2011 Mitsubishi Lancer 1.5 Juro

The Mitsubishi Lancer used to be one of the most popular cars to come out of Japan. Used to be.

Today, the Lancer has become more of an afterthought as rival automakers have come out with vehicles that have leapfrogged the Lancer in terms of sales and popularity. That, however, hasn’t stopped Mitsubishi from releasing a special edition Lancer exclusively for the UK market. Based on the Lancer 1.5 GS2 hatchback, the special edition Lancer 1.5 Juro comes chalk-full with a lot of nice upgrades, especially on the interior, making it a little more attractive than a standard Lancer.

From the outside, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of improvements on this Lancer that justifies its special edition designation, but over at the interior is where the upgrades are evident.

As for the price tag, the Lancer 1.5 Juro’s sticker doesn’t jump out of the screen, coming in at an affordable £14,749 or about $23,400 if you want to base it on current exchange rates. Not that it matters because the car isn’t coming here anyway.

Exterior and Interior

The Lancer Juro’s special-edition designation ensures that it’s got a couple of features that standard Lancers don’t have, which is good considering that more added goodies makes for a more interesting car. Exterior upgrades were left at a minimum, including only a color-keyed rear spoiler, a set of 16” alloy wheels, and a choice of five available body colors, including Orient Red, Amethyst Black, Lightning Blue, Stone Grey, and Cool Silver.

The interior of this Lancer, however, is where things become more interesting. There are black leather seats, an integrated Kenwood multimedia system that includes Garmin Satellite Navigation, Parrott Bluetooth, iPod connection leas and reversing camera. There’s also a climate control, a leather steering wheel with audio controls, electric windows, front, side, curtain, and knee airbags, a CAT 1 alarm/immobilizer, and electric and heated door mirrors.

Performance

No performance upgrades were done on the car, which means that the Lancer 1.5 Juro will be carrying the same engine as the Lancer 1.5 GS2 hatch: a 1.5-liter engine that produces 107 horsepower and 105 lb/ft of torque.

Pricing

The special edition Lancer will be exclusively sold in the UK with a price tag of just £14,749, or about $23,471 based on current exchange rates.

Competition

The new Opel Astra poses as a true rival to this special edition Lancer. Similar to the Lancer 1.5 Juro, the Astra comes with a 1.4-liter engine that produces just north of 100 horsepower. With the performance aspect becoming pretty much a wash – both cars have their own strengths and weaknesses – it becomes a little tricky as to what kind of preference you have on your car. On one hand, the Astra is easily identified as one of the best of its class. On the flip side, the same can’t be said for the Lancer. The question now is, will you take a special edition Lancer over a standard Astra?