First Canadian drive in the new Mitsubishi’s

Ottawa - Six years ago Mitsubishi backed-off on its first attempt to enter the Canadian market – 2002 is a different story. Earlier this month, and ahead of schedule, eighteen Mitsubishi dealers opened for business across Canada and two of them were in BC. Five more will join the BC contingent in the near future and there will be a total of twelve within a year, according to Randy Sears, President of Mitsubishi Sales of Canada, Inc.

The big difference is a small car – called Lancer. Oddly enough for a Japanese car company, the lack of a suitable small car in the product line was the undoing of Mitsubishi’s previous Canadian offensive. So, this time it’s an all guns blazing full product line offensive, with seven vehicles (four cars and three sport utility vehicles) ranging in price from under $16,000 to about $42,000.

"Spirited cars for spirited people", is the company slogan and the TV advertising campaign is aimed at the young and trendy set. You may have seen some of them already and one in particular, with a young woman "arm dancing" in the front seat of an Eclipse, is a big hit in the US.

In the US last year, Mitsubishi was ranked fourth highest in vehicle sales, ahead of Mazda, of the Japanese car companies. The Canadian management team is very enthused about the new product line, even though it does not include a minivan, and expects to sell 5,000 of them by the end of the year.

The Mitsubishi cars are Lancer, Galant, Eclipse, Eclipse Spider and the sport utilities are Montero, Montero Sport and Outlander. At a media event in Ottawa last week I got my first opportunity to kick tires and get behind wheel of these vehicles for a short test drive.

Mitsubishi Cars

Lancer
The compact Lancer is expected to be the brand's high volume car in Canada and with a base price (MSRP) of $15,997 to a fully loaded $22,915 it’s also the value leader. Available in three trim levels ES, LS and OZ, all come with 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine (rated at 120-horsepower) and it has an independent rear suspension with coil springs.

Lancer has a surprisingly roomy interior (2600 litres, to be precise) and standard features include an adjustable steering column, a tachometer and an audio system with a CD player. I drove a base ES trim Lancer with a 5-speed manual transmission (4-speed auto also available) and I was very impressed by the cars handling and its smooth, peppy engine.

Galant
Air conditioning and power windows and locks are all standard on even the base version of Galant and prices go from $23,097 to a top price of $33,287. The base DE and ES versions come with a 2.4 litre (140 hp), 4-cylinder engine and the ES, LS and GTZ versions have a 3.0 litre (195 hp), V6 engine. A 4-speed automatic is the only transmission offered.

The Galant I drove was an ES and it had a comfortable ride that’s on the soft side. Rear seat legroom was disappointing and surprisingly not as good as the Lancer. The big 4-cylinder engine was a bit noisy on hard acceleration and tended to idle rough when the air conditioning compressor kicked in. The V6 may be a better choice in this vehicle.

Eclipse
The Eclipse is a sharp looking and well equipped two-door sports coupe with a base price of just $23,857 going up to $36,037 for the GT trim, equipped with a Sportronic automatic (with manual mode) transmission. Higher-output versions of the 2.4-litre (147-horsepower) four-cylinder engine, the 3.0-litre (200-horsepower) V6, or a 210-horsepower version of the V6, with variable intake-runners, provides power.

The cockpit style driving position and general ergonomics of the Eclipse quickly make you feel at home and comfortable behind the wheel. I drove a GT with a 5-speed manual transmission and was impressed by the ride and handling stability on rough roads. It’s not a hard-edge sports car in the Porsche mold, but exciting to drive none the less.

Eclipse Spyder
Prices for the Eclipse Spyder, a convertible version of the coupe, range from $34,887 to $42,737. It’s a tight factory built convertible (not a chopped coupe) with good sight lines and should do very well in this smaller niche market – very nice to drive. 

Mitsubishi Sport Utility Vehicles

Outlander
Outlander is the newest addition to the Mitsubishi line and it’s a compact front- or all-wheel drive crossover-type sport utility, based on a car chassis. Prices start at $26,757 and run up to $31,653. Outlander features flexible seating for five and the engine is a 2.4-litre (rated at 140-horsepower), mated to a 4-speed Sportronic (auto/manual) transmission.

This type of vehicle is a red-hot seller these days and the Outlander should do well in Canada. Although it shares the Galant’s 2.4 litre engine it’s smoother and quieter motor in the Outlander, apparently it’s mounted differently. The interior is also appealing an analog clock in the centre of the dash is nice touch. There’s no low range in the drive system, so it’s off-roading prowess is limited.

Montero Sport
The Montero Sport is a rugged body-on-fame SUV and prices range from $32,497 to $41,937. The ES and LS trim levels come with a 3.0-litre V6 engine and the XLS and Limited trim levels come with a 3.5 litre V6.

The ALL-4-wheel drive system automatically delivers engine power to all four wheels. It also has a locked high and low range, engaged by using a second shift lever, for more serious off-roading. The ride is on the firm side and it’s seemed like a pretty capable unit on the short and mildly challenging off-road course that was set-up for the event.

Montero
Topping the SUV line, Montero is the SUV on which Mitsubishi’s super-successful Pais-to-Dakar Rally vehicle is based. Montero pries start at $41,987 for XLS and $48,507 for the Limited trim. A 3.8 litre (215-hp) engine supplies the power and it comes with a 5-speed Sportronic/Active Trac transmission and Active Skid and Traction Control systems.

The driver has an impressive array of easy to select drive choices, rear-wheel-drive or full-time all-wheel drive (AWD) or a high or low range 4WD with locked center differential. Both trim levels also come with a small but very handy "hide-away" third row seat, that folds under the cargo floor.