Months in Fleet: Nine
Mileage to Date: 23,420
Last month we reported that our Four Seasons Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR was getting ready to don its summer rubber again, but before we made the tire swap, Web producer Evan McCausland put the snow tires to good use while driving through a snow storm en route to the 2008 New York auto show: "As other drivers slammed on their brakes in horror, I simply smiled," he recalled.
McCausland's smile faded, though, once he made it to Manhattan, where the Evo did not shine as brightly. "Stop-and-go traffic means you'll never leave second gear," kvetched the first-time visitor to the Big Apple, "and the car is violently jarred by large potholes." What's more, the Evo's twin-clutch transmission is almost universally loathed right now. The transmission seems to be freewheeling longer than ever between gearchanges, and the clutch likes to slip a lot before the car starts to accelerate from a stop. We plan to get the transmission fluid changed to see if that improves the response.
As we mentioned last month, our Evo doesn't actually fit everyone on staff. Diminutive production editor Jennifer Misaros is one of those who can't get comfortable in the Evo: "The positives rarely outweigh the negatives, unless I'm bombing down a curvy back road, and even then, it's hard to enjoy the Evo because the lack of seat/steering wheel adjustability makes it nearly impossible for me to get comfortable." The Recaro seats have been praised by others, but those positive comments only come from staffers who are several inches taller than Misaros, who is five feet, four inches. A vertical adjustment for the bucket seats would remedy this problem, we think.
Assistant editor David Zenlea sums up the general sentiment for the Evo by saying, "I would be all over this if it were $15,000 cheaper and had a manual transmission." While the "base" Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GSR isn't quite $15,000 cheaper, its $33,685 base price is much more palatable and there's also a $2000 factory rebate on the car until June 1. Is it possible we've signed up for a year in the wrong Evo? ...next page >>