The Lancer is always known for being the first so called 'luxury' car in India. It was then a prestige symbol. But times have changed. The Honda City has come, CRDis have come, the Corollas, Octavias and Elantras are here. Now the Lancer amounts to almost nothing. The Lancer sold in India is an outdated model. HM is going back in time instead of moving forward.
Now lets get to the point. With fresh rivals, the Lancer isn't any longer the king. It is mostly conventional. But HM is trying to induce some life into it with new variants, features, etc. But all in all, it is the same old wine. So how does the former 'king' in the Indian market fare in 'modern' times? It doesn't look like its going to fare very well...'
Aesthetics- As I already mentioned, the Lancer is outdated. And that is evident from its styling. The front is very plain and there is nothing special there. Rectangular multi-reflector headlamps and a boring grille makes it look boring, but acceptable. The side view is again not very special. The alloys are fine, and the styling is just okay, but everything is the same conventional styling. The rear has those tail lamps which are somewhat special(ish), but that doesn't make it very good looking.
Again, just okay. But if you are going to add a spoiler then the rear is going to look very much sporty. So the verdict on the design is that it is outright plain, with nothing unique. But by adding after market alloys, spoilers and side skirts, you can enhance its looks to a great extent. With good quality build, and above average fit and finish, quality is good.
Comfort- The interior is fairly roomy at the front. The seats are quite comfortable, and with leather as an option, it can get even more so. The instrument panel looks okay, but the dashboard doesn't look very inspiring. The design is again boring, but quality is good. Plastics and upholstery is all of good quality and finish. The steering is grippy. The air con is quite effective even in hot conditions. At the rear, the Lancer provides decent legroom. The seats aren't very well designed though. Under thigh support is missing. Two people can be seated at the rear in good comfort, but for a third person you will have to be a little stuffed.
Now the features. You do get an in dash CD player as an option, and electric power windows are standard (I think). So on the whole, the comfort is good, and quality is good, then again, the design is not great. But the average person will be satisfied by the Lancer's comfort levels.
Performance- First the powerplant. There is an option of two petrol engines and one diesel engine. I'm going to god into details on the 1.8 liter petrol. The engine is not underpowered, like the 1.5 liter engine, with 125 bhp on tap. It is refined enough, though not as much so as the City. The power is spread fairly evenly throughout the rev range, so driveability won't be a problem. The Invex has a tiptronic gearbox (clutchless manual gearshifts), which is a huge advantage. More on that later.
The Lancer is usually known for its driver friendly nature. The engine is peppy, and you won't find yourself asking for more power. The pickup is good, and it accelerates with confidence to hit 60 km/h in 5 seconds. The gearshifting (in manual mode) is notchy, but fine. In the city, where the car is subject to stop go conditions, the Lancer will help you relieve the strain with its clutchless shifts. So no more leg pain.
If you are looking for outright performance, the Lancer won't disappoint. 100 km/h comes in less than 11 seconds, which is fairly decent. The top speed which it manages, is a good 180 km/h. But the problem here is, that even thought the Lancer is good, its competitors are as good, or better.
The ride quality is decent, and it swallows small irregularities easily. But at low speeds, they make their presence felt. At high speeds, no probs. The handling goes in tune with the fun driving. The monocoque is well sorted out, and it handles steep corners very well. It is a lot of fun to drive, and is more of a driver's car than the City 1.5. But it will have to look out for the 1.6 vtec...
Running costs, service backup- The petrol engine has decent fuel economy. In hard city conditions, it returns an average average of 8 km/l. On the open road, this improves to 12-13 km/l even if pressed for performance. A final figure of 11 km/l won't disappoint customers. It is on par with the class. Now to service. I haven't personally experienced it, but this is from friends, mags, and other sources. Spare parts will be easily available, but they will be a little expensive. The HM service isn't great. It would be rather towards the lower side of average, than above it. But HM has a good dealer network, so you can be sure of backup.
Competitors- The Lancer is placed between the C-segment cars and the entry D segment cars. The 1.8 Invex will compete against the Optra, City, Elantra and maybe the Corolla. If you compare the 5, you will find that the Corolla is the best driver's car, Elantra and Optra VFM and City as the most practical and best city car. The Lancer doesn't have any USP and that is sure to affect it. All its competitors beat it on the whole, if you take style, comfort and performance into mind. But if you want tiptronic and a driver's car, you will find the Lancer just about okay.
VERDICT- In no way the 'king' that it formerly was. It has nothing special, that is the most major con. If you look at the style, quality, comfort, economy and performance, then you will find that there isn't any big con; but the problem is that there isn't any major pro either. I don't think the Lancer is a good buy for any particular reason, though it is an average car ovarall. The City is still the best buy in the C segment and the Corolla in the D segment. Even in the middle, the Optra is better than the Lancer. HM is not bringing in the new Lancer, and I dislike them for this.
It is my sincere advice to all readers, that they don't buy the Lancer, unless they really really like it. At 9-10 lakh rupees, it is also expensive. This is how the 'first luxury car in India' goes... FLOP!
STYLING-7.5/10
BUILD-9/10
FIT AND FINISH-9/10
INTERIOR-8/10
ENGINE-8.5/10
PERFIRMANCE-9/10
RIDE-8.5/10
HANDLING-9/10
FUEL ECONOMY-8.5/10
VALUE FOR MONEY-6/10
OVERALL- 83/100
Please leave your comments.
