Mitsubishi Lancer

It's been some time - more than 20 years, in fact but Mitsubishi has leapt headlong back into the heaving, teeming waters of the mid-sized hatchback pool. After divesting itself of the large-car millstone from around its neck last year (remember the 380? No? Neither do we), the job of enticing bread-and-butter four-door buyers back to the brand has fallen to the venerable Lancer range. Recently bolstered by the arrival of a 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine, the number of models has now been effectively doubled with the arrival of the Sportback.

The path from motorshow-stopping concept to hard-tooled reality has, as usual, dulled the visual punch from the Sportback's wedge profile. All but identical to the sedan from the rear wheels forward, the Sportback bodystyle shares everything from wheelbase and track measurements to its five-star ANCAP rating. Unfortunately, the underdone suspension tune has also migrated across to the hatch; too-soft dampers are unable to tie down the too-soft springs effectively, leading to an oscillating, jostly, uncomfortable ride on all but the smoothest bitumen surfaces. And while the steering is adequate, savage spring rattle from the front end across broken tar sets teeth on edge. Frustratingly, Mitsubishi knows how to do handling; the Ralliart Lancer that we drove on the same launch on virtually the same roads has one of the best ride/handling packages we've driven in a long time.

The long-stroke 2.4-litre MIVEC-equipped four-potter is good for 125kW and a middling 226Nm of torque. It's just cruel and unusual punishment to rev it to the 6000rpm limiter, so it's best to leave it to the six-speed CVT gearbox to stroke it around town. Flappy paddles a la Evo X mean that it can all be done manually, but trust us, don't trouble yourself; the jerky upshifts will soon remind you not to do it again.

The cabin's awash with shiny plastic, in an inoffensive kind of way. Comfy front seats and a well-sized steering wheel combine with great visibility to create a good office environment. With automatic lights and wipers, a smart key and built-in Bluetooth as standard, the VRX ticks a few spec boxes for its $29,790 (the CVT ‘box is $2500 extra) compared to its rivals.

It loses only a smidgen of rear headroom compared to the sedan, though it's a tight squeeze climbing in and out of the rear doors. The fifth door opens to reveal a surprisingly high boot floor... but there's a neat party trick built in that allows it to be mounted some 90mm lower in the boot well. The rear seats can be tumbled forwards via a pair of ideally placed handles in the rear cargo area, too, accessing a pretty damn big load space. Just the thing for the weekend dash to Ikea, really.

The Lancer sedan is selling well, and the hatch will pick up another stratum of buyers who equate four-door sedans with their parents. It's a pity it's a bit of an underachiever out on the road, because it cuts a pretty figure in the carpark.

Tim Robson