Set aside TTAC’s Midsize Sedan Deathwatch for a moment to mourn the passing of a compact car: the Mitsubishi Lancer.
Motor1 reports production of the Lancer will end in August 2017. There will be no replacement.
Mitsubishi vacated the midsize segment four years ago in the service of providing evidence — along with the defunct Dodge Avenger, Chrysler 200, and Suzuki Kizashi — to support TTAC’s Midsize Sedan Deathwatch. Mitsubishi’s overall U.S. sales volume hasn’t suffered as a result. 2016 was the brand’s fourth consecutive year of improved sales in America.
With plans to bolster its crossover lineup, it now appears Mitsubishi’s U.S. dealers won’t suffer greatly from the loss of the increasingly low-volume Lancer, either — at least, not relative to the recent past.
In an age of less costly fuel and discounted midsize cars, it’s easy to blame the gradual decline of small cars in general for the Mitsubishi Lancer’s disappearance.
Perhaps too easy.
While the U.S. passenger car market slid 9 percent in 2016, a near-700,000-unit drop from 2015 even as the auto industry set records, compact car sales were down just 5 percent. The Lancer’s Japanese-brand competitors, which together own 55 percent of America’s compact car market, collectively increased 3 percent.
In other words, small cars can be sold in America in 2017. But evidently, it’s not easy to sell a small car, initially launched for the 2002 model year, that hasn’t been thoroughly revamped since 2007.
Of course, we knew North America’s second-generation Lancer, which you’ll recall is essentially a successor to the Mirage before the Mirage returned as Mitsubishi’s sub-Lancer model, would eventually die. Mitsubishi couldn’t build this antiquated compact forever.
The Lancer Sportback fled the U.S. market at the end of its 2014 model year. Lauded by the enthusiast press, the Lancer Evolution was cancelled after the 2015 model year, though more than 100 Evos languish on dealer lots, according to Cars.com inventory.
Moreover, Mitsubishi’s CEO more than one year ago quite strongly indicated that midsize and compact cars weren’t part of the automaker’s future plans.
The Lancer’s death is all the more official now that Don Swearingen, executive vice president of Mitsubishi’s North American operations, told Motor1 the Lancer’s run ends for good this year. The brand will focus its car portfolio on the Mirage instead. Yes, that Mirage, which according to Swearingen, “our customers love.”
Having long since realized there’s no suitable partner to supply a Galant replacement, and even now with Renault-Nissan’s stake in Mitsubishi clearly not providing a suitable compact partner, Mitsubishi turns to small crossovers instead. The aging Outlander and Outlander Sport already account for more than six out of every ten Mitsubishi sales in America.
Replacements will presumably draw on a legion of utility vehicle concepts revealed over the last half-decade: AR, GC-PHEV, HR-PHEV, HR-PHEV II, eX, and GT-PHEV.
Mitsubishi, of course, hasn’t always been quick off the draw in the crossover sphere. Promising a turbocharged, compact CUV in 2018 that “will be the best vehicle Mitsubishi has ever produced,” we’re reminded that Mitsubishi has routinely promised the North American arrival of the Outlander Plug-In Hybrid and failed to deliver.
As for the Lancer, nearly 70,000 of which were sold in 2002, its first full year in the U.S., yet sales have declined in 10 of the last 14 years. Lancer sales plunged by two-thirds between 2002 and 2006, when the Lancer last approached a replacement phase. In 2016, Lancer sales in the U.S. were 79-percent lower than in 2002; 54-percent lower than in 2007. Last year, Mitsubishi sold one Lancer for every 26 Honda Civics, one Lancer for every 15 Nissan Sentras, one Lancer for every three copies of the defunct Dodge Dart.
The availability of all-wheel drive apparently does the Lancer no favours. Combined city/highway fuel economy maxes out at 30 miles per gallon: the Civic and Elantra both reach 35 mpg. In a review of an all-wheel-drive 2017 model, Car And Driver complained about the engine, transmission, steering, non-telescoping steering column, seats, trunk, and interior materials, “as if Mitsubishi is sourcing its plastics from a couple of decades ago.”
Unloved and unpopular, the Mitsubishi Lancer clearly deserves to die. In the past, this kind of death in the family prompted many to question Mitsubishi Motors’ future.
In 2017, however, Nissan’s investment in the firm limits questions regarding the overall brand’s viability.
But a budget-priced brand that offers two small crossovers and one Chevrolet Spark-fighting small car isn’t exactly smack dab in the middle of the mainstream, either.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.
Pour one out…
Alas Lancer, we hardly knew ye.
To the contrary, fair Lancer, we knew thou all too well. Nearly a decade on the market provides ample opportunity to form an opinion.
It’s a (minor) shame, too, because it remains a crisp and attractive design for those who aren’t fans of modern styling trends. If only a better and more desirable company had built it.
Yep, on a whim I checked one out when I bought my Jetta back in November. I actually dig the styling but man…it’s about two generations behind when it comes to interior styling and build quality. And deadly dull to drive.
Good article, although Tim I still think you oversell the whole midsize death watch. You cite Mitsubishi dropping out of that segment four years ago as evidence for the deathwatch. Yet you haven’t started a compact car deathwatch based on the same logic of Mitsubishi dropping out of this segment. The key thing happening in the midsize market is consolidation. Most segments don’t have >10 entries (such as minivans, trucks, muscle cars, large cars). There has been a shift to CUVs but midsize sedans still sell millions and will continue to do so for many years.
So long as midsize cars keep dying off, TTAC is going to watch them die.
I would expect the Legacy to be next. Killing it would free up space at SIA for more Outbacks, which Subaru can’t seem to make enough of.
Actually sales of the Legacy have been improving year-over-year since 2010, up around 8% for 2016. You might be thinking of the Mazda 6 which is fading far into irrelevance (down around 20% for 2016) and should be deleted to make room for more Mazda CX-3 production.
Legacys (Legacies?) often go into dealer rental fleets while Outbacks get sold to customers at top dollar. I’d be interested to see the fleet breakdown for the Legacy.
The Mazda 6 is fun to drive and is available with a manual transmission, two things the Legacy is not. But I agree that it’s not long for this world. I can’t recall the last time I saw a third generation one on the road.
The Legacy, 6 and Passat are the laggards but none of them will be scrapped in the next 5 years. Take the 6 – it sells well in other markets and shares platform, engine etc with the CX5 and 3 so plenty of volume. A new 6 will debut next year by all accounts so that puts its presence to rest for a while (djsyndrome). Subaru will persist with the Legacy as well.
The examples given of the Suzuki, Chrysler and Mitsubishi are all well established to why they went away. In Suzuki and Mitsubishi’s cases it wasn`t specific to the midsize market.
Sales may still fall in an absolute % way but it is a massive market segment.
The Mazda6 is manufactured off the same platform as the 3, so the marginal investment isn’t all that high.
The segment isn’t dying…it’s just biding time.
Wait ’til the next recession and you’ll see midsizes come back. Any manufacturer that forgets this kind of car because crossovers are the thing now (I’m looking at you, FCA) is a fool. The minute money gets tight, folks are going to think twice about grossly overpaying for a CUV.
Came here to say the same thing. Markets ebb and flow. I’m sure the SUV-craze of the ’90s would’ve had TTAC-style articles published along the lines of the “Sedan Death Watch” if the Internet was as widely-used then as it is now.
Mazda invests very little into the tooling of the 6 since its underpinnings are found under the 3 and the CX-5 (the brand’s best selling model). I highly doubt they’ll cancel it. It has sold less in years of its second generation (2009-2012) than it is now and here it is, still hanging on and disappointing the TTAC death watchers.
CUV’s are here to stay. AWD, ride height and room, mileage not too bad either
Dan Neil won’t miss it.
If Mitsu had managed to sell the Lancer for the cost of their Mirage, it would have been a decent seller. It was old and outdated, but at a $12,000 price point, no one would have cared.
Not sure what Mitsu’s plans are, but I’m guessing selling vehicles in the US isn’t part of their long-term strategy. They will likely fold up shop and focus on China and other emerging markets with small, cheap cars and crossovers that compete with TaTa and Dacia.
Please don’t put “Here’s Why” in your article titles. It’s redundant and smacks of clickbait sites.
Edited to add: A 2002 Lancer O-Z was my last new car purchase. With only 120hp it had barely adequate performance, but at the time I was more concerned with how the car looked. It doesn’t look like they improved the model by any measure since then.
“Please don’t put “Here’s Why” in your article titles. It’s redundant and smacks of clickbait sites.”
Seconded.
I assume that when I click on a headline the associated article will further explain it. The “Here’s Why” is implied.
Yeah, asking why the Lancer got s**tcanned is like a story called “No one wants to go out with Roseanne Barr. Here’s why.”
The answer is evident to anyone with a brain and functioning eyes.
I’m going to leave a comment agreeing with you, here’s why
I agree with your agreement. Here’s Why!
I’ve been intrigued by the Ralliart, but have always been shocked by the price tags for used ones.
The current generation of Lancer went on sale in March 2007.
Here’s some other things of note from 2007.
Bush was 3/4 through his second term as president when it hit showrooms.
Apple introduced the first iPhone that year.
The first Transformers movie came out that summer.
The VA Tech massacre happened in April.
MySpace was the most visited social network website.
Colin McRea and Anna Nichole Smith passed away.
I saw a “Rally Art” for sale the other day. Pretty sad when even the owner has no clue what they drive.
Probably replaced it with a Corolla.
I hear he is starting to make some money now, and traded that Rally Art for a Kompressor.
Yep the performance models hold their value below that not so much.
“I’ve been intrigued by the Ralliart, but have always been shocked by the price tags for used ones.”
They were ridiculously overpriced new as well.
I’m guessing the used values have something to do with Ralliarts being sold as Evo-lites. Or maybe they can be tuned into Evos, or something like that.
Not sure many knew the Lancer was still alive. Is this really news?
Yes, same here. EVERYTIME the Ford Expedition is mentioned in an article, there is always someone saying “they still make those?” even though I see the newer model on the road all the time (easy to spot the updated front and rear facia, the EcoBoost badge, and the whistle of the Turbos). I bet if you asked those people if Toyota still makes the Sequoia, it’d be “oh yes, I see them all the time” even though they sell far worse than the Expedition. The last time on the Ace of Base, the Flex was mentioned immediately after the statement questioning the Expedition still being in production, a vehicle that sells less than half the volume. That totally makes sense.
With the Lancer, I genuinely thought it was already out of production. I can’t remember when I last saw one I recognized as new or nearly so. I see the Mirage often, saw one yesterday. But a Lancer?
EDIT:
looked at GCBC, Expedition was the 37th most popular SUV (inc. crossovers). Sounds bad until you consider the Sequoia is 80th.
” (easy to spot the updated front and rear facia, the EcoBoost badge, and the whistle of the Turbos)”
You realize how insignificant most of these details that stick out to some car guys like you and me really are to most people?
They still make the Sequoia? :p
37th most popular is still dreadfully unpopular, especially for a car that used to be seen everywhere. Every automaker has a car (or five) that people don’t see very often. It’s no big deal.
Bummer. I rented one in San Juan PR on our honeymoon and liked it a lot. A fine car and I liked the styling to boot. It was probably the only Mitsubishi product that I’d consider buying.
I’m with you. Nice looking car. Of course I would have wanted a significant discount to even consider something like that.
I’m actually surprised they still made it. I thought it died with the other Flat Rock cars for some reason.
Also, that interior dash shot could be of a 2008. I’m serious…
http://consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/08808151990003.jpg
No one will miss this thing.
I will say a bright spot in an otherwise questionable history was – no, not the EVO XVIIIMCMXIV that everyone wants but can’t afford and is all drivetrain with a near-literal garbage can interior – but the ’04 Lancer Sportback wagon. I just sold one the other day I picked up for $2200 w/102k.
-Peppy Ralliart 2.4l MIVEC
-Surprisingly European and upscale rear quarter looks
-Lots of room
-Standard power pkg w/cruise
-Decent ground clearance and fatter tires for a smooth ride and ability to actually drive, uh, robustly.
That was my one and only favorite Lancer iteration.
I agree with @FlyBrian’s comments. Not so keen on the front end styling but other than that wonder why it was not viewed seriously by more as competition to the VW wagon or the Elantra Touring.
There is a ‘newer’ version Sportback on our street and it appears to be more of a hatch than a small wagon.
Imagine the ’04 Sportback with AWD. Subaru competitor all day long.
Are these cars super reliable at least? Since the design has been out so long my assumption would be that they are. I think that is now the case with some of their CUVs. I actually like the look of the car, if it was reliable I would pick one up as a commuter. The resale value on them is nothing so would be cheap to get one.
Mitsubishi has never made good long-term vehicles. They tend to have very expensive issues. I see fairly new ones (less than 10 y/o) being dumped on craigslist all the time.
You’d be better off in a Cruze Limited, Focus with a manual trans, or a Civic.
Just because something is in production for a long time does not mean it’ll be reliable.
A Uk magazine once named the last gen lancer the most reliable car of the 2000’s. Consumer reports data and LTQ index data seem to show them mostly slightly above average reliability wise. I have been following the forums as I have shopped some 2.4 lancers they don;t seem to have bee many issues really. In general it seems Mitsubishi’s built after 2003 or so have had much better reliability then the 90’s models.
“Mitsubishi has never made good long-term vehicles.”
Tell that to owners of gen II Monteros.
“They tend to have very expensive issues.”
What are these issues?
“I see fairly new ones (less than 10 y/o) being dumped on craigslist all the time.”
I see all sorts of less than 10 year old cars for sale on CL, what’s your point?
US-Made Mitsubishis are garbage. Montero Sports are likewise junk.
You think build quality on a ’99 Grand Am was bad? Drive a 2011 Endeavor. At least the Pontiac has some charm.
Flybrian, I’d take a rust free Montero Sport over a lot of other vehicles. A slightly worse built 4Runner in a way. Available with locking rear diffs, very stout offroad hardware. Engines like to leak oil but pretty easily repaired, as well as burning some past the valve seals (also not a terribly complex job). The problem is that they seem to attract slob-owners like flys to s*ht and most are beyond used up by this point.
Some Mitsubishi’s have issues no doubt but the non evo and ralliart lancer’s are fairly reliable. Most of the data seems to show them as average or a little above. It’s not a corolla but it will likely be as good as a cruze reliability wise. Combine that with low resale value and they make a good used buy. I will mention parts tend to be more expensive, but your still below euro parts levels.
Yes parts for Mitsus can definitely be a problem (expensive OEM and few decent aftermarket options). Part of the reason I was dissuaded from pursuing Montero Limiteds.
I miss my recently-departed 2004 Sportback Ralliart. The only thing I wish it would have had was a manual trans. I liked the fact that I rarely saw another Sportback, much less Ralliart, for the seven years I owned it. Practical and fun, it was a great car (for me, at least). But small wagons don’t sell, so not surprised they only offered it for one year.
I test drove a 2004 Sportback Ralliart when they were new. Would have bought it, but alas, automatic only. An available stick shift would have made me pull the trigger.
I’ve never seen a non-Ralliart Sportback wagon. It’s rare to see one that isn’t yellow. I still see 2-4 a day. They had to have been sold for more than one year in Canada.
I almost bought a silver LS wagon earlier this year, 115k miles, rust free Cali car in need of some catch-up maintenance for $2900. Still kind of mad about getting that one bought out from under me. Mitsubishis are kind of odd in that their 2.4L needed 60k t-belt changes long after most others went to 90-105k.
So much for a Lancer Evolution XI.
Don’t worry, be on the look out for the Mirage Evolution.
I hear it’ll have *****FOUR CYLINDERS*****.
Whoa, mama!
I have a thing for these so I’m a little sad. I buy used so not that sad. I test drove a 2.4 with AWD a while back and I liked it much more entertaining to drive then a corolla. The used prices these go for means I can deal with a plastic interior. Everyone in a while I see a clean one advertised, but most are beat within an inch of their life by the first owner never mind the 2nd. I’m amazed when ever I look at one and it doesn’t have a lowering kit or a cold air intake on it .
I used to like these, then I heard these things go through wheel studs on a regular basis. The dated interiors fine (btw doesn’t everyone here love 90s interiors?), Cheap studs are a bit too cheap.
What the heck could cause a car to go through wheel studs?! I’ve honestly never heard of such a thing.
Wheel spacers can be harsh on studs combined with enthusiastic driving, though I’m sure cheap Mitsubishi parts are a factor too. I didnt know about this until I saw a newer model beside the road where the wheel had somehow fallen off (rims looked custom, so it couldve had spacers on it).
Okay I can see where aftermarket silliness could cause issues, but I really have a hard time believing that they’re having a legit factory-defect sort of issue with wheel studs.
Considering how some carmakers have had issues with basic HVAC knobs, switches, door handles, I could see one goofing up wheel studs.
I was curious enough to poke around the forums, no real issues that I could see, aside from a few “derp” moments from guys changing wheels and overtightening lugnuts.
“What the heck could cause a car to go through wheel studs?”
If true, it would have to be a tendency for Lancer owners to improperly install their wheels.
Legitimate wheel stud failures would prompt recalls. There would be no hesitation at any level on such an important component.
Its Lancers, Galants, Eclipses, and most if not all cases were due to spacers and slip ups, I stand corrected.
I bought a new 2005 Lancer ES right out of college. It was actually a pretty great car. Decent pep for the 2.0L motor and not terrible gas mileage. The interior was actually better than the current model, which was always weird to me. I test drove the current model when it came out back in ’07 or ’08 and decided to just keep the one I had. Hard to believe that generation is still around (or, at least, was still around). I ended up trading in the ’05 in 2010 on a Santa Fe but still kinda miss it. the Lancer was 100% trouble free for the 5.5 years and 80,000 miles that I owned it.
“The interior was actually better than the current model”
Not surprising at all really. Every generation of Corolla has gotten worse 93-97->98-02->03-08 -> 09-13 in terms of interior materials and quality. Haven’t sat in the latest gen to form an opinion. And of particular mention, the Lancer’s traditional “lagging behind” meant that in the Lancer 9 like yours, the interior was actually an unexpectedly nice quality classic Japanese interior, perhaps better than a Corolla or Civic of the same era.
I agree, in that there are cars today that WISH they had the plastic and fabric quality of 1993.
I will say, however, that I found the newest Corolla’s interior pleasing. It actually has nice-feeling chrome trim in a few places, some of the controls go “snick-snick” in nice ways, and the gauges are not insane and annoying. These are good attributes to have in 2017!
The 2009 Corolla is one of the most disappointing things I have ever driven, so I found the new one quite a surprise.
Ended up with a brand-new 2016 Lancer as a rental last year.
Stupid thing had Bluetooth but no aux port. The driving position was horrible and you had all of the refinement of a 1991 Civic with the excitement of a 1991 Sentra. I lied through my teeth that the car’s seat hurt my back and I got it replaced with a Cherokee after two hours.
I bought a 2001 Galant beater car (Akinori Nakanishi’s BMW knockoff) the day Trump was elected and I think that’s still a better car than the concurrent Lancer. MMNA cheaped it out as well, but couldn’t engineer out the inherent goodness of the best Galant Mitsubishi ever made.
Had a rental Kia Optima a couple of months ago. Did not have to lie, the headrest pushed my head so far forward that I had a splitting headache within less than 1 hour of driving.
Had to have it exchanged as it became impossible for me to drive it despite trying every possible seating position and even removing the headrest, which I believe is illegal.
That Galant generation actually looks pretty nice. Had one one my radar for a while until I saw a P71 for the same price (and with less rust). The Galants that followed got bigger but more generic.
I’ll miss the Lancer…. let me tell you why! The Ralliart version with the DCT tranny was ‘fun’ and my preferred incarnation was the Lancer hatchback, I wish there was a larger motor for it…maybe some crazy DiamondHead has swapped an Evo engine into the hatchback, but I’ve never seen it.
Mitsu dropped the ball on promoting ‘Ralliart’ and to give it a better meaning – people are still attached to the badge like crazy, but you barely get any improvements over the original one when buying Ralliart versions. It could’ve been the version of Mitsus ‘M’ line or ‘S’ line
Best Galant is MKIII Galant 93-98 (The closest Mitsu got to making a Camry) they are not as reliable as a Honda but fairly close, problem is who maintains them, and I’m sure Mitsu owners who could walk out with a new car with zero down and zero payments for 3 months were not exactly the kind of folks to take care of the car properly.
But Mitsu, being Mitsu, continues to push models on the same platform for a decade (see Montero Sport, Montero/Endeavor) so you are better off buying earlier models than later ones. A 2012 Galant (last year sold) was basically a 2007 model with different fascia. The Montero Sport of the early 90’s survived to 2002 with only changes in the grill it seems.
The Lancer is dead! Long Live The Lancer !
Part of Mitsu’s problem might also be epitomized by my reaction to this, in two parts:
1: “They still sold the Lancer?”
2: “Wait, I thought Mitsubishi left the US market entirely already…”
i guess people will just have to get by with their awd impreza/wrx/sti that
“does the Lancer no favours”
I had a Mitsubishi Lancer as a rental car this past September in Dubai. At first, I cringed a little with getting it, but it turned out to be a decent car.
I liked the [dated] clean styling, inside and out. It was an easy car to drive, roomy front and rear, rode smoothly over some of the rougher roads of Oman, and didn’t do anything bad. It’s obvious that this was an antiquated car, but I kinda like the utter simplicity of it.
I wouldn’t mind owning one, but the pricing here in the US makes it less appealing. At about $17k starting, it’s about the same price as an equivalent Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus, Toyota Corolla, or Hyundai Elantra. By itself, it’s a good car, but at the same cost as those other cars, it loses its luster
Strange, since it seems like since they updated the facia and added the LEDs last year I’ve seen a ton of them around, but I’m sure land of the cheap car Canada would still buy Lancers in 2025 if they still made them.
Strangely though I don’t see many facelifted Mirages around considering how many millions of the original ones were sold around here. Then again judging by the traffic of Peterborough the Dart was a massive success as well. Guess that’s what happens in a town with 2 FCA dealers (and 1 of everything else) and a well-liked Mitsubishi dealer.
The Lancer was one of the few compact sedans available with AWD or as they call it AWC-All Wheel Control but only available with the CVT for around $20k. I could see them being popular in the snow belt though you could get a Impreza for not much more money.
Mitsubishi probably could have sold more AWC Lancers in areas where Subarus are popular if anyone in those places had any idea the car existed in AWD format. I would guess that one person in a thousand is even aware that you can buy an AWD Lancer in the USA.
Mits should have made AWC standard on the Lancer a while back, and hammered that advantage with advertising. It would have at least differentiated the car from the competition somewhat, and created some sort of brand image in consumers minds.
As it is, Mitsubishi has zero image. They aren’t on the radar of the average person at all. They stand for nothing to most people. No cohesive brand strategy or marketing direction.
An excellent point, even I as a pretty well informed car guy totally missed this. Lightly used examples from a few years ago for about $12k. Not bad for AWD! Although I personally would rather have a manual Lancer for about $9k and then invest in snow tires with a fraction of the difference saved.
My local Mitsubishi dealer also carries Mazda and Subaru but they used to rep Suzuki’s. You figure folks who are trading in their Aerio’s and SX4’s would be interested in a AWC Lancer.
The unicorn of Lancers is the 09-11 Ralliart hatch with the 2.0 turbo, DCT paddle shifter and AWC. A near Evo with more practicality at a decent price.
My BIL has a 2010 model. Rear legroom/comfort seemed better than average the few times I rode in it, and although it was noticeably inexpensive, it never felt cheap.
Don’t worry too much about Mitsubishi’s future. From today’s edition of the Toronto Star, the owner of this website.
The Mitsubishi Group is so large that it represents 10% of the total GDP of Japan. Among its interests/companies are The Bank of Tokyo which is Japan’s largest bank, Nikon, Kirin beer, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries which manufactures components for airplanes and aerospace and power plants and ships including many used by Carnival Cruise Lines, Fuso trucks (10% the remainder owned by Daimler AG), Mitsubishi Consumer Electrics and Mitsubishi Motors.
I had one as a rental in 2014. What a POS! I had to return it for the lack of sound insulation and a headache inducing noise from the CVT. Rental company didn’t have any cars available, so I was given a Nissan Frontier. I realize that is also an old design, but I didn’t mind it at all.
Look at all these “I had one as a rental” comments…tells you everything you need to know about this car.