality of the interior seems adequate, although interior plastics seem a bit on the cheap side, which is apparent when using the stereo controls. The stereo itself however is quite good, with good sound quality and minimal distortion when turned up loud. When a button is pressed, there is excessive creaking from the dash. However when driving, the dash is silent, even over rough terrain. The buttons for stereo, Bluetooth and cruise control (included in Activ model) however are much better designed, and are very user friendly. The interior lighting is fantastic.

On the road, the Lancer performs remarkably well for a 4 cylinder car that weighs around 1450kg, with adequate performance for any driving situation, minimal body roll and great traction around tight corners. It is a pleasure to drive, although there is quite a bit of road noise on particular surfaces, but I think this is due to factory tyres. I will be sure to request low-noise tyres when these need replacing (even though these still have 70% tread!). Brakes do their job fantastically, however stops at low speeds can sometimes be deceptive, but this is due to the CVT engine braking. The CVT engine braking engages moments once the throttle is lifted completely, and slows the car quite a bit. This can get annoying at times, but you just have to learn to keep a minimal amount of throttle open to prevent the system from engaging. The beauty of this system though is that heavy brake applications are rarely needed, with my brakes still at 60% at the front, and 80% at the back. Headlights are fantastic, with a powerful high-beam setting.

The car isn't a rocket off the mark, partly due to the CVT, but once it's moving, it really does pull quite hard, for a 2 litre N/A 4 cylinder that has to haul around almost 1.5T of car with a power-sapping torque converter. Electronic throttle (drive-by-wire) system does take some getting used to, and does slow down response time slightly. The Mivec engine has adequate low end torque, notably over about 2.1K revs, and it really gets going over the 3.5K rev mark, thanks to the variable valve timing system, however revving the car above 3K is rarely needed, only on long stretches of highway with large inclines. Overtaking is no problem; get the revs up and you will have no problem. The car produces healthy power figures from 3.5K all the way up to the red line.

Fuel economy is quite good, should always be under 10L/100km, usually around 8 or 9 in the city. On the highway, that drops to around 6 or 7L/100km. I have achieved under 6L/100km a couple of times on a trip from Canberra to Sydney.

Cannot comment on dealer service, as nothing has really gone wrong. They seem moderately competent when taken in for a service, not doing silly things like over-filling oil crankcase etc. However due to the fantastic warranty provided with the vehicle, a 5 year warranty of everything non-consumable, and 10 year power train warranty/or 160000km, I have no doubt that if anything does go wrong (unlikely) within the warranty period, Mitsubishi will repair/replace the part. But overall, the car has excellent reliability so far.

If you pick up on any mistakes/incorrect information in the review, please be sure to let me know in the comments section. Also, if you have any questions about things that are in the review or anything I may have left out, please ask in the comments section and I will do my best to get back to you.

Overall I would highly recommend this wonderful car, which has excellent economy, a good amount of space, great handling, and ample performance, even on the highway.