Road Test: Mitsubishi Evolution IX

By Feann Torr - 29/June/06

Having driven two Mitsubishi Evolution cars before this one, I must say that I absolutely loved them. Based on the humble Mitsubishi Lancer, their short footprint and 4WD nature made them real drivers cars, and how about the way the torque ungracefully slams into action when the twin scroll turbocharger spins up? As anyone whose driven one will know, it's an utterly intoxicating mixture.

Indeed, they are highly strung sports sedans that have forgone a lot of creature comforts for sheer speed and incredible levels of cornering grip. Cult cars, some call them, built for the enthusiast, and not really targetted at the mainstream.

If you were looking at buying an Evo, you could forget a decent stereo, climate control or reverse parking sensors - you'd be lucky to get five seats. These things got in the way of four-wheel power sliding and break-neck acceleration, or hampered aerodynamics, or made it too heavy.

This car is about tenths of seconds on the race track and heart-in-mouth moments on the road.

Instead the extras list reads like a racing car, including things like a reinforced body, super-light alloy wheels, Brembo racing brakes and an engine that would get so hot you could pop the bonnet and witness the exhaust headers glowing red-hot. Though it may look a little plastic-fantastic to some drivers, make no mistake - the Evo is one of the world's quickest cars through a corner.

But wouldn't you know it, Mitsubishi has done the unthinkable. They've made the new Evo IX more cost effective, fetching $56,789 in Australia to compete directly with the WRX STI, and the banzai four-banger has better road manners too, making it a lot easier to live with on a daily basis. Even the cabin has been upgraded to offer a modicum of comfort. Should the Evo die-hards and long time fans be worried; has Mitsubishi's hero car lost it's "go hard or go home" attitude?

There's only one way to find out, and I'm happy to report that such a method involves fanging the thing into the ground - come rain, hail or shine. Check it out:

Drive: 4.5/5

The Evo IX is arguably the quickest car through a corner that we've ever tested on the Motor Channel - to be sure, this thing is the dogs bollocks and the ducks guts

The first thing I noted about the new Evo after picking it up from Mitsubishi's high tech PR fortress was the car's improved interior. "Wow, it's got carpet," an incredulous Peter Maniatis blurted out, a fellow Motoring Channel writer. Truly, it’s a much nicer looking cabin than before, and though there was great satisfaction to be gained from the bare-bones interiors of Evos past (particularly when passengers would complain at the cheapness, only to be stunned into silence by the car's utterly terrifying performance limits), the improvements made within are not unwelcome.

The car comes with a 6-speed manual transmission, presumably to improve fuel efficiency with the 6th ratio for highway cruising, and I must say that it handles itself around the city and in the suburbs a lot better than past models. It's a fairly practical car for something so freakishly quick, with four doors, five seats, a decent boot, electric windows, a 6-stack CD player and who could forget intercooler water spray?

The thunderous bangs that used to make their way into the cabin in previous variants are slightly less offensive now, and though it does ride roughshod over bumps and lumps and can be rather jarring for all occupants at times, it's probably the most compliant Evo model ever released. It’s a lot easier to live with than past models, yet feels as though its performance parameters have been altered (for the better). I guess that's progress for you.

Indeed, slight damping changes to the suspension have worked wonders with the car's everyday drivability, though it pays to be aware of the low body kit, which can scrape on driveways and speed bumps. I liked the ultra-direct steering too - even in traffic it is a boon, and compared to past model it's clear that the ride has been softened. Not to the point where body roll is impinging on grip levels, but in general it feels a little more supple in everyday driving conditions.

This is a good thing, even I can admit that, but this car was not built for commuting. No. It was built to challenge the laws of physics, to scare the crap out of your passengers and to propel its driver to ludicrous speeds through corners. And I'm happy to report that it does so with one hell of a raw turbo kick, which has become a signature quirk of Evo over the decades.

There's no doubting this car's performance potential - it's tremendously fast. It may not be able to keep up with an Italian exotic beyond 200km/h, but through a corner, there'd be few cars that can match its stunning pace, and there's a few reasons why.

As soon as you tip the Evo IX into a corner, the car's myriad electronic chassis aids begin doing strange things, most of which you'll never consciously feel, but they are there and they provide the little Mitsubishi with incredible cornering grip, the likes of which I am yet to see bested. The car's AWD nature combines with these aids, and through them 206kW of power is channelled, courtesy of the 2.0-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. But the more important figure is the 355Nm of torque - this is the stuff that forcefully pushes you into the comfy Recaro seats, and gives the rally-bred car a real pit-bull attitude.

Speaking of the Recaro seats, it is my belief that they are one of the of the things that makes the Evo IX so easy to drive hard (which I'll get to in a second). The seating position suited my 6 foot frame without too many problems, even though the seats aren’t very adjustable; they only slide forward and back and the upright section tilts. But the good part is that when you bring the seat forward to a certain level, the bottoms of your shoulders are resting just where the bolsters jut out, so when you grip the wheel you get a nice 'pushing forward' feeling.

With a small leather Momo sports steering wheel, a pleasingly stiff-but-sure gear change and a brilliant seating position, the Evo IX has all the hallmarks of a true performance car, and having punted the thing pretty much right across the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, let me tell you that this machine is hard to top for sheer driving thrills. Though the Evo VI Tommi Mäkinen had more torque, the manic turbo power delivery is still here in the Evo IX, wracking your body with increased G-forces as the tacho needle passes 3000rpm, torque levels spiking -- yet this astonishing level of acceleration is tempered by the chassis aids.

These include a front helical limited-slip differential, plus a switchable Active Centre Differential and a rear differential with Super Active Yaw Control, or S-AYC in Mitsu speak. These combine with the full-time 4WD system to give the Evo IX the kind of mid-corner grip that is almost indescribable. Even with two tapes full of my drive impressions, I find it hard to convey into words what it's like hammering through a tight corner with your foot to the floor. Most cars need to be coaxed with a measure of cautiousness through a corner, but the Evo is different. It just grips and guns, and in turn you're washed with both lateral and frontal G-forces at the same time, pushed into the seat and the side bolsters at the same time. Such an effect results in the kind of driving enjoyment that's hard to qualify: it's sort of like a mixture between sheer fright and unadulterated joy as the Evo just slams you from corner to corner, the turbo whining and popping the whole way.

I've driven a fair number of sporty automobiles in my time, but few, if any, stir the soul and pamper the ego like this obnoxious little go-getter. It's impeccable grip levels inspire whopping levels of confidence and as you turn into a corner, adding a touch of throttle to keep the turbo on boost, it simply sits on its outside wheels and flies ahead as the inside two wheels do a bit of pulling as well.

The steering, too, is perfectly suited for hard driving. A small Momo steering wheel combines with a quick steering ratio (but an appalling 11.8 metre turning circle, kerb to kerb) requiring just 2.1 turns from lock to lock, so that even the smallest turn of the tiller results in the car turning its nose quite noticeably. Ultimately, this means that even when a razor sharp corner looms and you need the car to turn sharply, you don't get all crossed up. Feedback through the steering wheel is decent,which is quite something when you consider the heavy-duty 4WD system that underpins the car's chassis, but it has a very stiff and heavy feel that those with weak forearms won't appreciate.

The car has been on a rather expensive diet, dropping a good 60kg of weight compared to the Evo VIII thanks to various weight savings, including an aluminium roof that helps lower its centre of gravity in addition. The car's body is stiffer too, with an extra 200 spot-welds increasing torsional rigidity.

In another user friendly upgrade, it's not as difficult to extract maximum performance as compared to previous models either, as unlike past generations of the Mitsubishi Evolution - where the electronic chassis aids wouldn't activate under strong brake applications (the super-ABS got priority) - the S-AYC remains active at all times.

I remember a few instances where at the last minute I realised I had shot into a corner too hot and too deep, and with almost maximum brake input I locked up the front outside wheel but somehow the car still tracked round the corner as I had envisioned, managing to hold on to it's line, where most cars would straighten up considerably and you'd end up on the wrong side of the road. It's not a failsafe system, more a failsoft system, but at the end of the day it gives you more confidence to push the car harder and faster. Because it's like a very clever rear LSD, it also means that understeer isn't a problem.

With a top speed well beyond 200km/h and a cornering limit that puts many super cars on notice, the running gear must be up to the task of handling big G-forces, but this car is close to bullet proof. Tell a lie - as I remember the model we tested was delayed, as was this review because another journo shagged the gearbox, and the Ralliart crew had to replace sixth gear. But even with 10,000+ kilometres on the odometer it felt very rugged and very strong. I pushed the car to its limits time and again yet the engine felt really strong at all times. All aspects of the driveline and chassis did, and I suppose that's why many rallying privateer teams take the Evolution models as a base point to create their competition cars - they're built to withstand plenty of punishment.

Other features of the chassis come together to make the Evo IX an astonishingly stable car in almost any situation, such as the Bilstein shock absorbers, the quick ratio power steering and the brilliant Brembo brake system, which is comprised of 320mm discs up front clamped by 4-piston callipers, and 300mm discs at the rear, bitten by 2-pot callipers. These Brembo brakes have incredible stopping power, and a really good feel to boot.

The car we tested was shod with non-standard Pirelli P Zero Rosso tyres (235/45 R17 aspect ratio), and these things give the Evo an uncanny amount of mid-corner adhesion, but take longer than your more standard tyre to warm up, so if you plant the foot coming out of a corner before you've scrubbed them, the rear tends to snap free, which can be heaps of fun, but also quite dangerous.

On the whole, I have nothing but praise for the way the Evo IX rewards the driver with its scintillating straight line and cornering performance, but I must make mention of a few things I encountered during my travel. This could be another trait of the Pirelli’s, but I noticed that the Evo tended to snap back quite abruptly out of power-down corners, almost wanting to kick in the other direction. Granted, this was usually when I straightened the car up quite quickly out of a corner, but it wouldn't have hurt to have slightly more progressive damping levels in the shock absorbers. On the flip side, it will teach you to drive a lot smoother coming out of corners, or else be faced with a potential slingshot/highside.

The car's Active Centre Differential gives the car a whole new level of performance, as I quickly discovered. In the dry, the car is a demi-god with unimaginable power, that much should be clear by now, but in the wet? This thing is also manically quick. Never before have I been so stunned by a car's ability to grip the road in such low friction conditions. I shit you not when I say that I pushed the car to 7/10ths in the wet - maybe even a little bit more. And not just damp roads - I'm talking pouring rain, wipers on full-bore.

It's got to be experienced to be believed, but the best I can do is to tell you that this car is really quite mad. You just whack the ACD to 'Gravel' mode (which is for gravel and wet bitumen), and the torque distribution changes slightly and the thing just grips and goes - dry, wet, whatever. I drove the Evo for an entire afternoon in wet weather, and though tentative at first, I found myself testing the limits of adhesion until I was driving the car almost like it was on a dry surface. Truly, I was shocked, amazed and flabbergastered by this car's tenacious levels of grip.

It borders on silly, it really does. Even with pouring rain, once the tyres build heat it’s amazingly controllable and able to run very quickly without losing traction. The Subaru WRX STI may have its infinitely variable ACCD, but this system is more user friendly in my book. Three modes, no fuss, thankyou very much.

The ultimate question you need to ask yourself is this: are your nerves up to the intense level of cornering grip the Evo IX offers? Its adhesion is just stupendous (with the Pirellis) and it's sometimes terrifying thinking how hard you can push it. In conclusion, I can report that the new Evo IX is both easier to live with on a daily basis, yet just as manic when driven hard - if not more so - than the models it supersedes.

Engine: 4/5

Not just powerful, but forceful - the 2.0-litre engine in the Evo IX is a real piece of work, and something that just keeps on revving, delivering huge levels of shunt right until the almost-7500rpm rev limiter. The manufacturer reckons the car hits 100km/h in 5.7 seconds, which is pretty good for something that tips the scales at 1410kg, while the 80-120km/h roll on sprint takes just 6.6 seconds - plenty quick.

The engine is supposed to have 355Nm of torque, but on the road it feels much stronger than this. This could be due to the inclusion of a high performance version of variable valve timing and lift, or Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing and lift Electronic Control (MIVEC) to quote the manufacturer. This system raises peak power to 206kW (Australian spec Evo's used to output much less than this) and though peak torque is 355Nm, a good deal of this is spread across a wider band, making the car much punchier when shooting out of corners.

The 6-speed manual gearbox can also take a bit of the credit for making the Evo IX a faster feeling vehicle, and though I found it a little troublesome to make super-rapid gear changes from first to second, consecutive changes in the other ratios - such as second to third - take to being manhandled quickly and violently much better. And on the road, the second-third (and third-fourth) gear changes are much more common than first-second shifts, so it's not something that tarnishes the Evolution IX's otherwise rock solid drivetrain. The clutch is quite heavy, but this is to be expected of a vehicle that has such a big torque thump.

And like many Evolution powerplants of times gone by, the engine is a bit of a late bloomer. I'm a huge fan of the particular way this engine develops its power (but it won't be everyone's cup of tea) as your brain anticipates the massive shunt that's approaching as you stir it up. It's similar in delivery to a high performance two-stroke motorcycle, where low down the power is meagre, but as soon as it reaches its power band, it's party time. Ergo, below 2500rpm the car feels a tad lethargic, but as soon as the tachometer needle passes this, the car lurches forward with a vehemence I've seldom encountered. The engine tends to revolve rather slowly below 3000rpm, but as soon as the twin scroll turbocharger spools up the engine spins exponentially faster, and as you row through the gears, keeping the revs above 3000rpm, the engine becomes an altogether different beast, propelling the 4WD Lancer along at a heady clip.

Though I mention that the engine feels lethargic below 2500rpm, this is when you treat the engine and clutch with respect. As it turns out, if you disrespect the powertrain you can build more torque much earlier by revving the engine and dumping the clutch, which means you don't have to wait until 3000rpm for the turbo to engage. And if you fancy yourself as a bit of a traffic light duellist, you'll love the intercooler's triple nozzle water spray, which can be set to manual or auto mode and helps cool down the air hitting the intercooler (which is front mounted, and more effective than a top mounted intercooler, as the air slams straight into it instead of being routed from horizontal to vertical).

The note from the engine isn’t particularly soul stirring in my opinion, but it does have a certain presence about it that suggests very strongly that this ain't your garden variety 2.0-litre engine. Further to this, the car also benefits from a lightweight aluminium bonnet, which reduces weight at the front end and also features a large mesh-covered air outlet, allowing thermal energy to dissipate, that would otherwise be trapped in the engine bay and cause it overheat and catch on fire. Because the turbocharger is tuned to deliver a high level of boost pressure (roughly 20psi or 1.39bar), the engine compartment gets intensely hot (you can actually see the headers glow red hot), and this is one of the more practical solutions.

It can drink a bit a petrol when pushed, but if you're willing to spend $60k on a Lancer, you probably won't be too concerned about frugality. Even so, in 6th gear on the highway the car will cruise at 100km/h doing 2500rpm, which isn't too shabby, and if you drive it softly the car will return quite decent fuel efficiency figures. Expect figures between 10 and 12L/100km.

Exterior: 4/5

The Evolution IX is based on the Mitsubishi Lancer, but as you can tell from the photos it's quite different externally. Just like the upgraded engine, suspension, brakes and so forth that stir the soul, the exterior gets a serious make over that stirs the ego. And though it does look a little plastic fantastic, much of the flair is actually very necessary. That huge rear carbon composite spoiler, for example, was condemned as an eyesore by the majority of people who wanted to give us their opinion on the car, with one admirer calling it an "dumb chunk of plastic that I would break if you weren't here". Ahem. We're all entitled to our opinions, but without it the rear would lack a considerable amount of downforce, and seeing as the weight distribution is 60:40 front:rear, the rear end would feel loose and woolly without it.

Another oversized aspect of the car's exterior is the exhaust pipe - it's huge! It integrates well with the pronounced rear diffuser, the latter of which works in tandem with the big rear wing to help tie the rear end down to the road a bit better. Overall, I like the look of the Evolution IX. If it looks like a tarted-up Lancer, then I like tarty Lancers. The mesh covered bonnet adds street cred, and the bodykit gives the car a ground-hugging stance and the 17-inch OZ alloy wheels are the business.

This front end may look similar to the Evo VIII, but in fact features an all new front apron and includes a number of changes to improve performance, such as the larger lower air dam, which "raises engine cooling efficiency" according to Mitsubishi. All told, I think the extroverted look suits the car quite well, and communicates its performance capabilities to one and all. There will be some who steer clear of the vehicle for this reason alone, but when your inside the car you kind of forget about it, especially when that manic turbo works its mechanical magic.

Interior: 3.5/5

Mitsubishi has listened to customer feedback and given the Evo IX a more pliant ride, but it hasn't forgotten the interior either, which has been tizzied up significantly, adding features like leather seats front and rear, a 6-stack CD stereo with 6-speakers and auto air conditioning. However, because it's based on a $20,000 car, it inherits the Lancer's average dash plastics, tight rear seat room and cheap-looking switchgear. But really, if you wanted something that was going to impress your mother-in-law, you'd probably spend your moola on something with a 'luxury' or 'prestige' tag.

But it's saving grace has to be the Recaro seats. They are fantastic. Featuring a combination of leather and suede, they are comfy, supportive,they feel luxurious and have a motor sports cool about them. The side bolsters are extreme, and thankfully so, keeping you relatively snug as you hammer through corner after corner. There's a bit of graphite carbon on the dash and the alloy pedals look nice, but I found them a little bit thin for my freakish clobhoppers at times.

It also has just two airbags, no cruise control and a space-saver spare wheel. There is, however, microdot marking, and another useful anti-theft device in the form of a vehicle tracking and roadside assistance program, which helps lower insurance costs.

And while certain aspects of the interior are a bit naff, such as the dash plastics and the hard-to-read instrument cluster, items like the aforementioned Recaro sports seats and the leather Momo steering wheel, gear shifter and handbrake add sparkle and a pleasant tactility where its needed most, and as a result the interior comes across as much nicer place to be than past Evolution models.

Overall: 4/5

Though the Evolution IX has edged closer to becoming a mainstream car, what with its softer ride and spruced up interior, the essence of the banzai warrior is still there in spades, from the way it hacks through corners with scant regard for the laws of physics to the way it's engine builds torque. And it's all so incredibly addictive. I'd love to own one of these things, but for now I'll have to stick to my worked CBR 600.

If you're after an small 4WD super sports sedan with a luxury bent, you'd be better off looking at the Audi S4, but that costs more than twice as much, and this thing is quicker than the Audi in all areas. It just lacks a bit of interior polish.

But this can be forgiven in my book, because the way the torque hits the wheels, and how it grips around corners under full throttle is just utterly captivating. You can accelerate hard through a corner as long as you’re looking at the exit on the apex off in the distance, it’ll just follow your line of sight around and then you do it all again. You don’t need to think about where the nose is pointing so much - it responds with such alacrity it's often scary.

When I think about how to describe the car, I can't help but reel off the superlatives: unparalleled grip, awesome traction, unimaginable acceleration, and the list goes on. If you like the feeling of your body being squeezed into the seat backs like you're in a giant centrifuge, you'd be well advised to test drive this car, as it has an incredible performance threshold.

And with it's new $56,789 price tag, the Evo IX is even better value than before, with staggering bang for your buck and it's also a permanent member of the Mitsubishi range. There's not much more left to say. The Evolution IX is an pearler of a performance car, and save for the WRX STI, it will run rings around pretty much anything else in its price range.

In a word: awesome.