2008 Mitsubishi Lancer VR review
December 30, 2007 by Matt Brogan
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer VR review
CarAdvice rating: 
Model tested: CJ MY08 VR Sedan 4dr CVT 6sp 2.0i
Priced from: $20,990 to $31,490 ($27,590 as tested)
Options: Metallic Paint $300, Park Assist $500, 18” Alloys $2000.
- by Matt Brogan
Taking first place in our Big Small Car Comparison, Mitsubishi’s all new Lancer fared well when stacked against a handful of its competitors. But just how good it was mano a mano remained to be seen – until now.
With a history spanning four decades, Lancer first came to Australia as a Chrysler model in the late 70’s, though it wasn’t until 1988 when the CA Lancer débuted, that the Lancer success story really took flight.
Popular among fleet buyers for their coveted reliability, earlier examples of the Lancer also proved trendy with younger budget savvy buyers thanks mainly to the winning combination of affordability and zippy performance.
Many examples of Lancer attracted an almost cult following with enthusiasts donning their cars with mock Evo (Evolution) body kits, huge alloy wheels, and vibrant paint jobs in an attempt to disguise their otherwise bland, white-goods appearance.
Ive been fortunate enough to test drive an auto VRX Lancer and I must say we were pleasantly impressed.
We cant agree with the reviewers opinion on interior noise levels though and we felt that the interior plastics were a little hard in places though well fitted with good surfaces.
This is definately an excellent package setting a benchmark in its class, we cant wait for the Evo X and Ralliart variants.
I’ve also been in the auto VRX Lancer, I wasn’t terribly impressed with the interior, but haven’t been in most Lancer models, though this one does have some minor improvement. I’m not a fan of the rear end exterior styling, and the car felt extremely slow getting to 100. It was a little noisy inside but I’ve been in noiser and more expensive cars. Fuel economy was great even with the auto.
At this price, if I were in the market, I would have to go for the 380 SIII Platinum, just seems like better value than this. Great looking car, but too close the the 380 (possibly the same if quoted price isn’t driveaway).
The only thing that disappoints me about the Lancer is dash… the general design and the instrument cluster is ugly. But its a good package and class leader, if I was in the market for a small sedan you cant go past it
It looks a bit better than the dash in my mums early 07 Lancer, which is just so boring I’d fall asleep at the wheel.
I bought a Cool Silver VRX with R-Fostgate ICE & CVT box. Now at 4,200 kms. Calc’d avg at 8.9 L/100km mainly in Melb’s traffic crawl, have seen under 8 on a run. My initial impression was that the car was bit noisy inside, but that’s because I drive it like a 5 speed auto. Now noise is not a problem, because I understand how to get the best out of the CVT / engine combo. I could go on, but suffice to say that we will probably trade our 03 O/Lander in on another Lancer mid way thru 08. That would make our 9th Mits & 4th Lancer!
There is no doubt Mitsubishi has built a very good car in the new Lancer but why the hell didn’t they finish off the interior with a quality materials and switchgear and make it a hands down winner. God knows their research must have told them year after year after year, that this was the only real criticism!
@ Albert
We have the 07′ Outlander and we find that keeping the engine revs below 2000rpm, you will hardly notice any engine noise. Above that it gets intrusive. Being a CVT 2000rpm is plenty for maintaining the maximum highway speed/climbing hills and taking off at a similar rate to other cars at traffic lights.
@ Tony
I think it has something to do with the interior plastic being made from recycled materials. Think of it as brown recycled paper compared to the white office ones :P
I think the CJ Lancer is a good base for them to improve upon. The VR model is the one that I spot the most and is probably the best value out of the range. They already have the exterior styling right, and If they can improve the interior in a mid-life facelift then it’d be a great package overall. All the current generation Japanese small cars have seemed to lift their game, which is great for the consumer. The previous generations were all somewhat bland inside and out.
I have an MY06 CH VR-X and am highly anticipating the release of the upcoming Ralliart hatch.
Ummm, those are not the same rims as the VRX model. They look the same as the stock VR rims except 2 inches bigger. As if you would pay $2,000 extra for that, may as well go aftermarket or pay $4,000 extra instead and get the VRX model.
BTW, my VRX in Lightning Blue with Rockford audio and CVT gets delivered a week from now. I know the CVT is slow off the line (not sure why exactly) but it makes up for that with in-gear acceleration which is where it really counts. The interior isn’t that striking, but you can’t have everything at this price range, especially from a car made in a first world country where labour costs are high.
Nice, front hard to get head around a tad as too forward at top and like VR4 from years back. Dash is different but nice
Yea, look like the stock 16″ rims to me. Funny how the pics of the interior look like they come from base Lancer? I thought the VR had auto climate control?
Great review…my mum is in the process of getting a VR at the moment.
we’re looking at getting a new small car in ‘08 and it looks like it might be the lancer. it seems better than all the others that we’ve looked at (civic, 3 and corolla). although we haven’t test-driven any at the moment.
just another boring lancer! with cheap build quality,,and interior..YAAAAAAAAWWWWN
What is it with cars today all having this cheap, nasty plastic inside? My el cheapo 2000 Pulsar has better dash and door trim materials than this (I’ve driven the new VRX Lancer).
It is a sort of vinyl overlay, like leather. Has a nice texture and a soft feel (there’s a thin layer of padding underneath).
Where have they gone wrong? Just about every “cheap” car has this problem, including some not-so-cheap like the Astras which are supposed to be good European cars.
Well they obviously spend the money elsewhere, but is it that hard to make a decent dash?
lol dude that just means that you don’t have any money to spend…so u try to make out your “2000 pulsar” is awsome hahaha lmao
Is it just me or is the dash in the lancer exactly the same as the outlander
I found the steering at slow speeds to be extremely heavy for a car of this size.
(CLAP)(CLAP)(CLAP)! Mitsubishi has lifted its game from over the outgoing lancer!
But it still isnt all good. Like some people were saying the interior and the plastics used arent the best u can get!
Another thing I find quite annoying is how they offer the U.S with satnav but not Aus. WHY? Getting the satnav gets you MP3 capabilities, better interface for Audion, better interface for Bluetooth and a 30gig hard drive to store music on!!! Instead they offer us with I believe no MP3 player and a crappy el-cheapo portable GPS. I found this disappointing. Still a good car, but this crap where they offer one country certain features but not another really annoys me, especially when you consider with all these features a U.S buyer will only pay $22k for their Lancer.
Having had the opportunity to drive the 2008 Mitsubishi VR CVT Lancer for close to 1,800 kms and would like to comment on improvements Mitsubishi Australia needs to make, in order for this vehicle to meet the standards of Mazda 3 and Toyota Corolla.
1. The CVT transmission needs urgent attention, in order to reduce the unacceptable levels of transmission noise, transmitted into the cabin.
2. Digital audio display is unreadable in direct or partial sunlight, even with tinted windows.
3. The leather steering wheel appears to be made of thin cheap animal skin (Pig). One fears with time the stitching will tear or those drivers with rings will tear it’s surface.
4. The quality of floor carpet and boot carpet are in line with a $15,000 car not the $27,500 of the VR Lancer.
5. The Yokohama A-460 tyres lack refinement of good OEM tyres. Road noise over certain coarse surfaces is intrusive. The use of a Yokohama C-Drive tyre would be a vast improvement.
6. The turn indicators (blinking noise) when selected by the driver, can’t be heard with the vehicle moving.
Warren
hi, i ordered my vrx on the 28thseptember and got the sound system and sunroof as extras and im still waiting for it. was meant to be here december then it now is january and then now it may be feb march. i am over waiting for it.
The more you what for it the more you want it!
love the exterior but hate the interior with that stuid two tierd dash hvac controls are two low and that area is bland
Alex was ur car in black color or red? the dealers i been to told me the black color is almost impossible to get right now. anyways i was gona get the Vrx for my first car but at the last moment i switched to a mazda 6 classic sports hatch. the interor and resale vaule was just so much better then the lancer… well iam guessing about the resale vaule lol.
i`ll be looking for a black VR this weekend, happy to wait, but just wondering what price everyone has paid for there VR or VR-X…including ORC…cheers
I just purchased a VR in black from werribee dealer. Picked the right day … dealership was swopping cars with ssanyong dealership so were super short staffed…. got a test drive with no ID or nothing and noone in the car … so managed to really test the car….
Overall I was pretty impressed … as this being only my second car (first being an old 92 corolla ) So its a vast improvement for me.
I paid the 25,990 total with metallic paint , reverse parking sensors and window tinting … no stamp duty , no rego , no delivery charge and the car is ready to go. So pick up friday … Couldnt have asked for a better deal … saved about 3k I reckon
hey thats an awesome price, is that for manual?
I like the look of the new ‘08 CJ Lancer and the 7.7L/100Km of the ES manual for $20,990. I am seriously considering getting one.
Slightly off topic, but the Anti-spam word I got was “mazda”, what’s up with that?
I bought a VR auto at $28500 drive away, with sunroof, parking sensor, IPOD connector. Not sure if it is good price. My first time buy a car in Australia. Pick up the car tomorrow.
also metallic paint (silver)
I like the dash. I think it is alot nicer than last gen dash. My ES lancer comes in tomorrow. Looking forward to it so much. And my anti spam word was Daewoo….. EW.
We picked a Lightening Blue VRX manual. It is the 2008 model and we got free CTP, stamp duty and rego. It is a lovely car to drive, looks sensational and has really good features for the price.
Nice upgrade from the 1993 Lancer we already had!
The only thing I am concerning about new lancer is whether I can get a good price offer at the end of financial year, if cannot, I would buy a VR right now rather tahn waiting till end of June.
My anti spam is CIVIC,which drives not as good as new lancer!!!
Hi there team!
I’m going to step up from my shitbox 93 Lancer into a 2008 (or 09?) Lancer VRX very soon!
I’ve heard all sorts of tales of a 2.4L being introduced any second now – and I think it will hopefully address a bit of power issues that people talk about (I will get the CVT) .. Hopefully they pull their fingers out and include the SAT NAV as an option for VRX. I know they can do it.. it was in the olympic models!! GRRRRR…
Anyway I hope everyone is still lovin’ their CJs?
I bought a silver manual VRX 1 week before the end of the financial year, $25,500 drive away.
Great car, bit bouncy if pushed too hard, but very comfortable. I-pod connection needed though, Sat-Nav would be great with the hard drive..
Does the new two litre engine have belt or chain cam drive ??
kris
I have had my VR for a week now. One small item that annoys me is how the average fuel comsumption and average speed resets itself after every 4 hours.
I would like to reset them myself (eg after filling up the tank at the end of a week). Does anyone know how to manually reset these?
@ Kris – 2L has a Timing chain… you beauty
I own an 07 VR CVT and love it. Even though there is less power than the 2.4 CH Lancer I owned before, the handling, comfort and overall ’solidness’ of the CJ more than make up for it. Not to mention the remarkable fuel economy – even with an auto!
In reply to issues regarding the CVT being slow off the line, this is true – but workable. Two ways to get around it, firstly if you have the need to take off in a hurry, say picking a tight gap in traffic, put the car into manual mode. The CJ takes off significantly faster in ‘1′ than in ‘D’. I think because the CVT must take time to change ratios down when you stick the boot in in ‘D’.
Alternatively, if you can engage the ‘clutch’ and enter an intersection or roundabout with a bit of a roll, and THEN put the boot in, the car should rev up a lot quicker and take off faster. I think this might be because when you accelerate hard from a complete stop, the car feels like it’s riding a clutch in a tall gear up to about 30km/h, but if you are already ‘in gear’, this doesn’t occur.
Hope that helps. I’ve done 45k now, so I know all the quirks!
I purchased a VRX 09 model Lancer in November 08. I am very happy with the car’s looks and performance. I looked at Mazda, Holden and Honda and the Lancer had the best for $$ value and warranty.The only negative is the interior plastic on the doors and door handle trims, they have marked. My daughter has a 2007 ES Lancer which has the same problem with the door handles and trims.