7th Aug 2002, 00:56
I have a 1.5 liter manual coupe. Its not a fast car, but it defiantly does not feel under powered. Autos always sap the power from the engine because they work so differently to a manual - that's why you should avoid an auto in a small car (especially a 1.5!) if performance is important to you.
15th Sep 2002, 19:29
The auto box is definitely your problem. Why would you bother with a four cylinder auto anyway? I would say a six is the smallest motor you can get away with in automatic configuration. Try the five speed manual and let the motor rev and you'll be surprised at the results.
11th Dec 2002, 09:48
Maybe if you buy a new one, it will be a lot better! when you acquired it, it has run a lot of miles already. I own a 97 lancer and it runs great although I acquired mine from another country.
13th Jul 2006, 06:07
My 1997 Lancer is great. It has a manual transmission and the power in the 1.3 ltr engine is superb.
The car handles the road well on 14 inch alloys.
The consumption is excellent. One litre for 11 kms. You can cruise at 140km/hr and the car is surprisingly stable. It competes very well with other bigger cars.
12th Jan 2007, 11:02
I own a 1995 Mitsubishi Lancer 1.6 Glxi...This car accelerates like a 2 litre car in my opinion. The engine at high revs and low gears is amazing for a 1.6 unit and the fuel economy is approaching 55 k per gallon. I would say any automatic car needs to be at least a 2 litre to get any benefits. I also owned a 1.4 Nissan sunny auto, this seemed reasonably powered and fuel efficient. Yet it had an auto box on a 1.4 litre engine. Perhaps your Mitsubishi lancer has a serious fault somewhere or the engine has had its day.
16th Jan 2007, 16:34
I own a '97 lancer coupe, and for only a 1.5 litre engine this car certainly does not lack power compared too many other similar nature small cars. My sister has a 1.5 litre automatic nova, and whilst being a newer car than mine it struggles considerably accelerating and up hills. I think some of the previous comments are completely correct, for an automatic car, a reasonably powerful engine is a necessity, whereas the 1.5 litre engine is perfectly suited to a manual transmission. If you are looking at an older model family car, I think for that age you would be better off with something larger like a Toyota Camry (old, but still safe) or something solid like a Holden Commodore (which certainly does not lack the get up and go to get out of sticky situations).
20th May 2009, 06:17
I am a mechanic and I own a 2001 1.5 GLi coupe 5 speed manual, and for such a small engine you cannot expect a large amount of power. I have fitted Lukey performance extractors, hi flow cat, 2 and a quarter inch pipe with hi flow muffler and 3 inch tip, as well as custom cold air intake under front bumper, and I had the head ported and shaved. I also have had the flywheel lightened and a extra heavy duty clutch kit fitted.
The only other performance upgrade left to do is a cam shaft upgrade and go to a good tuner (Chiptorque) to reap all the benefits of the other mods. I am aiming for about 130Hp at the wheels.
The only other mods you can do if you have $8,000 laying around is a turbo kit. I have seen many supercharger kits fitted, but too much power is lost to drive the supercharger so only the turbo kit is worth the bang for your buck. But if you just want a little bit more grunt, stick to what I have done and enjoy mate.
3rd Aug 2009, 04:21
For that extensive a modification, you'd be better off getting a 1.8L variant, they come with ~120hp stock. more than enough power for me (for now ;) )
26th Nov 2009, 04:44
I have a 1.8 fuel injected Mitsubishi Lancer GLXi 97. The car won't start; it turns over but doesn't start. I've checked spark plugs, they're fin, same with fuel pump, all good. What else could it be that would make it not start?
24th Jan 2010, 06:26
I have a 1997 GLX Mitsubishi Lancer 1.5 manual. For me this car is great, I can accelerate up to 180km/hour, and it can be extended. This car is so strong. I loaded to 7 passengers into it.
Air conditioning is great, handling so smooth. I used 15 inch rota rims and I change the exhaust to sports upgraded. I don't know why the power of this car is like this. No leak from the engine since this car is ten years old. Sorry to those had a bad comment on this car.. My car is great, sorry guys..
16th Apr 2010, 09:13
I own a Mitsubishi Lancer GLI 1996 model. The idle up getting rough when I turn on the aircon. Can somebody can help me regarding this problem?... Thanks in advance.
16th May 2010, 14:40
I also own a 97 CE lancer, mine is a 1.5ltr with an auto trans... And has done 379,000kms+, and is still kicking - just not as hard.
It has been my first car, and I've still gotta say that after 5 years of owning it, I still love it - enough to get a new engine.
These models of Lancer are sexy - I've added an exhaust, K&N air filter, tints, MR skirts, 17in white alloy rims, low shocks + King springs, seat covers, full body respray (after an insurance pay out of an accident), sound system, plates changed and even those silver wipers... I think all I need now is an MR engine, and maybe even a manual transmission cause - yes - that does make the difference! I do wonder though, why they make a car as appealing as the Lancer and not give it enough grunt???
28th May 2002, 07:02
I have a 97 1.5ltr Lancer myself, but can't fault it.
Granted I have modified it as suggested, i.e. high flow air filter, sports exhaust system, etc. But without these mods I was surprised at the performance, well compared to what I was expecting from a 1.5ltr 12v engine.
Though mine is a 5 speed, but I have driven a couple of other Mitsubishi's and found that the auto ones had no guts. I found this especially with the Galant, both 2.0ltr DOHC 16v engines, but they felt like totally different cars to drive.
So maybe the problem is related to the auto box.