We've recently had the chance to put around 4,000 km under the hood of the new Mitsubishi Evo X GSR. The Mitsubishi Evo X GSR is powered by a 2.0 liter DOHC MIVEC Dual VVT turbocharged and intercooled engine that's good for 295 hp and 366 Nm of torque. The engine of the Mitsubishi Evo X GSR is coupled with a 5-speed manual gearbox and the car comes equipped with permanent AWD, an ACD (Active Center Differential) and the S-AWC system.
The S-AWC system of the Mitsubishi Evo X GSR includes the ACD, the Active Yaw Control and the Active Stability Control systems and the Sport ABS system.
The official numbers say the Mitsubishi Evo X GSR emits 243 g/km of CO2 and that it has a fuel
consumption of 8.3 liters per 100 km on the highway, 13.6 liters in the city and 10.2 liters on a combined cycle. However, we found those numbers to be different in real life. We never managed to get the fuel consumption under 16 liters per 100 km in the city and 11 liters per 100 km on the highway. So, if you're planning a long trip in your Mitsubishi Evo X GSR, you'd better fill your wallet first.
Another annoying thing about the Evo X is the radio. It always keeps losing the station and changes
it for no obvious reason for a fraction of a second before going back again. The CD and MP3 player works well and the sound is quite good.
The fuel consumption and the radio are about the only things we can complain about when it comes to the Mitsubishi Evo X GSR. The aggressive exterior look with the big black grille and the hood air vents made the other highway drivers change lanes and let us pass just at the sight of the car in their rear view mirrors. The aerodynamics work perfectly and at high speeds you can really feel the car stick to the ground.
The interior of the Mitsubishi Evo X GSR, although filled with plastic, has got a nice, sporty feel and the Recaro front seats are simply awesome. You could take a 90 degrees turn at a million miles an hour and still stay in place. Which we can’t say about the passengers in the back seats. Everyone who traveled there got tossed around all over the place and are now thinking twice before getting back in an Evo. You get plenty of storage space in the new Evo X, but you probably won’t get a lighter. Not that you’ll ever have the time to smoke while driving.
Another thing we could appreciate in the new Mitsubishi Evo X GSR is a space to keep our RedBull cool. Unfortunately it doesn’t have one. The air conditioning works well and with the automated windshield wipers and headlights, all you have to think about is driving and smiling about the other cars left in your side mirror. Instead of writing “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear” they should have written “Objects in mirror are losing”.
To better the weight distribution they placed the battery and the washer fluid in the luggage compartment, so it might seem small at first, but it has plenty of luggage space. They even removed the spear wheel and what you get instead is a fix-it-yourself kit, that only works if the hole in the tire is microscopic.
Driving the Mitsubishi Evo X GSR through the city is pretty civilized and although the clutch pedal is a little heavy, you won’t get tired even in the worst traffic jam. You have to be careful at potholes though, because with the low profile tires you might ruin the rims. Other than that, you’ll get a lot of thumbs up from the other motorists and you’ll have to answer a lot of questions at every stop light: How much power does it have? How much did it cost? Did you modify it in any way yet?
On a long drive on the highway, the Mitsubishi Evo X GSR was a lot more comfortable than we expected it to be and apart from a 2008 BMW M3 we never had anyone flashing their lights in our rear view mirror. The acceleration is great, even in fifth gear, and the car never lacks in power, but sometimes though, we did feel the need for a sixth speed.
Driving the Mitsubishi Evo X GSR in the city and on the highway felt good, but when we got on some twisty mountain roads, the car really started to come alive and to show us what it’s really all about. There were a couple of times when we said “this is it!” and we were already seeing ourselves wrapped around a tree. But not to worry! I simply turned the wheel and the car didn’t even look like it was trying. The Mitsubishi Evo X GSR corners like it’s on rails and if you feel that you’ve entered a curve too fast, and the car starts slipping, simply take your foot of the gas. The Evo buries itself into the ground and all your organs shift to the opposite side of your body. The experience of driving the new Evo X on a curvy mountain road is just astonishing and probably most of you will never get crazy enough to make its tires squeal in a fast corner. The car has mountains of grip and simply doesn’t want to lose control. The brakes work perfectly and although they could stop planets, they can be applied gradually so your girlfriend won’t spill her dinner all over the dashboard.
As far as comparison tests go, we encountered on our trip an Audi R8 and a Mercedes C63 AMG. The Audi R8 was considerably faster off the starting line. Maybe the 100 hp+ more was the reason, but as soon as we hit the first curve, the R8 was history. Driving through the mountains we managed to get ourselves chasing a C63 AMG. After taunting it for a few minutes we got ahead. The C63 desperately tried to keep up with us for the next few miles, with its tail wiggling all over the place, but eventually had to accept defeat.
The Mitsubishi Evo X GSR is by far the most fun we’ve ever had in a car. Although it’s an absolute maniac on the road, it offers exceptional handling and safety. It also offers a reasonably high amount of comfort.
View the photo gallery for some live shots of the car we tested.
