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2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Sporty Compact Performance Hatchback Sedan

New Car Review of the 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Sporty Compact Performance Hatchback Sedan

Description: Sporty Compact Performance Hatchback Sedan
Base MSRP Range: up to $30,949
Invoice Price Range: up to $32,733
Where built: Japan

Consider Lancer Evolution the sum of all performance technologies developed by Mitsubishi's trophy-grabbing World Rally Championship (WRC) racing campaign. It's a high-performance version of the Lancer compact sedan but motivated by a souped-up turbo engine and equipped with all-wheel-drive (AWD) traction.

Nicknamed 'Evo' in rally racing circles, the sport sedan wears a bulging air scoop on the hood, pontoon-style fenders, high-strength alloy wheels, a carbon-fiber spoiler on the tail and the cockpit fitted with bolstered Recaro sport bucket seats, leather-wrapped Momo steering wheel and rally-style gauges. Big Brembo brand ventilated disc brakes at all wheels tie to four-channel ABS.

But the heart of Evo is its power-pumping engine. The 2.0-liter four-in-line -- turbo-charged and inter-cooled -- serves up 276-hp this year due to a larger diameter for the turbo nozzle. A front limited-slip and electronic center differential are new for all trims -- RS, VIII and MR. The latter dons a larger turbo for more power, a 6-speed close-ratio manual transmission, BBS forged alloy wheels, fast-response Bilstein shocks and an aluminum roof that lowers the center of gravity.