You’ve read the reviews. You’ve seen the TV shows. You might have even peered through the window of an Evo X MR

A shiny new Evo X MR parked at the side of the road? C'mon, you'd just have to peak inside. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

parked by the side of the road, attempting to get a glimpse of its race-ready Alcantara-covered performance seats and magnesium paddle-shifters. It’s a purpose-built sight to behold, but really, despite being endowed with enticing external visuals that make it look like it’s on a charge while at idle, the Evo X doesn’t even come alive until speed enters the equation.

And it enters fast… really fast! A diminutive 2.0-litre four-cylinder with an overzealous need to rev gets mated to a mega-meal turbo combined with a meaty intercooler resulting in 295 horsepower and 290 lb-ft of torque, and thanks to one of the more sophisticated all-wheel drive systems offered anywhere for any money the specially-equipped Lancer hits 100km/h in the low 5s before a limited top-speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). Yep, this compact is no Corolla.

It’s

Nothing subtle about the EVO X MR, but all the add-ons are purposeful. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

a car that immediately gets respect from those in the know, and nobody wants to take you  on when the road starts to wind, at least nobody in anything less than another Evo X or maybe a Nissan GT-R. Sure, the GT-R is way quicker off the line and outrageously capable in the corners, but there’s something uniquely magical about the Evo X that I’ve never felt in any other car, except maybe the Evo IX. I use the term “tossable” even though it really isn’t a word, so forgive my poetic license. Despite being a largish compact sedan it’ll flick around tight corners with the deft grace of a Lotus Elise or Exige S, and feel more controllable doing it. It’ll drift with a little provocation yet snap back to its target without hesitation, needing only steering input and throttle modulation… and some, ahem, lyrical inspiration. Seriously, though, if it doesn’t get you singing, this car will have you laughing, it’s so brilliantly balanced that

Lined up and ready to go in the pits at Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

you’ll be tempted to push it farther than you might have pushed anything before, and when you do you’ll be rewarded with a rollercoaster ride of thrills, if you can find the right road.

I had the right road both during the media launch and while on a more recent romp in my home neighbourhood. The media launch was at Mont Tremblant, Quebec, on the track and surrounding area, and it became an unforgettable day. Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant is 4.26 kilometers (2.65 miles) of inspired tarmac, a road course renowned for top-tier racing series and many a turn by yours truly, in everything from lowly Dodge Neons and Ford Foci to Ferrari F430s and 612s. I’ve even taken to the track in Subaru’s WRX STI, so believe me when I say that nothing quite prepared me for a run over familiar ground in the Evo X MR.

The

The MR was brilliant on Laguna Seca too. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

first thing the Mitsubishi project staff recommended was to leave it in Drive and forget about the paddles, to which my eyebrows furrowed and I began to question why any automaker could be so mischievously teasing as to include the most tempting of magnesium paddles without need, but I complied. Then, a flick of the lower console-mounted switch to “S-Sport” mode was needed, and a quick check to see that the all-wheel drive system’s S-AWC toggle was set to its default, “Tarmac”. S-Sport or Super-Sport, which is engaged by slotting the transmission into Park and holding the switch for three seconds, is one of three transmission settings. Default is “Normal” and “Sport” will hold a given gear to optimized performance while upshifting or downshifting to, once again, maximize performance. S-Sport takes it a notch further up the performance scale with extremely fast gear changes that can produce some pretty serious shift shock.

Out

On Tremblant, heading down the straight. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

of the pits the engine percolated at high revs, the transmission holding its gear automatically, a precursor of things to come I would soon find out. But there are a lot of “smart” transmissions these days, both torque-converted automatics and dual-clutch sequential manuals, like this one, that will hold a gear to redline before shifting. The MR’s is unique in that, if left to its own devices, it will transform your driving skill from novice or intermediate to pro in a millisecond.

Heading down the first hill, into a quick set of tight curves and then onto a fast sweeper I immediately noticed an alerted call to action, the gearbox taking no time to shift between gears. But it wasn’t until I sped down a mind-numbingly quick stretch of pavement with a soul-stirring off-camber right followed by an equally spine-tingling fast-paced left that heads onto a wickedly high-speed straight,

Serious braking power by Brembo! (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

if you get the corners right, that I noticed how brilliant this little transmission is. Reaching speeds in excess of 170 km/h, I came down hard on the dinner-plate sized Brembo brakes for a near double-back right that heads onto the track’s kinked back straight, a corner that requires lower speeds so as not to cook it going in and get the line wrong on exit. Hitting the brakes hard caused the transmission to downshift  in such rapid succession that I felt like I was in a previous-generation F1 car… you know, the ones that did pretty well everything for the driver but steer? So quick were the shifts and so beautifully matched to the revs of the engine that it was pure mechanical nirvana, a dream of engineering precision come true, and clearly the best of its type that I’ve ever tested.

It

Choose your road surface and the all-wheel drive system will work its magic accordingly. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

would be a shame if it wasn’t mated to a drivetrain of equal capability, but no such worries with the Evo X. The aforementioned all-wheel drive system might just be the most advanced of its type available too, with three modes for automatically configuring power delivery, from “Tarmac” to “Gravel” to “Snow” they’re all ideally suited to a given road surface. More so, the old AWC system has been improved and aptly named S-AWC, whereas the old MR’s Active Center Differential (ACD), which disconnects the four-wheel drive system momentarily when pivoting around really tight corners so as to reduce tire chatter that comes from the outside wheels rotating at a faster rate than the inside ones, is now available across the Evo X lineup. The all-wheel drive system also includes an Active Yaw Control differential (S-AYC), which distributes torque from side to side to complement front and rear distribution for superb grip no matter the situation.

The

Fabulous seats in an otherwise lackluster interior. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

previously mentioned Brembo brakes are managed by four-piston calipers up front and a twin-piston arrangement in back, with a larger swept area than the previous Evo IX, while the MR gets special two-piece rotors for reduced weight and better performance through better heat dissipation. The result is the ability to repeatedly get hard on the brakes without noticeable fade, critically important when approaching hairpin corners as quickly as I was doing on the Tremblant track, and then later last April during a romp around Laguna Seca where the elevation changes from the top of the corkscrew to the turn into the front straight will tax any braking system if really pushing it… heh, which I did of course.

The same appreciation was felt on the road a few weeks ago, and maybe more

Lots of hard plastic, but the metal bits and pieces are nicely done. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

so being that no runoff area was available to save me if I got the car out of shape. I recently took an Evo X MR to a favourite local haunt in the wee hours of the morning and let loose, waking up raccoons and deer as I sped up and over the densely forested mountain. Unlike the ultra-smooth track, the road’s surface is totally and completely uneven, with large bumps, seriously deep dips and some parts that feel like the road-bed has completely eroded away, making for some exciting moments of extreme motorsport. The Evo X MR, of course, handled it all with such grace and composure that I was left speechless.

It’s a car that will leave some speechless merely from aesthetics too. I love it, the numerous ducts, ground effects, rear diffuser and wing only adding to what is already

Promise yourself that you'll try an Evo X MR on for size before you spend $50K for something else. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press)

a very attractive compact Lancer sedan. The hood ducts are functional, of course, one to force air in and two to expel air from the engine compartment, while all aero add-ons are purely designed to keep the Evo X planted firmly to the ground at high speed.

My only complaint remains an interior that is substandard with respect to plastics and switchgear, although the Rockford Fosgate audio system is exceptionally good.

Such minor negatives aside, the Evo X MR is high on my personal wish list, and at $47,498 it’s at least within reach. If you’re looking for a performance car that will embarrass Italian exotics while providing the practicality of a four-door sedan, look no further than the Evo X MR. This is one  superb little machine that’ll keep you feeling the love long after the honeymoon is over.

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Exterior

Mechanical

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(PP) Premium Paint Charge

(J005) Standard Gloss Paint

(P5) Handling Package