Price drop adds value to Mitsubishi's Lancer range

MITSUBISHI'S seven-year-old Lancer has become one of the cheapest small cars in Australia after a range-wide price drop that has cut the entry price to $18,990, plus on-roads, for the base ES Sport manual.

The Japanese car-maker has reshuffled its line-up, added more specification and cut prices across the range, including a $7000 drop for the hardcore Evolution sports sedan, in a bit to boost interest in the ageing model as it faces increasing competition from newer rivals.

The $18,990 starting price is a $1400 reduction over the previous ES, and ensures the Lancer undercuts sedan competitors including the Kia Cerato Si ($19,990), Nissan Pulsar ST ($19,990), Honda Civic VTi ($19,490), Holden Cruze Equipe ($19,890) and Toyota Corolla Ascent ($20,740).

The only sedan available in Australia's sub-$40,000 small car segment that is cheaper than the Lancer ES is the Malaysian-built Proton Preve, which is priced at $15,490, driveaway.

Replacing the five-speed manual gearbox with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) in the ES adds $2000 and brings the price to $20,990.

Sticking with the sedans, Mitsubishi has swapped the LX variant for the LS moniker, which starts from $20,990 for the manual and $22,990 for the CVT – a $2000 drop over the previous LX.

The new XLS replaces the VRX sedan, and in manual guise the $26,490 pricetag represents a saving of $3500 over the previous variant. The CVT again adds $2000 to the price.

Mitsubishi's sporty Ralliart sedan is now down to $37,990, a $2000 drop, and adds new sports cloth trim with stitching for the 2015 version.

Pricing for the GSR hatch, which was introduced earlier this year when Mitsubishi consolidated its Lancer Sportback range down to just one variant, has decreased by $1000 to $21,990 for the manual and $23,990 for the auto.

The most dramatic price drop is saved for the Evolution performance sedan, with the regular variant now offered from $52,990, down from $59,990, while the MR SST auto is now $58,990, a $7000 drop from $65,990.

This price is still well above its direct competitor, the recently launched Subaru WRX, that kicks off from $38,990, plus on-roads, for the standard version before reaching $49,990 for the more hardcore STI.

Modest additions are made across the 2015 Lancer range, including indicator lamps in the door mirrors, new door trims and an emergency stop signal that flashes the indicators under heavy braking.

New to the ES sedan is Ralliart cloth seat trim with stitching, leather-look trim on the centre console, and new 10-spoke, 16-inch alloy wheels.

This is on top of the already standard 110kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, climate control air conditioning, Bluetooth phone and audio streaming with voice control, a sports body kit that includes a rear spoiler and side body skirts, and seven airbags.

In LS guise, the Lancer has new 16-inch alloys as well as a 6.1-inch colour touchscreen, reversing camera, keyless entry, leather-trimmed seats, heated front seats and an electric-adjust driver's seat.

The XLS gains a more powerful 125kW 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine, bigger 18-inch alloy wheels, a nine-speaker Rockford Fosgate sound system, seven-inch colour touchscreen with 3D navigation mapping and SD card input, rain-sensing wipers, dusk-sensing headlights, reversing camera in the rear-view mirror, electric folding door mirrors and sports suspension.

The GSR Sportback features a rear spoiler, side air dams, sports front seats and pedals, reversing camera with display via the 6.1-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth with voice activation, climate control, tinted glass, rain sensing wipers and 18-inch alloys.

Warranties for the Lancer, meanwhile, have rolled back to three years or 100,000km, down from the three years and 130,000km offered on the previous Lancer range.

The next-generation Lancer will be the result of a joint venture between Mitsubishi and the Renault Nissan Alliance, confirmed at last year's Tokyo motor show, and is likely to share its underpinnings with the next Renault Megane.

As development of the new Lancer had not started at the time of the announcement in November last year, a local showroom debut could still be at least two years away.

Sales of the Lancer are down by 24 per cent in the first seven months of this year, with 5301 units shifted compared with 6997 in the same period last year.

2014 Mitsubishi Lancer pricing*

Sedan
ES Sport	$18,990
ES Sport (a)	$20,990
LS	$20,990
LS (a)	$22,990
XLS	$26,490
XLS (a)	$28,490
Ralliart (a)	$37,990
Evolution	$52,990
Evolution MR SST (a)	$58,990
Sportback
GSR	$21,990
GSR (a)	$23,990

*Excludes on-road costs