Audi S4 vs. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
By Sam Smith
Strafing a mountain pass? Attacking a rally stage? Steer clear of the Audi S4 and its upper-middle-class price tag. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is your bargain back-road bomber.
If you're assembling a list of bargain performance cars, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is an instant no-brainer. Almost 300 hp? A price that starts at less than thirty-five grand? An electronically shepherded all-wheel-drive system, rally breeding, and a big, honkin' turbocharger? What's not to love? You guessed it: not much.
As much as the latest iteration of Mitsubishi's hero car appears to have grown up - and grown up it has, with a newly livable interior, a shrunken rear wing, and much-reduced NVH - it's still one of the rawest, most capable, and most thrilling new-car bargains on the market. The Evolution's obvious bogey is anything with a turbo, a too-large sticker price, and four driven wheels, and there are a lot of cars like that to choose from. But the true glory is that on real roads, with mere mortals behind the wheel, the mighty Mitsu will out-fun (and usually outrun) almost anything on four wheels.
Audi's $49,085 S4 is the most direct parallel. Like the Mitsubishi, the S4 is an all-wheel-drive, four-door sedan from a company known for its rally success, but the similarities end there. The V-8-powered S4's hefty curb weight, cushy suspension, nose-heavy disposition, and numb steering handicap it so much that the darty, apex-hungry Evolution simply seems to have come from another world.
The Evo's alienlike wizardry lies in the hardware - and also in the software that controls it. An electronically managed rear differential, a feature found on previous Evos but not offered in the United States until now, lives under the Mitsubishi's trunk. Its twin computer-controlled clutches, one per wheel, open or close on cue to help the car pivot. In conjunction with steering-angle sensors, yaw sensors, an active center differential, and a host of electronic brainpower, that diff makes magic happen. Power is shuttled between the rear wheels with wicked aplomb. Controllable, big-yaw drifts and - get this - donuts are actually possible on dry pavement. Razor's-edge suspension tuning and a blindingly quick steering ratio back it all up. Egos are inflated, heroism is inspired, and every bumpy, lumpy back road becomes your oyster.
Like the other cars on our list of Giant Killers, the Evolution holds up on the test track. The Mitsubishi sprints to 60 mph quicker than its chief rival, the Subaru Impreza WRX STI (5.1 seconds versus 5.4 seconds), and it generates an eyeball-squishing 1.03 g of lateral grip on the skid pad. Predictably, such wicked performance at such a low price brings along a few trade-offs. The Evo's budget roots show through in its harsh, plasticky interior; its horrendous fuel economy; and a pair of brilliant-if-they-fit-you, horrible-if-they-don't front seats. Unless you opt for the dual-clutch, six-speed gearbox, you have to suffer the buzzy, boomy highway ride delivered by the five-speed manual and its absurdly short fifth gear. (80 mph in fifth equals roughly 4000 rpm, and a manual six-speed isn't available.) And as long as we're picking nits, we'd be remiss if we didn't point out that the last-generation Lancer Evo feels both more raw and more unhinged than the current one.
Nevertheless, if any of this keeps you from loving the Evo, then you are officially a fool. The Mitsubishi might not be perfect, but as celebrity makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin once said, perfection is boring. Fittingly, when you're behind the wheel of an Evo, so is everything else. ...next page >>