TECHNOLOGY
ALI DRIVER SAYS THAT
“Mitsubishi add yet another Lancer to their range, bringing the total up to three!” Our Mystery Motoring Expert, Ali Driver, attempts to figure
out exactly where the new Lancer Fortis fits in the Mitsubishi range…
W
hen I was invited to review the Lancer, I presumed that it was going to be the Lancer EX - what I believed to be the latest model of the Mitsubishi Lancer. It couldn’t be the older model, that is still being sold as just ‘Lancer’, as the model was many years old now. However, to my utter surprise, when I arrived, I was told that it would be neither of these models – I would, in fact, be reviewing the Lancer Fortis, a new arrival in Qatar. “ANOTHER type of Lancer?” I asked. “Yes,” they replied. OK… And here’s where things get complicated. Mitsubishi make a bewildering range of vehicles, each tailored to a specific region. One model they’ll sell only in Europe, one would only be found in Asia, and another perhaps in Australia. And THEN there are the various licensing agreements with other car companies to manufacture variants of them, and so on. The Lancer alone has so many different interchanging model variants that I’m not even going to attempt to write it out here. I am, instead, going to shamelessly plunder Wikipedia… “The Mitsubishi Lancer is a family car built by Mitsubishi Motors. It has been known as the Colt Lancer, Dodge/Plymouth Colt, Chrysler Valiant Lancer, Chrysler Lancer,
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FACT QATAR DECEMBER
Eagle Summit (what?!?), Hindustan Lancer (our personal favourite), Soueast Lioncel, Mitsubishi Carisma, and Mitsubishi Mirage in various countries at different times.” To make matters even more confusing, the Lancer EX in Qatar is also named the Galant Fortis in Japan and the Lancer Fortis in Taiwan. Neither of these cars bears any resemblance to the Lancer Fortis you see here today. Type Lancer Fortis into a Google search, and a whole variety of different models will appear. So, are you following all this so far? No, me neither, but let’s soldier on regardless… We should start by getting down to the bare bones of the issue – what is this new Lancer, and why have they brought it to Qatar? Well, the Lancer Fortis slots almost perfectly between the two current Lancer models, the Lancer and the Lancer EX. It’s not as stylish or well appointed as the Lancer EX, and it costs less as well. It is, however, a definite mark up on the old Lancer, being larger, more comfortable and boasting more features. If I were to hazard a guess, and this is pure conjecture, mind, I would say that the Fortis is being brought in to phase out the old Lancer, which is beginning to look somewhat dated now. As for the car itself, it boasts a 1.8l engine straight-four DOHC 16-valve