This car is easy to drive, compact and sporty looking, which makes it an ideal first car or daily driver. Maintenance, insurance and petrol costs are low, which add to it's appeal for younger drivers. The seats are comfortable enough, and the equipment levels are adequate, if not a little sparse. These cars are common, so finding parts or aftermarket modifications are easy.

However, the engine, even in the range-topping "MR" models, betray it's sporting looks and makes hills a bit of a struggle. Safety is also an issue, as the car is very light and does not have ABS, traction control, or airbags as factory standard.
Reliable, inexpensive, fuel efficient, low insurance, good looks
Questionable safety, not enough power

I just bought my 2005 Evolution 8. It had 70,000 miles one owner. I love it!!! I put $2000 worth of mods and tune included have 300awhp. I run 12.7 in the 1/4 mile at 104 mph. I'm running on 20 pounds of boost. I love my Evolution 8.
Power
No cruise control

We own the 2005 ES model, it's our family car and we have had it for almost 2 years and couldn't be happier.
It is a really reliable car and runs really well. I was advised by a mechanic that Lancers are one of the most reliable cars on the market and we have never regretted making this purchase, it's also really comfortable and easy to drive. Would highly recommend this car to anyone especially as a family car.
Reliable. Runs well. Fuel efficient. Comfortable.

We have had 6 years of trouble free motoring with this car. We love the convenience of a station wagon. We are a family of five with three boys in ages from 14 to 6 and we all fit into this car comfortable. The back seats are just as comfortable as the front seats. I would recommend this car to others.
My husband is tall and I am quite short and it suits both of us. I love how the blind for the back part has it is own compartment when it is not in use. It was also one of the very few cars that had lap/sash belts throughout the car. We have own this since new and only replaced the clutch after it had done over 170,000km. Other than that it has only being the run of the mill tyres and light globes.

Overall this car is a pleasure to drive. It's quick and it's very easy to drive. It does not take very long to get used to driving this car. It is small enough that it is easy to park but still is roomy inside. I do like the safety features such as the airbags but its ANCAP ratings isn't as good as some of the other cars on the market. The visibility in the car is good too, the pillars don't obstruct the view too much. Overall I find this car is a pleasure to drive, but it does not come with that many bells and whistles.
Easy to drive, has enough power to get around the city, Is pretty roomy
Could use a console cover, perhaps could use less fuel.

Mivec engine is powerful and gives the car some good zip. ES doesn't have fold down back seats-wish I knew that when we bought it which is a real pain as you can't transport things that are larger than the boot size
Mivec engine, sleek exterior and interior, affordable
ES doesn't have fold down back seats-wish I knew that when we bought it :( Boot space is a bit small. Need to comes with mags and spoiler as standard

Great little car, don't let the gearbox thing scare you off. It's just one of those things. Yes I would buy another.
We have the 06' LS model. It has everything we need, climate control, 6 stacker 6 speaker stereo, woodgrain dash inserts (black), very comfy, acceleration from the 2.4 mivec engine is great, semi auto gearbox.
At 88.000 k's transmission died. Mitsubishi can't tell us why. We had a 2000 model Nissan Pulsar 1.6 before this car and put 170.000 k's trouble free motoring. A little disappointed. Least warranty covered it. Still waiting to get it back after 2 weeks. The loan car they gave us is an 07 ES. Very limited. Hasn't even got rear headrests or console cover.

This is a good little car. We needed a small family car as we just had a baby and this car was perfect for us. Fits the baby seat in perfectly and there is a really good size boot so no problems with boot size either. The inside light up the top also doesn't break in this model I've owned. The older version of this car as well and this would always happen within a week of getting it fixed so they've fixed the fault which is great.
Good on petrol, travels long distance's on a regular basis with no problems.
I've had no problems with this car.

I personally have a Lancer and love it. I have done approx 150,000km on the clock and have never had any problems with my car at all. Fuel cost soaring the last thing you need is a v8 or v6 fuel guzzling motor. The 4 cylinders is the more fuel efficient car to have a what better then a lancer.
Style, comfort, medium sized car, price, fuel economy need I say more

I can't complain about anything on this car. We had ours for 6 years and had no problems. The only reason we sold it was because we had a baby. It cost nothing to run and looked great as well
We had the 2003 coupe and found it very reliable, and very economical on fuel. It was great for us before we had kids, and is perfect for a couple or single person.
We needed more space and found it a bit frustrating when trying to transport larger items - because the seats did not fold down it was difficult to transport large things.

This is an ideal car for anyone really.
A new driver, a mum with kids, even an elderly person would love this.
It hardly uses any petrol as long as you're not accelerator friendly.
I had to have the motor fixed only once but this was after an accident and parts for it are very cheap.
I've had a 2001 Lancer for about 5 years now. I love the way it drives, so smooth! It's family friendly with three possible anchor points for anyone that has kids! The compact size will get you in and out of parking spots with ease.
Really the only fault I can think of is that there is no windshield wiper on the rear window. Insurance is also a bit dear, apparently these have a high theft risk :(