In our last review we tested shooting brakes. Now if your "automotive flavor" doesn't need the addition of a "backpack" on top of the trunk lid then may we suggest a vehicle that could give our top choice VW R32 a run for its money, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X,( as in tenth edition). The '08 Evo X is the most cohesive Evo ever produced and perhaps one of the best compact sports cars available. 
In January when the Evo drops it will blow the doors off the new, sedated ,current Subaru WRX and will infringe on the territory of the finest compact sports cars. BMW better lock the gate because Mitsu is about to storm it. The Evo began life as a technicality. Mitsu wanted an entry in the World Rally Championship
so they took the proven engine setup from the larger AWD Gallant VRX and jammed it into the smaller lighter Lancer chassis. Mitsu needed to sell 2500 Evo's to keep racing. And in its first year, 1992, the Evo sold 5000 in the Asian markets, and the rest is history. Of course many of the finest road cars where born to satisfy such racing requirements. There would be no TransAm if Pontiac didn’t need to sell a certain number of street versions to compete in the Trans Am circuit in the late '60's. Similarly the highly desirable auction seller AAR Cuda hit the civilian tarmac simply to keep racing. God bless those racing regulations because so many immortal cars have been green lighted because of them. The Evo has stayed true to its name all these years by slowly evolving while maintaining the same basic ingredients of a turbo charged steel double over head cam engine mated to an AWD setup with multilink suspension at all fours and a light unadorned Lancer body. Originally the Evo came with steel black wheels and no AC or radio as proof of its rally tuning aspirations. After all surely the driver will want to pick their own wheels! The following footage illustrates the first and second generation Evo's.
The Evo slowly began to climb the sales charts transforming it from mere novelty to nearly mainstream as the Evo evolved past it's bare bone "molar cracking" track rider to a more comfortable autobahn bullet. As the Lancer improved so did the Evo. The original Lancer ,sold here as the Dodge Colt and Mitsu Mirage, was a poor excuse of an economy car with poor quality and an even poorer quantitative elements. The last generation Lancer, now sold here as the Lancer without a Dodge counterpoint, upped the level towards the Corolla and Civic. Still short of the line in basic trim it’s larger size and added rigidity provided a much needed foundation for the Evo's artistic expression. The current Evo began its US sales in 2003 and soon became the cult favorite of nighttime highway racers. Like a gang of horse clad desperados any given night will draw out a pose of these street warriors to quiet strips of asphalt from LA to Long Island. This last rendition has seen the largest sales growth spurred along by healthy US sales that had never been able to play Evo games before. The Evo IX 
proved to also up the livability quotient providing a relatively high level of comfort and such options as a state of the art audio system that would have been anathema a decade before. But times are a changing, and it seems cars buyers no longer lust for performance vehicles alone. Today’s cars must provide a Cadillac interior and a Ferrari drive train. This devil and angel dichotomy is nearly impossible to capture without the angelic ride and gas mileage winning over the devilish road carver tire squealing "adolescence". The word "adolescence" aptly applies as even children seem to roll their eyes at such delinquency, more is needed to keep buyers happy these days. Mitsubishi knew that the Evo X had to deliver X rated performance but also needed to pamper the occupants to Ritz Carlton comfort ,now de rigeur for a $30K plus vehicle. The automotive world has been biting their nails in anticipation, like a plastic surgeon taking off Chers bandages after yet another face lift, waiting to see if the impossible mix of vice and virtue had been "meg weld" together in the new X. Auto journalists started to worry as the new Subaru WRX was unveiled first illustrating a more adult ride that seems to be wearing garlic around it's neck warding off the demonic performance qualities. So we waited as the covers came off exposing the X in all its glory. From the exterior this Evo can proudly shed its cover with nothing to be ashamed of. The X is far more monolithic without the "popo I'm over here" bolt ons and baubles. The nose has a sinister glare with a cantilevered front clip that almost evokes a modernized 1970's BMW, very cool. 
The side skirts, rear wing and bumper diffuser are a vast improvement over the past generations "I added these parts in my garage last weekend" appearance. Subtle clues such as the air vents behind the front wheels and functional hood scoops look as if they had always been there, true go fast class. Inside the interior shares the vast improvements with the new Lancer with a clear functional dash 
quality textures and descent interior volume
even in the rear
. So much for the angelic cloud like comfort, what about the fun stuff? Well if "a friend of the devil is a friend of mine" the Lancer will be your new BFF, but for the rest of the line "I don't know if you'll get some sleep tonight" because with power and handling the likes of this sleep is in deep corners of your mind. Mitsubishi has very smartly evolved the Evo to compensate for the Evo's X added weight and size by creating a taskforce of acronyms that refer to electrical gizmos that work in perfect synchronization like a Navy Seal task force. Usually I'm not a fan of technological over rides that can tend to numb the driving experience and over protect the driver to the point of smothering the driver’s abilities. In the Evo the application is so intuitive and natural that it makes novice driver’s quick lap with the best of them while allowing professional drivers to wring out the Evo to the fullest extent of the physical laws of science. The magic comes from the computers ability to allow just a little wheel slip before intervening or a little tale swinging before reeling it back in.
By telepathically reading the road and the driver’s inputs it adjusts perfectly to any situation. This magic is not smoke and mirrors but a program of evolution starting with a far more rigid chassis and superstructure to bolt the goodies down to. Next the engine sheds weight by switching to an aluminum block. The turbo has been recalibrated to provide a more fluid ride to 100. Some have made so much of the fact that the Evo X takes a few ticks on a Timex longer to reach 60, but few mention that the Evo no longer feels as if it's grabbing you by the elastic of your Fruit of the Looms only to let you go like a sling shot as the turbo kicks in.
In fact the snarl of the engine is so heavenly that you swear that the there is a six or perhaps a small bore eight under that "Freddie" mask. Taming torque steer is an intuitive AWD system that senses road conditions and changes to meet those requirements, amazing what a computer chip can do isn't it! This Brahma bull is kept in it's sweet spot with a five speed manual or a preferable six speed dual clutch transmission, similar to VW's DSG, that engages two gears at the same time allowing the gear in use to nearly instantaneously connect to an already spooled up higher gear without the delay of most semi-automatics. The X adds to this setup a sport mode that allows the engine to rev to redline and beyond without mechanical override. The paddle shifters on the steering wheel can be "snoocked" through the gears with the aplomb of a Ferrari. Add in an "S-AWD", or super AWD, that monitors each differential, yaw, electronic stability control, and ABS systems to create a "riding on rails" feeling that makes every trip to the store an adventure while allowing your knuckles to regain circulation on a stormy night. Finally tie together this automotive gift with cross ventilated brakes larger the size of the original Lancers tires
and you have a complete package that is undeniably one the best executed holistic packages around regardless of the ornamentation on the hood. What the Evo illustrates is that there is a vast difference between the actual and the semblance of the actual. Many cars have turbo's or paddle shifters on the steering wheel, or even stability control, and in a shiny brochure they look wonderful. In reality there is a vast difference between mere eye candy and the actual work of art. The Evo is a Picasso amidst so many dogs playing poker. The Evo's systems work together to provide one of the safest, fastest, most stable driving experiences available for public consumption. Come January the Evolution ten will hit out streets, a vehicle that proves to be the perfection of its species and a perfect "X". 
