- Doors and Seats
2 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
1.5i, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
69kW, 126Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 5.7L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Manual
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
Mitsubishi Lancer Coupe
Young knights like Lancer a lot
Ask a group of younger, first-time car buyers to name their first choice in wheels and you will probably find that a large percentage of them will name a particular make and model.
And that car would be the Mitsubishi Lancer Coupe. While the allure of the Lancer Coupe might be a bit difficult to identify at first, the car does fulfil the prerequisites of many a younger car owner.
For a start, the two-door Lancer has the look that a lot of buyers fancy. It may not be as practical as traditional hatchbacks but it's certainly better looking than some of them (in a conservative way).
Second, the car has a good reputation for reliability and its performance doesn't scare parents or insurance companies too badly.
Equally important, the Lancer Coupe in its most basic form is a cheaper alternative than other Lancers. The other good news is that a Lancer Coupe that is 10 years old, doesn't really look vastly different to a much younger example, so there's a broad spread of price points at which to start shopping.
The most basic of the Lancer Coupes of the last decade is the GLi in CE form (the CE replaced the CC in 1996).
GLi specification delivered a 1.5-litre engine which used a single overhead camshaft, three valves per cylinder and a not-so-special 69 kW of power.
A four-speed automatic was optional but the conventional five-speed manual was better to drive as it made the most of the relatively meagre output. Standard equipment ran to cloth trim, a very basic stereo and not a whole lot else. You definitely had to wind your own windows and air-conditioning didn't become standard until May 1999. Central locking became standard in 2001 and a driver's airbag in the same year.
The other good news in 2001 was a bigger, more powerful engine option. The 1.8-litre motor used the same single overhead camshaft but four valves per cylinder and a much more useful 86 kW (not to mention a fair bit more torque).
It meant that the automatic option was suddenly a lot more viable and since it's not much more expensive these days (typically a few hundred dollars more), it's well worth seeking out, especially if you favour an automatic transmission.
The GLXi was the next step up the ladder and had the bigger motor as standard, air-conditioning, power mirrors and a tachometer. While the GLi continued right through to the current model, the GLXi petered out in 2001.
It was all because Mitsubishi worked out that the cheaper it could sell the coupe, the more it could sell, so the base model was the one that continued.
The counterpoint for those with a bit more to spend was the MR Coupe which commanded something like a $7000 premium when new. Even in the late 1990s, when the GLi was a stripped-out poverty-pack, the MR had a body kit, body-coloured mirrors, alloy wheels, air-conditioning and a CD player.
Dual front airbags became standard on the MR in late 2001 and there were even neat touches such as fog lights.
The bigger engine was standard but it wasn't really a huge leap forward. Certainly, it wasn't significantly better to drive than lesser Lancer Coupes with the 1.8-litre motor, so it remains very debatable as to whether it's worth the extra money for most buyers.
And, of course, even in MR trim, the MR was not an especially luxurious or well equipped vehicle, so if those elements are important you might want to be looking elsewhere.
Actually, that's a real theme when it comes to Lancer Coupes and they can feel pretty spartan inside, with lots of plain, grey plastic and cheap feeling carpets and trim.
Build quality seemed to vary quite a bit, too, and while one car might be tight and rattle-free, another of the same model and mileage can feel a lot looser. With that in mind, you need to approach each potential purchase on its own particular merits.
To be brutally honest, there are better cars out there for similar money and the origins of its popularity among young people are hard to pin down. But as anybody who has ever tried to understand a teenager will tell you, that in itself is nothing new.
Need to know
- Mitsubishi engines will not tolerate being run on dirty oil. Skipped oil changes shorten an engine's life and the Lancer's engine is particularly susceptible. Listen for noisy valve-lash adjusters, the first sign of wear.
- Some previous owners will have missed the fact that the Lancer Coupe is not, in fact, a high-performance car. Hard-driven examples are the result.
- Be wary of a car with lots of modifications. Even a bigger tailpipe can have major ramifications for the insurability of younger owners.
- Cars with modified engines will almost certainly have been thrashed, so give them a wide berth.
What to pay
Model | Year | New | Now |
GLi | 1998 | $19,730 | $9600 |
GLi | 1999 | $20,230 | $10,700 |
GLi | 2000 | $19,570 | $11,900 |
GLXi | 1998 | $23,230 | $10,800 |
GLXi | 1999 | $23,230 | $12,000 |
GLXi | 2000 | $22,430 | $13,300 |
MR | 1998 | $25,730 | $11,900 |
MR | 1999 | $26,490 | $13,200 |
MR | 2000 | $25,560 | $14,600 |
Source: Glass's Guide