Hindustan Motors finally seems to be waking up from its slumber. The Mitsubishi Lancer, the only saleable product in their product portfolio -was a desirable car with respectable performance and handling at the time of its launch in 1998. But over the next few years it was completely overtaken by a slew of new products from the competition. Had HM started rejuvenating the product then it perhaps would still have maintained a strong presence in the sales registers.
Recently the company launched more variants starting from a base model (called Premium range) with a price tag of Rs 7.25 lakh to the top-of-the-line 1.8-litre INVECS model, which will cost Rs 9.77 lakh.What has changed for prospective Lancer owners are the warranty and service schemes.
From now on the company will pick up the maintenance tab for three years or 50,000 kms and for service it will offer free periodic service every 10,000 km on petrol and 5,000 km on the diesel version.
As a product it still remains respectable. The ride quality is superb, the interiors are spacious and the engine reliable. The Lancer still has a road presence but what has gone against it is its age. With every passing day it looks more dated. It needs a major refurbishing.
The GLX model that we test-drove sported a grey fascia that looked functional but as compared to newer cars was Spartan.
The seats and the steering wheel were wrapped in leather upholstery but the lack of quality craftsmanship was glaring. The steering wheel, stitched up with leather gave an impression that it was an after-market job than factory
finished.
The leather had been stitched over the steering wheel and it hid the company logo. The seats lacked contouring, were flat and on fast cornering might even throw the occupant out of his seat. These cosmetic upgrades are too minor, the company desperately needs to sell to maintain its presence in the Indian
market.
