Mitsubishi Lancer History
Catalog record
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History
The Lancer arrived in the US for the 2002 model year as a compact four-door front-wheel-drive sedan, powered by a single 2.0-liter four-cylinder; it competed against the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla but remained largely an also-ran in the mainstream compact class.
A redesigned second generation debuted for 2008 with sharper styling and a continuously variable transmission. The five-door Sportback hatchback joined for 2010 (through 2014), and a 2.4-liter AWD SE trim was added for 2012. The Lancer was discontinued after the 2017 model year — a casualty of Mitsubishi's pivot toward crossovers — leaving the bare-bones Mirage as the only remaining Mitsubishi passenger car in the US.
Generations
First generation (CY) · CY
Original US-market compact Lancer — 2.0L four-cylinder, sedan only, competing against Civic and Corolla.
2005 Photo: “2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Elegance Automatic 1.6 Front.jpg” by Vauxford / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Second generation (CJ/CY facelift) · CJ
Sleeker redesign; added Sportback hatchback (2010–2014) and 2.4L AWD SE trim (2012).
Body styles
- Sedan
- Hatchback (Sportback)
Notable special editions & performance variants
Lancer Ralliart
Turbocharged AWD performance variant using the Evo's drivetrain layout in tamer tune; discontinued after 2015 in the US.
Related models
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