The new Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback, and the hatchback’s arrival expands the the Lancer range in the country to two model and three variant types, the GT and EX sedans being the others.
The fully-imported, five-door C-segment offering, which Danny Tan reviewed in Japan, is available only in 2.4 litre form here, and the 4B12 four-cylinder pot – also worn by likes of the Outlander – puts out 168 hp at 6,000rpm and 226Nm of torque at 4,100rpm. The block is mated an Invecs-III CVT box with a six-speed manual mode.
The main draw with this 1,415 kg creature, besides its sporty outlook, is in its cargo space – while no van, the 60:40 one-touch folding rear seats get to about 10-degrees from completely flat, and in a seat-stored position you get a cargo space that’s 1,570mm deep and 1,395mm wide, which is pretty decent. In base form the boot is good for 345 litres of space.
Additionally, the floor is height-adjustable via a single one-handed operation to provide either a hidden storage compartment or provide an extra 90mm depth.
Standard equipment includes front sport seats, automatic air conditioning, a six-speaker two-DIN LCD touchscreen entertainment system, front fog lamps, a rear spoiler and steering column-mounted magnesium paddle shifters.
Automatic headlamps and rain-sensing wipers are also part of the kit, as is cruise control (with buttons on the steering spoke), sporty aluminium pedals and a front strut tower brace to help sharpen handling.
There’s plenty of leather to be had, what with Nappa covering all the seats, and the gear knob, parking brake lever and three-spoke steering wheel also get the hide bits. As for wheels, the Sportback sits on 18-inch 10-spoke alloys, wearing 215/45 series rubbers, and safety features include dual front SRS airbags, Active Stability Control (ASC) with Traction Control, ABS with EBD and brake assist.
The Lancer 2.4 Sportback is available in three colours, Lightning Blue, White Solid and Black Mica, and is priced at RM129,363.00, on-the-road excluding insurance, and it comes with a three-year/100,000 km warranty as well as Mitsubishi’s 2-Year Free Maintenance package.
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