Mitsubishi Cedia Sports- Tried, Tested and Adored!

Ever wanted to go rallying throwing up muck and dirt as you round that bend? Ever wanted to go into a corner real fast and come out of it faster? Ever wanted a car that does not have a mind of its own and does just as you told it to do? Welcome to the Cedia Sports from Mitsubishi, the latest avatar of the extremely capable sedan from the makers of the Evo, which has been around in India for a couple of years but never managed to carve out a niche for itself amongst enthusiasts like the Honda City V-Tec, the Palio GTX, the Ford Ikon Sxi and of course the much feared and revered Skoda vRS. I got to test drive the car over a stretch of 20 kms within Gurgaon thanks to the proactive initiative from Mitsubishi Motors who reached out to people who had registered for the great Indian driving challenge. Luckily, my friend happened to be one of those and he was more than happy to take me along.

At the appointed hour for the test drive, which was 1PM, with the sun blazing away on a sweltering day in Gurgaon, Sathish and I reached our office by 12:55 PM. Much to our surprise, we found the test drive car waiting along with the sales executive. I was quite surprised as the car was a cream colored one as against the bold colored variants that are available on sale. In the color it was a little understated and didn’t catch my attention as I had driven past the car into my office. On hindsight, I realized that I could have missed the car as there was a huge crowd in the spot as a fresh accident had just occurred. Now coming back to the topic, Bijoy was the sales person who had brought the car along for us and I must admit that he is any customer’s delight being the affable guy that he is. Not pushy but very informative and offered his insights on the car very succinctly during the test drive.

The Car:

Exterior:

The exterior design was always a plus in the old Cedia and the overall form is pretty much unaltered. The new additions include the bold “Ralli art” stickering, the linear nose grill on either side of the Mitsubishi logo, the swooping clear glass headlamps, the new 15” OZ alloys, the more integrated side skirts and the rear spoiler. The car looks much more complete now and it adheres to the “Sport” theme through and through. Though I would have preferred to have the double barreled head lamps to the current ones, this car is no slouch, it looks the part in all the colors it is being offered and one can tell from a distance that this car has a racing pedigree. My favorite bit of the car is the rear with its tall clear glass tail lamps and the integrated spoiler which means all business. The wheel arches are masculine and don’t look too flared like the ones in the Optra or are they understated as they are in the Skoda RS. It appears that the design team at Mitsubishi has done a wonderful job and this car is well put together, in and out. No obtrusions, no synch issues at the hipline, no boot lines jutting out, all the lines blend real well and you can follow them from front to back. My only grouse is the choice of those 6 spoke alloys, they are not the ones that will neither turn heads nor make your neighbor jealous. Mitsubishi could have searched in the Evo’s parts bin and come up with a better looking alloy. Anyways, there are aftermarket fitments available in case you don’t love the stock ones.

Interior:

This is where Mitsubishi have come of age in terms of executing a concept. The interior is well integrated with the sporty theme, it is sheer joy to be in the cockpit of this car which boasts of Evo’9 pedigree. The driver is spoilt with everything in the cockpit revolving around him/her and undoubtedy has the best seat in the car. But passengers needn’t feel let down as even the co-pilot’s seat and the rear seat deserve a thumbs up. The carbon fibre and titanium finished dash is neat, uncluttered and elegant. It might look super swank like that of the Civic but it is miles ahead in terms of overall function and styling. The choice of plastics is top notch and the fit and finish will make the likes of Skoda pale in comparison. The dash is designed around the cockpit with the vents placed neatly above the super central console which comes loaded with a navigator, a 6.1 inch 3.1 megs display, a Kenwood DVD player, Bluetooth sync and the works. The instrument cluster is simple, sporty and I really love the adjustable backlight of the console, damn neat Mitsu! I have to give it to the Mitsu designers for walking the talk when it comes to the “Sports” badge, the three spoke Momo steering wheel does not have anything other than the wheel, the airbag and the horn. No gizmos, no audio controls, no phone buttons, nothing, just pure steering! All the controls are within reach of the driver and I must admit that this car pampers the driver in all possible ways. 4 way adjustable seats for the driver, two way for the co pilot, top notch ergos, nice and deep footwell with the dead pedal kept away from the clutch. The sporty alloy pedals are well spaced out unlike other cars that I have driven and there is no way you will hit the accelerator instead of the brake. The driver arm rest is placed unlike the Linea where you can’t shift gears without banging your elbows on the arm rest, but still the positioning can be less intrusive. The leather wrapped gear knob well stitched and gives a great feel. The glove box is adequate in front where as the read loses out on storage bins and spaces for knick knacks which is a letdown. Coming to the seats, the sporty black leather with bold threading and dashes of red look the part and go well with the overall concept. The front seats are fantastic with adequate lumbar support and the rear seats are comfortable but do not spoil you. While it is certainly better than the Skoda’s rear seat for long drives with enough leg room, I was not very impressed with the thigh support. Three adults can comfortably fit in the rear with the central armrest up. The armrest is nicely put together, merges neatly with the seat when kept up and holds cups apart from hands when pushed down. The trap door behind the arm rest makes access to the boot a breeze without stopping the car. The grey upholstery is a functional one and has no bells and whistles. The rear parcel tray is well finished and has a reading lamp for the passenger. NVH levels are amongst the best in class and there is hardly any intrusion of road noise into the cabin, so much so that I had to lower my windows to listen to the exhaust note while revving hard.

Engine and Transmission:

With all the racing pedigree that this car has, one would expect that the engine would blow one’s pants away, but that is not the case with the Cedia. The 2.0L 4 cyliner, naturally aspirated 115 BHP MIVEC engine is a joy to drive with its linear power delivery and the car’s torque curve ensures that the car is a breeze to drive in the city and on the highway. Though the original engine is supposed to belt out some 140 bhp, the Indian variant has been detuned to appeal to the enthusiast and commuters alike and the car returns an unbelievable 12.5 kmpl in the city. For a 2.0L engine this is phenomenal, Suzuki eat that! As is the case with the other Mitsu and Jap engines, this 4 cylinder is revv happy and the car will keep up with your adrenaline rush. There is no turbo swoosh, no back hitting the seat, no tantrums, the engine revs climb as you work through the gears and the car climbs up to the happy hundreds quickly and you will be cruising by then. The engine has a raspy note which eggs you on to revv the car even harder and combined with the sporty exhaust; it is pure bliss to roll down the windows. The 5 speed gear box is slick, gears slot in with the right amount of weight and no vibrations filter through the gear box to the knob. The gearing is just about perfect and with overdrive in 4^th and 5^th, the car puts a smile onto your face as you shift through the gears.

Suspension, handling and brakes:

When the guys in Mitsubishi claim that it is rally bred, they aren’t kidding, this is not a Civic Sport with a side skirt and rear spoiler, this is a car that has been tried and tested in the APRC rally championship. That makes it perfect for Indian roads, doesn’t it? Any highway drive in our country is akin to going for a spin on the gravel. The Mcpherson strut upfront and multilink rear suspension coupled with the stiff chassis, make the car an absolute dream in terms of handling. The car is well planted at high speeds and directional changes are sure footed with no perceptible understeer. Pot holes, undulations, craters may all rest in peace now, for the lord of the roads is here to conquer our sorry excuses of roads! All wheel disk brakes with ventilated ones in the rear coupled with ABS and EBD, makes this rocket come to a halt from three digit speeds in no time and that too in a straight line. We had a friendly neighborhood Alto that decided to stop in the middle of the road thereby presenting us with an opportunity to stop in under 50 meters and oh boy, did she stop or what? The 195/60 R15 Potenzas on the OZ alloys works very well and are pretty quiet at high speeds too. My only grouse was that I did not take the car out on a country road, which would have been an ideal treat on a sleepy Saturday afternoon.

Summing it up, the Cedia did leave me impressed at the end of the half an hour, which was spent accelerating hard, braking hard, turning fast and zipping through traffic. With sporty exterior ( I’m in love with those Ralli art stickers”, immaculately finished interiors and a central control centre with a navigation system that actually works, the car is a delight to spend the whole day in and the Kenwood system just makes it a lot easier. At 10.8 Lacs on road Delhi, the value proposition the Cedia offers is unmatched by any in that segment, not even by the Laura TSi ( albeit being a couple of notches higher). Though the two year 40,000 kms service warranty is encouraging and the build quality is reassuring, the poor service reputation of Mitsubishi dealership and the high cost of spares might work against this impeccable performer. If Mitsubishi and its dealers can raise their game on the service front, they have a real winner in their hands, which in my view can keep the Mitsubishi flag flying high in India, at least till the undisputed king of the tarmac and the dirt - The Mitsubishi Evo, makes his way to the Indian shores!