1.8 GS3 4dr Auto Saloon

It was either this or a Procee'd - I've come away smiling!

A few months ago I decided that I wanted something a little bigger for my first car. Something with a little more space, a little more practicality, and a little more power than the oodles of 1.0-1.4 hatchbacks that were being recommended to me.

I had a specific list of criteria. Auto, because I'm lazy. Post-2007, because I plan on keeping it for a few years. Good looking, because I'm 17 and looks are important. It came down to two cars. A black Kia Procee'd 1.6 with 23k on the clock for £6250, or a red Mitubishi Lancer 1.8 Saloon for £6495 with 29k on the clock. I had always been smitten with the looks of the Evo X, but I was worried about insurance. £1850 - only a couple of hundred more than the Procee'd. And I'm so glad I went for the Lancer.

I spent a little bit of time behind the wheel of a 2.0TFSI Audi A4 before getting this, and I must say this drives as well as, if not better than, the A4. It's light (more on that later) compared to many similar sized cars, and while the 1.8 Mivec engine needs to be above 3500rpm to give you any kind of power, once it's there it does a good job of pulling the car - going from 40-60mph is taken care of relatively quickly.
Back to that subject of lightness. Like other Subarus and Mitsubishis I've had rides in, you can tell it hasn't been given extensive soundproofing. It feels, if I'm honest, a little unrefined, but stripping the door panels allowed me to install some extra sound matting, which both killed the speaker reverberation and made the doors feel less rattly - two birds with one stone eh? This means two things. One, it is a little loud at anything above 60mph, but two, it handles well. Even on a set of premium Nankangs, this thing holds the road well in the dry and also does a decent job of keeping straight and true in the wet, even in monsoon-like rain that we had a few days ago.

The cruise control is a good addition, as this is certainly a car that is at its best fuel wise when sitting at about 60-65mph. Any more, and even on a consistent motorway slog you may witness the mpg bar going the wrong side of 30. The radio receiver is shaky at best, but with MP3 CD capability it really doesn't matter - iPod connectivity would have been nice though. The trip computer is useful for reminding you that you need to drive slowly if you want to have any money left after the journey.

Rear legroom is brilliant, with my 6'1" father being able to sit in relative comfort behind 6'3" me, and the seats offer good support for the more 'spirited' driver. The boot is plenty big enough for four persons worth of holiday baggage, and having six cup holders is useful.

So, overall opinion? This is a brilliant car for the money. And I'm not just saying that because it's mine, as it does have its flaws. The fuel consumption is a big one, with the light, tinny doors and hollow boot lid being others - both the latter can be fixed with a cheap roll of rubber door insulation though. I love the car, and I hope it'll bring me many years of reliable, fun and head-turning travelling.

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