Living in a small town, I'll occasionally run into one of those lost characters of my youth; stuck-in-a-time-warp examples of arrested development in stone-washed denim and high top kicks. A black Soundgarden tee, edgy and youthful on a still-hip 27-year-old, looks faded and delusional two decades later.
Driving the 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer SE, I get that same sort of past-revisited, trip through-the-time-portal sense of déja vu all over again.
It's still sporting the same rally-inspired looks that cut a swath through the bland vanilla sea of reasonably priced four-doors in 2007. That's a good thing. The Lancer's chunky, hunkered down stance and sharp piggy snout give it the sort of quirky character once enjoyed by Jennifer Gray, pre-bob, or Subaru, before selling out their signature cute-homeliness for mainstream homogenization.
But the cabin's a throwback to a previous era, before the Korean juggernaut made inferior materials and mediocre design unacceptable, even at entry level prices. Either Mitsubishi ducked under that highly raised bar or, like my lost-in-the-past friend, lives in blissful denial.
The overall theme is drab, dark and sombre with the kind of red digital readouts associated with early 90s computer monitors. There's no cohesiveness to the design, buttons and knobs are a mishmash of sizes and shapes, and it would appear that very little effort went into making the centre stack attractive.
There's an abundance of plastic – most of it hard. There are uneven gaps where one sharp plastic edge meets another. The seats are firm and supportive, but upholstered in thoroughly uninspiring grey cloth. It's an environment that was perfectly acceptable half a decade ago, but now lags far behind that of its stylish competitors.
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| The Lancer could use a little refinement and modernization if it wants to stay relevant. (Photo: Lesley Wimbush/Auto123.com) |
Driving the 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer SE, I get that same sort of past-revisited, trip through-the-time-portal sense of déja vu all over again.
It's still sporting the same rally-inspired looks that cut a swath through the bland vanilla sea of reasonably priced four-doors in 2007. That's a good thing. The Lancer's chunky, hunkered down stance and sharp piggy snout give it the sort of quirky character once enjoyed by Jennifer Gray, pre-bob, or Subaru, before selling out their signature cute-homeliness for mainstream homogenization.
But the cabin's a throwback to a previous era, before the Korean juggernaut made inferior materials and mediocre design unacceptable, even at entry level prices. Either Mitsubishi ducked under that highly raised bar or, like my lost-in-the-past friend, lives in blissful denial.
The overall theme is drab, dark and sombre with the kind of red digital readouts associated with early 90s computer monitors. There's no cohesiveness to the design, buttons and knobs are a mishmash of sizes and shapes, and it would appear that very little effort went into making the centre stack attractive.
There's an abundance of plastic – most of it hard. There are uneven gaps where one sharp plastic edge meets another. The seats are firm and supportive, but upholstered in thoroughly uninspiring grey cloth. It's an environment that was perfectly acceptable half a decade ago, but now lags far behind that of its stylish competitors.
 |
| There's an abundance of plastic – most of it hard. There are uneven gaps where one sharp plastic edge meets another. (Photo: Lesley Wimbush/Auto123.com) |