2008 Mitsubishi Lancer
 

These are good times for Mitsubishi.

Last fall, the fully redesigned, sleek and ***y Outlander SUV launched to critical acclaim. In April, the all-new, vastly improved Lancer sedan will hit dealer lots. And, late in '07, the smoking-hot, ticket-loving Lancer Evolution X will burn pavement all across the land. This automotive triple threat ought to keep both drivers and Mitsu execs smiling -- and the folks at Mazda checking their rearview mirror.

In late January, during a rare winter storm in San Diego, we joined Mitsubishi for a test drive of the 2008 Lancer sedan. After a pithy presentation by one of Mitsu's product managers, we hopped in a midlevel Lancer ES (a stripped-down DE or a sport-tuned GTS model are also available).

Our Lancer was equipped with Mitsubishi's optional FAST-Key system, which allows for entries and starts sans key insertion, so we simply turned a steering-column knob and then gave a little wave in response to the friendly greeting that flashed on the instrument-cluster LCD readout. We slid the lever of the five-speed manual transmission into first, let up the clutch, pushed on the gas and took off from our digs in swank La Jolla.

With the exception of its boy-racer Evolution version, the former Lancer did little to quicken our pulse. But this one was different. Under banks of low, dark clouds, we hit the hills that ring San Diego to the east, and the 152-hp, 2.0-liter, four-cylinder MIVEC engine -- the sole engine to be available at launch -- offered decent juice if we kept the gear low and revs high. With a zero-to-60 time of nearly nine seconds (according to Mitsubishi's engineers), this level of power taxed neither our ticker nor the Lancer's excellent handling dynamics -?? those tests will have to wait until the release of a rumored 2.4-liter variant.

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