Mitsubishi’s latest rally-bred sedan really is something very special to those drivers who want a genuine high-performance machine at a budget price. Because just $59,490 puts you into the driving seat of a full-on road rocket that comes close to Porsche in performance at a saving of something in excess of $200,000. And if you think that German masterpiece is expensive compared with the Japanese beast have a look at the prices being demanded by those Italian supercar makers.

 Evo X is a car in which you can compete on racetracks during fun weekends, and do so very effectively. Yet you can still use it on the road because it’s a pretty civilised piece of gear.

The wedge styling, shark-like grille and air intakes and the BBS alloy wheels gives the Evolution a look that promises excitement. There’s plenty of evidence the Evo has been well-designed, well thought out and well-equipped for its single-minded purpose.

Mechanical specifications set the tone for this very special Mitsubishi Lancer sedan. It runs an intercooled, turbocharged 2.0-litre engine producing a huge 217 kW, 290 horsepower; all wheel drive; active centre differential; huge Brembo disc brakes, and Recaro seats. This is a car that’s designed for very serious motoring.

A new twin-clutch automated manual transmission (TC-SST) is also offered in the latest Lancer Evo, but for reasons outside our control our test car was fitted with a conventional five-speed manual gearbox. Not that that’s such a bad thing as we still love to co-ordinate our driving abilities to get the best from a manual gearbox. Particularly that lovely blip of the throttle under heavy braking that mugs stuff up all the time, but which those who know how to drive have honed to perfection.

And if you think that five forward speeds is out of touch compared with the six-speed units being installed in many modern units, have a look at that torque figure of 366 Nm. With that sort of grunt under your right foot a four-speed may have been adequate.

Having said all that, the twin-clutch six-speed system, which we tested during the media launch of the Evo a few weeks ago, gives lightening fast changes and is intelligent in that it can sense the driving conditions and quickly adapt to them. On the race track the Mitsubishi Evo X with TC-SST is amazing.

Then there are other serious sporting features in this latest Lancer Evolution from Mitsubishi. These include Brembo brakes, Bilstein front and rear shock absorbers and Eibach springs. As well as high intensity definition (HID) headlamps with adaptive front-lighting system with headlamp washers and automatic headlamp levelling.

Inside the topline Evo X you get leather combination seat trim, heated front seats and a Rockford Fosgate AM/FM CD sound system with nine speakers including a decent sized subwoofer.

As a road car the Mitsubishi Evo X impresses with surprising refinement and comfort for a car in this class. The secondary ride is compliant and the handling superb. Turn-in is beautifully linear, with steering that delivers great precision, yet doesn’t load up as you drive harder and faster as can happen in lower performance cars.

This hot Mitsubishi racecar for the road has incredibly safe characteristics when used in normal day-to-day driving.

Mitsubishi's latest Lancer Evo has a lot of engineering integrity, enormous performance and is perfectly set up to feed the ongoing growth of amateur motor sport events throughout Australia. Only about 60 to 70 lucky owners will settle themselves into one each month in Australia, but they will be very happy people. People who understand the best things in life don’t have to carry an outrageous price tag.

AT A GLANCE

MODEL RANGE

Evolution 2.0-litre four-door sedan: $59,490 (manual), $64,490 (automatic)

Evolution MR 2.0-litre four-door sedan: $71,690 (automatic)

FEATURES

ABS Brakes: Standard

Air Conditioning: Standard

Automatic Transmission: Standard

CD Player: Standard

Central Locking: Standard

Cruise Control: Standard

Dual Front Airbags: Standard

Front Side Airbags: Standard

Stability Control: Standard

Traction Control: Standard

SPECIFICATIONS (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 2.0-litre four-door sedan)

ENGINE:

Capacity: 1.998 litres

Configuration: Four cylinders in line

Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder

Compression Ratio: 9.0:1

Bore/Stroke: 88.0 mm x 86.0 mm

Maximum Power: 217 kW @ 6500 rpm

Maximum Torque: 366 Nm @ 3500 rpm

DRIVELINE:

Driven Wheels: All-Wheel-Drive

Manual Transmission: Five-speed

Automatic Transmission: Six-speed twin-clutch

Final Drive Ratio: 4.687:1

DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:

Length: 4510 mm

Wheelbase: 2650 mm

Width: 1810 mm

Height: 1480 mm

Turning Circle: 11.8 metres

Kerb Mass: 1565 kg

Fuel Tank Capacity: 55 litres

Towing Ability: Not available

SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:

Front Suspension: MacPherson struts

Rear Suspension: Multi-link

Front Brakes: Ventilated disc

Rear Brakes: Ventilated disc

PERFORMANCE:

0-100 km/h Acceleration: Not available

FUEL CONSUMPTION:

Type: Petrol 98RON

Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 10.2 L/100km

GREEN VEHICLE GUIDE RATINGS:

Greenhouse Rating: 5/10

Air Pollution Rating: 6.5/10

STANDARD WARRANTY: