Mitsubishi Outlander: Interior
As stylish as the outside is, the inside carries over more of the company's trends from other vehicles, like the Outlander compact SUV. It's a stark existence; black is the only interior color choice. The good thing about black, though, is that it hides a lot of flaws.
Not that the interior is terribly flawed; there are some cheap elements, like the grab handles on the doors and the trip computer button beside the gauges, but it certainly holds its own against the likes of the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra and Ford Focus in the compact class. Only the Honda Civic and perhaps the Mazda3 upstage it on the inside.
The Lancer's gauges are quite sporty, as are the leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob. These are the key areas that drivers are always connected to, and doing a good job with them is vital. Ergonomically, the Lancer does just fine, with short stubby stalks on either side of the wheel for the turn signals and windshield wipers, three easy-to-grasp knobs for the environmental controls and a straightforward stereo interface. There are plenty of areas around the center part of the dash to store cell phones, drinks and MP3 players, as well.
The front seats are comfortable and keep occupants firmly in place. They're covered in a microfiber material that should be easy to keep clean, though they could be static electricity magnets in the winter. While the front seats are adequate, the backseat really shines with its legroom. At 5 feet, 10 inches, I sat behind a driver's seat adjusted for my height and had several inches of knee and foot room.
I chauffeured my in-laws to the airport in the Lancer, and my wife and mother-in-law thought the backseat was plenty roomy, though my mother-in-law noted the seatback reclined a bit too much for her taste. Like most rear seats, they cannot be adjusted.
The seats also fold down with the press of a button near the headrests. The resulting cargo floor isn't level with the trunk floor, and I can't think of much I'd need to fit in such a space beyond a set of skis. Otherwise, for cargo hauling you're probably better off just leaving the seats up and placing cargo on the rear floor and seat cushions.
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Performance
The 152-hp four-cylinder engine produces plenty of power to move the Lancer
at highway speeds, even when fully loaded with four adults and luggage. My only
reoccurring thought was that no matter h
Features
To come in at under $14,000, the base Lancer DE forgoes some important
equipment like air conditioning and antilock brakes; both are part of a $1,100
option package. The DE does come with power wi
Safety
The Lancer comes with seven airbags, including seat-mounted side airbags,
side curtain airbags and a knee airbag for the driver — a relative rarity in
this segment. ABS is optional on the DE bas
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Tether anchorage locations
There are 2 child restraint anchorage points located on the back of the seatbacks.
These are for fastening the child restraint tether straps to the 2 rear seat seating
positions.
Warning
► Child restraint anchorages are designed to withstand only those loads imposed
by correctly fit
Confident Braking Performance
The all-new 2008 Lancer GTS not only tames curves, but does so with the
confident stopping power of the same brakes as the larger, heavier Outlander SUV
-- 11.6-in. (294 mm) vented discs in front and 11.9-in. (302 mm) solid discs in
rear. The Lancer DE and ES models employ 10.9-in. (276 mm) ve
