Affordable 2015 Lancer is Top Safety Pick, Lancer Evolution gets left out

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The new 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer has been named a IIHS Top Safety Pick. Why didn’t 2015 Lancer Evolution get the award?

Mitsubishi has announced its affordable and fun-to-drive 2014 Lancer compact sports sedan has been named a "Top Safety Pick" by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). But the 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart and 2015 Lancer Evolution performance models get left out. The Lancer ES, Lancer SE AWC and Lancer GT all get the award. Why not Lancer Ralliart and 2015 Lancer Evolution?

IIHS doesn’t test the Relliart or Evolution models

It’s not unusual for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) to test one automakers model and leave another one out. They will take a few models and test them at the exclusion of others. This has happened with other performance models like the Subaru WRX and WRX STI. IIHS tested the WRX and didn’t test the STI until later. So the 2015 Lancer Ralliart and 2015 Lancer Evolution will likely get tested at a later date.

All other models get the safety award

For now, the other 2015 Lancer models get the important award. Don Swearingen, Executive Vice President of MMNA said in the press release, "It is great to see our very popular Mitsubishi Lancer once again named as a "Top Safety Pick" by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Lancer is a versatile compact sports sedan that has an exceptional degree of safety, excellent fuel economy, sporty performance and plentiful standard features all at price to fit almost any budget."

2015 Lancer pricing

The Mitsubishi Lancer is available in four trim lines for the 2015 model year. The base Lancer ES ($17,195); the more powerful Lancer SE AWC with standard All-Wheel Control (AWC) all-wheel drive ($20,995); the luxury/performance-oriented Lancer GT ($20,595) and the turbocharged Lancer Ralliart with Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC) and an available rapid-fire 6-speed Twin-Clutch Sportronic Shift Transmission ($29,495).

Mitsubishi has not announced pricing on the new rally-bred 2015 Lancer Evolution top performance model. 2015 Lancer Evolution will be axed by Mitsubishi after the model ends its production run next year.

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