The Next Lancer Evo will be an Evo in name only, and the brand still has no clue what its doing

"LJ909" (lj909) 06/15/2017 at 17:18 • Filed to: None

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The next Lancer Evolution should be back in a few years. As early as 2020 or as late as 2023. But it wont be the STi/FoRS/Golf R competitor we all know and love. It’ll be, you guessed it, a variant of a fucking upcoming SUV. Mitsu COO Trevor Mann suggested this when he sat down with !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , saying it will be a variant of a high end SUV. To quote : “ In terms of the brand, I think it would be interesting to bring something back that’s a bit more sporty in the future . You’ll have to wait and see what that is.”

Mitsubishi seems to think that the key to its future is placing its bets on crossovers and that would seem to be the case. 60% of their sales are from crossovers, which looks good on paper until you consider that their entire lineup now is pretty much Outlander variants and the upcoming Eclipse Cross. Mann also seems to think that crossovers are where their strength lies. “ We’ve got to focus on SUVs because, one; it’s where our strength and heritage is, and, two; it’s where the market is going”. That may be the case, but again you cant really tout that as a strength considering that’s the only type of vehicle that they offer. Strangely, Mann also believes that the Pajero Sport is their current halo product. We don’t even get that here in the US.

Could Mitsubishi’s push into just crossovers pay off? It could if they play the market right, but they don’t seem to know what they want to do concerning the US market. Only time will tell.  

Lightsabre > LJ909 06/15/2017 at 17:23

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Please, Mitsubishi, keep the manual, turbo, and AWD. Don’t make the Evo into a Selfish Useless Vehicle (SUV) like the Eclipse.

LJ909 > Lightsabre 06/15/2017 at 17:24

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You know they wont. The market right now is all about high driving position and bland vanilla-ness. Besides, they haven’t done anything proper in years. The 90's their performance heyday, are long gone.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > LJ909 06/15/2017 at 17:29

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Kinda sad ... all that research and knowledge from making the Evo fast as hell, wasted.

awmaster10 > LJ909 06/15/2017 at 17:29

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If they bring the 4th gen pajero ill be happy. I think soccer moms would enjoy it as a budget Land Rover at explorer prices.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > LJ909 06/15/2017 at 17:29

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They won’t be in the US market by the time this rolls around anyway

LJ909 > awmaster10 06/15/2017 at 17:31

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My dad had one at the turn of the century. The 3rd gen. He acted as if it was some sort of Japanese Range Rover. My mom hated it because he drove fast and it had a high center of gravity. The one still on sale now is nothing but an evolutionary design of that one. Rugged as hell though.

Tripper > LJ909 06/15/2017 at 17:31

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This post made me do a quick search for Evo 8's and 9's. There are very few for sale.

LJ909 > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 06/15/2017 at 17:32

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Thats what I’m saying. The Nissan merge was nothing but a wasted life line to slow the bleeding of a dying brand. Not stop it.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > Tripper 06/15/2017 at 17:35

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There’s a solid two handfuls lf 8's and 9's in my neck of NJ. Oddly the local mitsu dealer has about 8 Evo x’s on their lot...

awmaster10 > LJ909 06/15/2017 at 17:36

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Well when the platform was launched in 2001, it WAS as good as a land rover and almost as good as a land cruiser. It remains mostly unchanged now so its outdated but still a great truck.

I look for a 3rd gen every time i shop for a new car but never find clean ones.

LJ909 > Tripper 06/15/2017 at 17:36

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Yea I did too. Its like it going out of production caused whatever ones that were for sale to be scooped up and other owners to hold on to them. I found 2 within 75 miles of me. Both IX’s and both 20 grand. But as I’ve said before, here in SoCal, used JDM car prices are stubbornly high. One of them has a few hundred miles off of 150 thousand miles and they still want 20 grand, and the other is offered for a dealership that is notoriously sketchy with JDM cars so their miles are never listed with them. But I suspect its over 10ok as well.

benjrblant > LJ909 06/15/2017 at 17:37

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I don’t remember the last time I saw a Mitsu dealership.

LJ909 > awmaster10 06/15/2017 at 17:37

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To me they seem to not have aged well here in the US used market.

Lightsabre > LJ909 06/15/2017 at 17:40

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I purchased a 5MT Evo from Mitsubishi brand new. I hope they will commit to the impossible and keep the Evo true to its soul. Or they will lose one (soon to be) hapless customer.

LJ909 > Lightsabre 06/15/2017 at 17:42

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That’s a clean ass Evo. Hang on to it for dear life and never let go, because you will be let down by them. They have no idea what they are doing. Case in point: just a year or so ago, there was rumors that the next Evo would be some sort of plug in hybrid performance car. Now its going to be just a badge on some crossover. Whatever car you might get next in the same vein of the Evo, it wont be coming from Mitsubishi.

gmctavish needs more space > LJ909 06/15/2017 at 17:47

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The Montero/Pajero isn’t long for this world either. From a 12 time Dakar winner, to a rebadged Nissan Patrol. At least that’s the plan last I heard.

Noah - Now with more boost. > LJ909 06/15/2017 at 17:47

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This could be brilliant marketing. Prior Evo ownership in your twenties + new family in 30s/40s + nostalgia and a turbo 4 = profit. I bet it’ll be a GLA competitor.

LJ909 > gmctavish needs more space 06/15/2017 at 17:48

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I hope thats not the case. The Patrol/Armada/QX80 is getting old now as it is, having been introduced in 2010.

LJ909 > Noah - Now with more boost. 06/15/2017 at 17:49

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If its a GLA competitor it might as well have just stayed a car. It’ll offer no benefit over a 4 door other than a slightly raised ride height.

gmctavish needs more space > LJ909 06/15/2017 at 17:52

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As I understand it, once the new Patrol/Armada is a thing, the current/ancient Montero/Pajero will die, and the next gen will be a rebadge of the Nissan. Probably a hybrid as well, which actually sounds like a good idea for a 4x4. It’s still disappointing to see the last of their fairly legendary names die off. Though it could be argued that the Montero has been dead for a while, I mean it’s basically only been refreshed since the 3rd gen.

Svend > awmaster10 06/15/2017 at 17:54

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These days I only see these as Highways Agency patrol cars or occasionally a motorway patrol police car (most are BMWs or Range Rovers).

Textured Soy Protein > gmctavish needs more space 06/15/2017 at 17:56

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Looking at the Mitsubishi Australia website, the Pajero appears to be the same basic vehicle as the 3rd gen Montero introduced to the US in 2001. Supposedly it’s a 4th generation now but I think it’s still the same basic structure.

LJ909 > gmctavish needs more space 06/15/2017 at 17:58

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That would make more sense. I don’t know why they don’t get more Nissan vehicles in their lineup to sale. it would be a good stop gap to get some sales in. But even then that’s not doing much considering how old a lot of Nissan’s lineup is itself. I just hope Mitsubishi isn’t just reviving old storied nameplates to get attention for bogus crossovers. The Eclipse Cross kind of proves that.

gmctavish needs more space > Textured Soy Protein 06/15/2017 at 18:02

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Yeah, the 3rd gen was the last big change to the Montero/Pajero. It’s still a good truck, but it’s really been around for a long time

gmctavish needs more space > LJ909 06/15/2017 at 18:03

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Yeah, that really seems to be all they’re doing. Disappointing

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > LJ909 06/15/2017 at 18:14

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It won’t be the first SUV to get the Evo treatment.

LJ909 > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock 06/15/2017 at 18:19

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Forgot about this. This actually worked for some strange reason though. If they did something like this now, it wouldn’t come across as cool.

Lightsabre > LJ909 06/15/2017 at 18:20

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Thank, brother, and that is the plan. I intend to keep servicing and rebuilding until the drivetrain becomes antiquated, then putting in a modern drivetrain and she will keep rolling. XD

Stef Schrader > gmctavish needs more space 06/15/2017 at 18:58

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everything is bad and terrible and ugh

gmctavish needs more space > Stef Schrader 06/15/2017 at 21:32

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Pretty much yeah

awmaster10 > Svend 06/15/2017 at 21:54

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That last one is pretty sweet. Needs a lift though to make the body look less blocky.

Svend > awmaster10 06/15/2017 at 23:09

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It is pitching to one side as it corners though.

They wouldn’t raise it though as they use them for responding to calls at speed, you wouldn’t want a sea sick police officer coming to help you.

They very rarely go anywhere near off road.

We’ve got these, for use off road,

Even the BMW X5s don’t go off road much, they are primarily armed response cars.