Pricing & Features

The Lancer GT's standard features include a USB input and Bluetooth for the $20,790 starting price with a manual transmission, $21,790 with the automatic (all prices include destination charges). USB is optional equipment on the ES ($17,890) and SE trims ($21,090), and not available on the entry-level DE ($16,790). Bluetooth is standard on all trims above the DE, including the ES, SE, GT, Ralliart and Evolution. The DE cannot be equipped with Bluetooth.

An important missing feature shows the Lancer platform's age: Its steering wheel tilts but doesn't telescope. Most new compacts have both tilt and telescoping adjustability. Finding a comfortable distance from the steering wheel is a hassle without a telescoping wheel. Sit too close, and front legroom disappears. Sit too far away, and the steering wheel is beyond a comfortable reach.

Our test car's price of $27,340 with the $795 destination charge was shockingly expensive. The price includes uncommon features for the class, like an over-the-top stereo with a 10-inch subwoofer — large for a factory sub — rain-sensing windshield wipers and smart key entry.

The GT's two major option packages don't leave much room for a la carte options. Popular features are lumped into an expensive GT Touring Package. The $3,550 package includes a sunroof, leather seating with heated front seats, a 710-watt Rockford Fosgate stereo with the aforementioned 10-inch subwoofer, satellite radio, xenon headlights and rain-sensing wipers. Leather seats are an available option on their own, sans the heat.

The two navigation options have different prices and features depending on whether they're linked with the GT Touring Package. Get navigation with the GT Touring Package, and it costs $2,000 and includes a backup camera that displays in the navigation screen. When not paired with the GT Touring Package option, navigation costs $2,295 and includes a backup camera that displays in the rearview mirror.

Included with navigation is a 7-inch touch-screen display with a 40-gigabyte internal hard drive to store music. The touch-screen is like using a clunky aftermarket system to access radio, iPod and navigation functions. The finicky virtual buttons are small and hard to find while driving, and surfing through a music library proved a pain even though I don't have a huge library on my phone; there's no quick-scrolling feature. Mitsubishi's voice-activated Fuse system, standard on the GT, is an alternative to using the screen for accessing music and phone information, instead using voice commands, much like Ford's Sync system.