Video: 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GSR

So for 2014, how well has the Evolution held to the test of time? What the Evo does best is go around a corner fast. Everything else is just secondary. Most sedans are going to be comfortable, get good gas mileage, have good trunk space. The Evo doesn't have any of that. You're looking at 19 miles per gallon combined. And that's with the more efficient five-speed manual transmission. These seats are great on the racetrack. The Recaro's grip in the corners amazingly well, but there's no height adjustment. So that means you're stuck with this bathtub-like seating position where the door sill is almost above your shoulders. There's also no telescoping steering wheel. So it just shows how old the Evo really is, 'cause that's a pretty standard feature across the board now. Before we get on to what the Evo does really, really well, let's take a look at the trunk. Trunk space is cut down considerably compared to the regular Lancer. Why? Because the Evo likes to go fast. There's chassis strengthening in the back, plus the battery and the washer-fluid tank are relocated to the rear. Now that we've got all that talk of practicality out of the way, let's talk about how this performs on the track. Exceptional. There is a sophisticated all wheel drive system on the Evo that makes the car turn any way you want it. It sticks. There's a ton of grip. You can feel the all wheel drive working underneath the car. It adjusts here and there to rotate the car around a corner. If you own an Evo and don't take it on the track, you are hugely missing out on the car's immense capabilities. What also makes the manual transmission a little harder to drive is the engine's turbo lag. There's really no reason for the tach to read any numbers below 3000 RPM because the lights are out, no one's home, but when you do creep into that boost, it comes on strong. Now the power comes on strong, but also quick because the transmission is geared so close together. There's only five gears and it's a bam, bam, bam. 1, 2, 3, 4. it needs a sixth gear. The fifth gear at 70 miles an hour, The engine is buzzing at over 3000 RPM and it gets old real quick. There is something new on the 2014 Evo, and that's on the inside. There's new technology in the way of a 6.1-inch, touchscreen system. Now, while it's new, not really improved that much over the old one. The touch screen is still slow to respond. It's difficult to navigate a large iPod library. There are a few more features with HD radio, but it's not much of an improvement. And it seems like a big miss considering how most people who lust after this car are of the younger audience. So it's very disappointing. Plus the volume knob's on the wrong side. We've established that the Evo hasn't changed much since 2008, but its competitors have. There are two kind of competitors to the Evo in the Scion FRS and the Subaru BRZ. Now let's get it straight. Those two cars, they can't touch the track performance of the Evo. The Evo just absolutely tears up small road courses and autocross, but the BRZ is a much more livable, daily driver, gets better gas mileage, and it's $10,000 less expensive than the Evo. The Evo has a one-track mind and that track has corners.