Aspiring To Lur The Big-car Buyers

The Age

Saturday September 20, 2008

Ian Porter

Mitsubishi is bridging the gap between its Lancer and six-cylinder cars, says Ian Porter.

MITSUBISHI thinks it has the solution for modern motorists seeking smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. But it's done this by introducing a bigger, more powerful and thirstier engine to its small-car range.

Madness? Not so, the company says.

Mitsubishi is slotting the 125 kW/ 226 Nm 2.4-litre petrol engine from the Outlander soft-roader under the bonnet of its best-selling car, the Lancer, in two variants.

First, it has been installed in the VRX model to further separate it from the lesser 2.0-litre Lancers.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, it has been installed in a new premium model called the "Aspire", which is based on the VRX model and is unique to Australia.

The Aspire has been concocted out of the Mitsubishi parts bin to help bridge the gap between the Lancer and the large Aussie six-cylinder cars, which have been losing market share as buyers look to smaller, more efficient cars.

Mitsubishi does not have a medium car such as a Camry or a Mazda6 (or a large sedan for that matter, following the demise of the 380 in March).

The company's product planner, Chris Maxted, argues the 2.4-litre Aspire will appeal to largecar buyers looking to cut fuel consumption, rather than signalling the company entering a power race."

This is a strategic car to capture people who are coming from a lot-more-powerful car," he said in Melbourne this week."

They still want a little performance, but fuel economy as well."

He quoted company research that indicated 19% of small-car buyers were coming out of large cars and 13% from medium cars. It was these buyers the Aspire was aimed at.

At $33,990, the Aspire is now the top-spec Lancer money can buy - with the exception of the $56,900-plus rally-bred, turbocharged Evolution X mean-machine (see adjacent story).

In the Aspire, the bigger 2.4-litre engine is allied to a CVT (constantly variable transmission) only; a manual is not part of the equation. Inside, the Aspire gets the luxury treatment, with leather interior standard, and the plastic trims have been redone to provide a greater sense of opulence.

Think of the Aspire as a luxury VRX without the sports kit: it does without the VRX's alloy pedals and boot spoiler in the quest for a more sophisticated air, Mitsubishi says.

Meanwhile, the VRX gets the 2.4-litre engine allied to a choice of the CVT or five-speed manual.

In this context, Mr Maxted argues, the 2.4-litre motor is actually a smaller engine - smaller than the 3.6-litre and 4.0-litre engines in the cars the target buyers are driving now."

What we are trying to do is get people with bigger engines to come down to Lancer. But you can't take them down too far (to 2.0-litre engines) because they will reject them."

The 2.4-litre engine uses more fuel than a 2.0-litre Lancer (8.5 L against 8.3 L/100 km), albeit only a small increment.

(However, at 8.3 L, the 2.0-litre car is one of the thirstier small cars.) Despite this, Mr Maxted was confident that the Aspire's 8.5 L/100 km economy will look good to people more used to consumption of about 12 L/100 km, and more, from large cars.

And, just to make sure downsizing buyers notice the arrival of the Aspire, Mitsubishi has decided to throw in its multi-communication system that comprises audio system, satellite navigation, Bluetooth telephone connectivity and iPod integration, which allows the iPod to be plugged into a socket in the glovebox and operated via the car's touch screen.

The MCS system usually costs $2400 but will be available as a no-cost option on the Aspire for three months from now.

The Aspire also gets the full slate of safety features (seven airbags and stability control), smart key entry, rain-sensing wipers and dusk-sensing projector-style headlights.

The addition of the Aspire model is part of a major revamp of the Lancer range for the 2009 model year, a revamp that includes the long-awaited hatchback version of the Lancer.

Up to now, Mitsubishi has only had the sedan version of the Lancer to sell, and Mr Maxted said this meant Mitsubishi was really only competing in half the small-car market, which splits evenly between sedans and hatchbacks.

He said the addition of the hatchback models would broaden the Lancer's appeal, although worldwide demand for the small Mitsubishi meant that supplies would be constrained until production increases come on stream early next year.

The 2.4-litre models and the hatchbacks will complete a massive expansion of the Lancer range.

The Lancer started 2008 with just three models, spanning a price range from $20,990 to $28,990.

The releases of the Evo X and the Aspire, plus the imminent arrival of three hatchback versions (ES, VR and VRX) plus two Ralliart four-wheel-drive sports models (sedan and hatchback) will swell the range to 10 models. The station wagon has been discontinued.

The plethora of models makes the Lancer Mitsubishi's answer to almost everything, spanning a price range all the way from an unchanged $20,990 for the manual ES model to $70,875 for the Evo X MR SST.

Some prices in the range have risen due to higher raw material and steel costs. The rises vary from $200 to $800 but Mr Maxted believes the Lancer's strong equipment levels across the range would still leave the cars with an edge over their small-car and larger rivals.

The release of the Aspire and the hatchback versions of the Lancer are only part of the company's product expansion.

Coming in the next few months are revisions of the Outlander and the bigger offroader, the Pajero, and a "pimped" Triton ute.

Mr Maxted hopes the swag of new models will help Mitsubishi reverse three years of multimillion-dollar losses in Australia.

© 2008 The Age

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