Category: Affordable Sports 
Price Range: No data available
Performance, handling and entertainment on another plane. And it's practical, robust and good value too
Unsubtle looks, thirst, tacky interior finish. Needs to be driven illegally to give its best
Extraordinary, rather like its look. A rally car for the road, and just as extreme
The strangely named Evolution VIII is a mutation of a very ordinary saloon, but the performance of this machine is anything but commonplace. Derived from a succession of Mitsubishi rally cars, the Evolution gets its name from the fact that it has done just that - evolved. Few manufacturers spit out eight updates of a car, many of them substantial and costly, over 11 years. But Mitsubishi has been locked into endless rounds of upgrades in a bid to stay ahead, both on the rally stage and on everyday forecourts, of its arch-rival Subaru, whose equally flamboyant Impreza is available in similarly wild high-performance configurations. Ironically, Mitsubishi has withdrawn from this year's World Rally Championship to regroup, but will return in 2004. But that hasn't stopped it producing the Evo VIII, a riposte to Subaru's recent titivation of the Impreza.
The original Lancer Evolution appeared in 1993, but amazingly this, the eighth, is the first that Mitsubishi has officially imported into the UK as part of the standard range - every other Evo has either been a 'grey' import, or - in the case of the VII - come in via the company's Ralliart performance arm.
By approving the current model for sale with the rest of the range, Mitsubishi aims to stamp out these grey imports, but the side effects are that buyers now get an official Mitsubishi three-year warranty, proper service back-up and a price £3000 lower than the Evo VII.
The Evo's rally heritage had produced an extreme car, its wings, spoilers and air intakes leaving you in no doubt as to its purpose. And this, the Evo VIII, is actually less aggressive-looking than some previous editions. Compared to the Evo VII, the VIII's advances are small - a modest torque increase, lower weight, a lower centre of gravity, small suspension and running gear upgrades, and an assortment of small styling tweaks inside and out. In practical terms, price cut apart, the most significant change is the addition of a sixth speed for the gearbox and an increase in fuel tank capacity, marginally extending the Evo's woeful range. There are two models, the standard Evo VIII with 276bhp, and the FQ300, whose power upgrade is performed by UK-based Ralliart after the car has been registered here.
Price: two versions costing £26,995-£28,995
