08/09/09

• Price39,999
• We like...Speed, ability
• We don't...Dash, cabin fittings look cheap

 Latest Evo is super-car quick and memorable to drive. At £40,000, it packs more power per £ than any competitorMad. There’s no other word it. This is the Evo X and, for this latest version of the now-legendary performance car, Mitsubishi has served up a mini-range. There’s a 300bhp version with a trick, twin clutch gearbox that brings with it semi-automatic motoring and, at the other extreme, an utterly bonkers version that packs 400bhp to chirp through its tyres. This one, with ‘just’ 359bhp, sits in the middle.

It’s closer to previous Evos than the 300bhp one because the power comes in brutally, delivered through a no-nonsense conventional five-speed manual shift. And it looks the part, too, with its huge rear wing, the carbon fibre chin spoiler and rear diffuser that marks it apart from ‘lesser’ Evos. You also get nice red ‘Brembo’ brake callipers up front and a set of twin exhausts fat enough to delight souped-up Corsa drivers everywhere. Pretty, it ain’t, but it ds look mean and (even when parked) ready to rip along the road.

Priced at £40,000 new, this isn’t cheap, when you think that the Lancer saloon that it shares its base shape and some of its cabin architecture with knocks out at £13,000 or less. But its 0-60mph time of just 4.1secs shows where the money gs – on power. Its 2.0-litre turbocharged motor is tweaked and fettled beyond any other car with a similarly-sized engine to give its amazing output. And we don’t think for a second that anyone buying one of these will want anything else of thought too deeply about whether an Evo stacks up to value against any number of fine cars that such a wedge of cash will buy.

All they care about is that the Evo X gs harder and quicker than any number of supercars – but costs only a fraction of what they do. T down the throttle in low gear and the response is savage and instant. The nose comes up and it lunges forward.

It’s a handful but there’s impressive grip there if you push it, while the wheel and gears are crisp, decisive and quick. It rides as firmly as you’d expect, although those excellent seats – tall and cinching - blur the worst of what might otherwise be uncomfortable.

It feels as if it has much more grip than you’d have courage to use. But the Evo can also be docile when you need it to be: It’ll hang back and stay bearable when trickling through traffic on a breath of throttle. There are also ‘gravel’ and ‘snow’ settings for the four-wheel-drive, giving a dose of practicality for when the going is slippy or the weather turns icky.

Should you buy one? If you need persuading, the answer’s gonna be no, because what it offers is so particular and focused. Though it's much more practical than most other cars that’ll go as fast. There’s space for five to get comfortable in its roomy cabin and the boot is sensibly-sized, although the car’s battery and screen-washer reservoir take up space there and also mean that the rear seats can’t be made to fold down and extend the space.

But if you want a car with shattering power, and that matters most, this is the best there is at the price.

To view and buy new and second-hand Evos on motors.co.uk, click here
 

• Engines2.0 petrol turbo
• Power359bhp
• 0-60 mph4.1secs
• Economy19.9mpg
• CO2g/km328
• Insurance groups20
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags6
• Seats5

Motors.co.uk value verdict: