NEW CARS - MISTUBISHI LANCER GTi

Lost for words

Open the door of the latest Mitsubishi Lancer range; it’s like peering into the late 1970s. Lashings of nondescript cloth trim, a plastic facia packed with buttons. . .

Anonymity turned into an art form. But dated as it may look, and feel, the undersung, and understated, Lancer remains fair value for money, though at just under £16,000 the range-topping 1800 16v GTi is probably a fraction too much, despite its welter of electronically-powered driver aids. Its performance is adequate (the dohc, 16v four-cylinder yields 138 bhp at an altitudinous 6500 rpm, and a top speed of 127 mph), but not remarkable.

Import restrictions have necessitated the deletion from the UK range of the four-door model, leaving only the Liftback, which manages to look like a saloon despite its hatchback.

Most cars stir some degree of emotion, positive or otherwise. The Lancer somehow doesn’t. There is no adjective which encapsulates its ordinariness. You can’t fault anything it does, not can you fall in love with it. User-friendly though it may be, it is just a trifle too bland. A function, rather than an inspiration. S A