WHILE WE WAIT; The new Lancer is better in many ways, but where's that Evo?(News)

Byline: MARK VAUGHN

The biggest problem for the new Lancer might be that it's not an Evo.

The Evo is coming, probably less than a year from now, and is based on the same C platform on which rides everything from this base Lancer to the Outlander, with one other vehicle coming up soon that might or might not be a wagon. The Dodge Caliber even started out as a C-platform car. While the 2008 Lancer is a much better car than the Lancer it replaces, with a much stiffer frame and better ride isolation, it is still not nearly as much fun as we imagine the Lancer Evolution X will be.

That might not be entirely fair, but the whole time we drove these new Lancers, we kept thinking of things that could be done to improve their sportiness, all of which probably will be done on the Evo.

Nonetheless, this new model is a solid car. The new Lancer is 56 percent stiffer torsionally than the car it replaces and offers 50 percent better bending resistance. It has higher torsional rigidity than even the Evo IX, for instance.

That stiffness allowed engineers to tighten the suspension and use larger antiroll bars front and rear. It also gets a bigger rack and pinion for increased precision in steering and a better back-flow valve to reduce kickback through the steering wheel. The brakes on the GTS model are straight from the larger, heavier Outlander, so we expect fairly short stopping distances.

The Lancer gains 1.4 inches in wheelbase and 2.3 inches in track, which also helps its cornering stance.