Mitsubishi updates Lancer

WITH a replacement for its matured Lancer still not twinkling on the horizon, Mitsubishi is planning to maintain interest in the small sedan and Sportback hatch range with yet another update to the eight-year old model.

Headlining the refresh is a new-look front end, as well as a boost to levels of standard equipment across almost all variants, accompanied by only mild price increases.

The end of year shake-up also sees the mid-range manual versions of the LS sedan deleted from the range, but a new manual and automatic GSR sedan has been added to the now seven-variant line-up.

All Lancers have been treated to the more contemporary facelift, which includes LED daytime running lights with integrated foglights and more sporty side skirts on the outside, while a new centre console and colour audio system screen with six speakers and high-contrast instrument cluster completes the interior refresh.

Mitsubishi Motors Australia (MMA) Limited head of corporate communications Shayna Welsh told GoAuto that although a partner to co-develop the Lancer replacement was yet to be found, the company had no plans to discontinue the model at this stage.

“MMC has been seeking some sort of partnership to look at a new-generation C- and D-segment car, but at this stage none of those discussions have been fruitful,” she said. “They're still looking at their options.

“For the time being we are doing everything we can to keep strengthening the Lancer range.” Despite its age, Ms Welsh explained that the Lancer still attracted a loyal following with its reputation for value, reliability and low cost of ownership.

“It’s still got an audience and when we discussed this update, our product planning team was looking at how it could continue to appeal to the customers that are really buying Lancer.

“Whenever we do have ample supply of Lancer the dealers snap them up, so there is a really strong market for Lancer, particularly for younger buyers because they want a car that looks good, it’s got great value and it’s reliable.” At the most affordable end of the pack, the $19,500 before on-road costs ES Sport sedan gets all of the above plus a new seat fabric pattern, new-look 16-inch wheels, a rear spoiler, leather gear knob and gloss black interior trims.

The automatic version now also has an enhanced continuously variable transmission (CVT), which costs an extra $1500. New ES pricing represents a $10 increase for the auto and $510 for the manual.

For the update, the manual LS sedan has been dropped but its auto sibling is still available for $510 more than the pre-update version at $23,500 and gets a host of extra features including leather interior trim, new design 18-inch wheels, sports suspension, privacy glass, rear parking sensors, rain-sensing wipers and dusk-sensing headlights, heating for front seats with electric adjustment for the driver and some chrome highlights.

Both entry level Lancers are powered by an unchanged 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol, while the GSR version adopts a larger version with 2.4-litres and 125kW/266Nm.

The higher-performance version was previously only available in five-door Sportback guise, but as part of the update, the flagship is now offered as a sedan from $22,500 or $24,000 when optioned with the CVT.

A Sportback GSR is still offered for the same price as the sedan, which represents a $510 increase over the previous manual and a $10 price hike for the auto.

Both versions of the sporty Lancer have 18-inch wheels with a new design that features black inserts, the largest brakes of the range with ventilated discs all round, sports seats and pedals and a sport mode with paddle shifters for automatic versions.

2016 Mitsubishi Lancer pricing*

Model	Price	Price change
ES Sport Sedan	$19,500	+$510
ES Sport Sedan (a)	$21,000	+$10
LS Sedan (a)	$23,500	+$510
GSR Sedan	$22,500	New model
GSR Sedan (a)	$24,000	New model
GSR Sportback	$22,500	+$510
GSR Sportback (a)	$24,000	+$10

*Excludes on-road costs