Evo X Is the Last Great Mitsubishi, Doug DeMuro Argues

Everybody believed it was the wrong decision to make. After all, what Japanese brand can do without a sporty halo car. But Mitsubishi wanted to put all its money into crossovers and electrification, which didn't pay off.

According to a recent study, the two slowest-selling new cars in America are from Mitsubishi. The Outlander sport needed an average of 197.7 days to leave the lot, while the smaller Eclipse Cross required 187 days. They even used the Eclipse name for that and it didn't work. Can you imagine a brand new 3000GT doing badly right now, during Supra fever? Exactly.

Getting back to the Lancer Evo X, Doug DeMuro recently got hold of one and performed one of his detailed reviews. The model in question is a 2014 Lancer Evolution X GSR, which is kind of a base model.

Under the hood is a 2-liter turbo four-pot. And while it might not have the same response times as a Golf R, the output is still a respectable 291 hp and 300 lb-ft (407 Nm) of torque. The model is also fitted with a cheap but robust 5-speed manual and the torque-vectoring AWD system that made this a rival for the WRX STI.

The death of the Evo doesn't explain why Mitsubishi failed, at least not by itself. Small companies usually don't survive for very long in the current automotive landscape. And only time will tell if partnering up with Nissan was the right move. After all, they're not living up to expectations either.

We could bring up a number of other cool coupes or sedans that they used to make. But instead, let's just focus on what makes the Evo so cool. Keep in mind that special versions of this car sometimes sell for evor $100,000.