At speed, fondling the controls of the new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII is more fun than being a politician at a Playboy Mansion New Year's Eve bash. It seems a cruel injustice to parade a car with such skull-jarring capabilities on perhindered public highways. Perhaps the most amazing aspect of this "Lancer Supreme" is how willing it is to be a simple sedan and chore chariot. This ground-up reinvention of Mitsubishi's economy market Lancer treats its handler to a driving experience on par with exotic German hardware. Like a Cuisinart of the Roads, the Evo VII is a multi-faceted asphalt-gobbling tool that slices, dices, and purees any knit wit who step on its cape.
The Drive
Piloting the Evo VII along the rolling backroads of Colorado reveals just how a fusion of mechanical, electronic, and molded plastic elements can amount to something much greater than the sum of their parts. The devilish acceleration is a known commodity; it's still there, gripping the tarmac with a flatter torque curve. Like a Roy Jones Jr. jab to the chin, it's a nostril-clearing surprise every time the pedal is beat on. Lean on the accelerator and the pressure on your chest feels like a swift, lead boot to the sternum, pushing you down into the supportive Recaros. This sensation starts at about 2,800 rpm and has you screaming "mommy" by the 7K redline. The action comes fast, like some crazy, warp-driven conveyor belt with little chocolates you can't seem to shove down your throat fast enough.
This new Lancer's reduced frontal area and low hood make you feel as though you're perched out over the front wheels. The engine is unapologetic about its turbo-enhanced howl as it unwinds like a coiled spring, inhaling huge portions of air through the gaping holes in its nosepiece. As the car gains momentum, the light steering effort, which seemed darty at lower speeds, is now perfectly sudden in its reactions. The five-speed gearbox, with ratios selected for swiftly spinning the motor to the business end of its powerband, is actuated by a smooth, shifting action and the clutch is unexpectedly tame for such a highly strung performance sedan.
The car's factory suspension achieves a level of balance that gives the driver supreme confidence. Soon, turns are taken at surreal speed with minimal body pitch, as the ACD (active center differential) and AYC (active yaw control) work in concert to negate the ill effects of a driver's ham-fisted selection of the wrong line. The Evo begs you to toss it through single-lane switchbacks on any kind of terrain, all the while gaining momentum in the turns
The roads outside of Manitou Springs, Colorado, are carved into hills that afford long fields of unobstructed vision; great for counting livestock and speeding. Letting the speedometer fall bellow the triple-digit mark would be a disservice of the highest order to this car's competitive nature. Between giddy grins, you can peer down through the steering wheel at the gauges just to confirm that you took that last series of turns at nearly 100 mph (or was that kilometers?) with barely a tire chirp. The car just refuses to get out of shape on the tarmac. We weren't looking to get sideways or try to hang the tail out for a dramatic picture (we're not that good), we were just looking for confirmation that this machine was a bit mortal.
The Evo's Special Sauce
Take away the mechanical and electronic "special powers" finessed into the Evo and the car is suddenly a very mortal Lancer unibody. What is the "special sauce" Mitsubishi added to make the flavor of the Evolution VII so much richer? As the name suggests, the VII is a refinement over the basic layout of the Evolution VI. It adds a few well-chosen improvements to the basic blueprint, infusing it with hardware and technology more geared toward the world rally battlefield than the compact/sedan market. The goals for the Evo VII were to improve on the VI's handling, providing less understeer with more accurate and tighter response and ultimately higher cornering limits. The new version accomplishes this mission, creating a fantastic car that builds upon the development of the previous six models.