With the high rates of economic growth being witnessed in India, it is no wonder that the demand for luxury sedans is growing day by day. The latest company looking forward to cash-in on the trend is Mitsubishi Motors. The Japanese automobile company is all set to enter the luxury sedan category with its new model, Lancer Evolution X. The launch of the car, also known as Evo 10, will be preceded by that of Outlander sports utility vehicle (SUV)
The SUV will be made at Mitsubishi’s Chennai facility and will be unveiled in India, in the second half of 2008. On the other hand, Lancer Evolution X will be introduced to the public in early 2009. As per the company officials, Mitsubishi is planning to bring Evo 10 to India through the completely built route (import) and right now, there are no plans of making the car locally in the country. In fact, the decision of manufacturing the car in India will entirely depend upon the response received from the consumers after the launch.
At the international level, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X costs $30,473 (Rs 12 lakh) and $32,697 (Rs 13 lakh), for different variants. However, since the car will be imported in India, the total price, after adding duties, will come up to somewhere around Rs 21.70 to 23.5 lakh. With this price band, the automobile is expected to be come in direct competition with other cars like Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Skoda Superb, Volkswagen Passat, Nissan Teana and Audi A4.The USP of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X will be its rugged engine and smooth driving experience, rather than exterior looks. The car is a four-door, five-seater one, which is run by a 2-litre engine that gives out 295 bhp power (in other words, more powerful than the 3-litre engine). It has an aluminum engine block under the hood, which makes it pretty lightweight. To add on to the experience of driving Lancer Evolution X, Mitsubishi has fitted it with a four-wheel drive (4WD) option also.
