[Ajay]

All,

Does any body have any information on when the Mitsubishi Carisma is being launched in India?

Curios to see how they price it and what kind of specs the car might come with...

Cheers

[Rtech]

Ugh! This is another failure waiting to happen! It just seem's terribly dated in its design and looks, but that engine seem's tasty!

ACI claim a Jan '06 launch, and when it does come, I expect it to be around the same price as the existing Lancer, with quite a few variants.

[Ajay]

RTECH,

FYI, I have driven the Carisma (elegance) in UK for about a year and found it to be good.
Agree with you on the way it looks though!!!
But was very happy with the mpg (60mpg) i got during those days with the GDI engine.
Dont know whether they would get the same engine specs here though!!

Cheers

[Rtech]

Oop's, it seems I misread the title. I thought you were talking about the Cedia, which is basically a generation ahead of our Lancer.

The Carisma you are reffering too is a larger car, and although there were talks about its launch here, nothing seem's to be confirmed.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by Rtech

Ugh! This is another failure waiting to happen! It just seem's terribly dated in its design and looks, but that engine seem's tasty!

very true .. it looks so bland .. the Cedia i.e. and the front looks somewhat like the Innova .. why replace the elegant headlights of the current lancer .. those trapezoidal lights look real good .. and distinctive Lancer'ish too .. from our simple and staid version up through to the EVOs

[tsk1979]

Cedia is confirmed according to July overdrive, nothing about the charisma mentioned though

[Harrie]

Funny thing is i remember reading the top honcho saying that the cedia will be a sucess because like all other Mistubishi products, this has got a unique design and looks which will make it stand out or something... Is this guy nuts?

Let me check this month's issue of ACI.

[amitverma]

the thing to wait for is the new lancer which is due in '06.
introduce it with a peppy powertrain. n it will beat city hands down.

[turbo_lover]

Cedia and mirage are the same cars am i correct?

i saw the review in the CNBC autoshow ? episode ...
the interiors are stright from the lancer /evo ..
nothiing compared that of the c orolla or the octavia....

i rhinnks it is another disaster waiting to happen for HM...

[lamborghini]

Well,
The Carisma will take its own time to come but launching the Cedia at 10L is a big mistake IMHO.
The car looks worse and has worse interiors then the current lancer.
The Lancer is still a good car but some Marketing and all will really help them.
I do not know what's worse - FIAT or Mitsubishi?

[Aditya]

Though it still looks good, the current Lancer is too old and outdated. Park it next to a Corolla / Optra / Octavia and the difference is obvious. Just engine changes won't help increase sales. It needs a new bodyshell with a better ride, better seats and better interiors too. Those chrome grills positiively suck.
Coming to the Carisma, and knowing HM, I don't think it will be launched till 2007 atleast - too late! Quick launches from Honda and Toyota will ensure that it dosen't succeed. Again, even if we do get the Carisma, I bet it'll be a slightly older version with a detuned engine. See what happened with the Lancer (93bhp down to 87bhp - Indigo proportions & 125bhp down to 120 bhp in the case of the Invex). In short, I don't think it will be worth the wait.

[Aditya]

Ha! Think of the devil......
There's an article on the Cedia in today's Times Drive. It dosen't look as bad as a Corolla, but, just look at those interiors.... nowhere close to Corolla / Optra / Octavia. And since it's launched so late, it could have done with something like 140bhp instead of the 125bhp that they are quoting. Would you spend 10 - 12 lakhs for that?

[nishant_kingpin]

Not me for sure!! Does Mitubhishi realize that 10L has 6 zeros in the figure

[GTO]

Well, many versions of the current Lancer have sold at over 10 lac rupee prices anyways!

But this new Lancer is doomed before it even begins. Simply because it has no unique strength. This market segment already has the Toyota brand, Skoa build quality and diesel economy, Optras flash and so on. If a new launch has to make it successful, it will have to possess a unique differentiator - a key strength. And I dont see any in the new Lancer.

In addition, the 8 lac cars have significantly risen in power, refinement and space with the New Honda City / Chevy Optra 1.6 and gang the best in this segment.

Its tough luck for HM. Too little too late

GTO

[veyron1]

But this new Lancer is doomed before it even begins. Simply because it has no unique strength. This market segment already has the Toyota brand, Skoa build quality and diesel economy, Optras flash and so on. If a new launch has to make it successful, it will have to possess a unique differentiator - a key strength. And I dont see any in the new Lancer.

Its tough luck for HM. Too little too late

agreed.... but the cedia seems okay to me- provided it comes in the upper 'C' segment, and not the 'D'...maybe if they launch the cedia at the entry-level lancer's price, or at a max of 8.5-9.0.....

and also, the cedia is the current lancer in europe....so maybe they're thinking of replacing the current series... (as in the case of qualis/innova)

Lancer

high time HM brought in the evo's eh.....??? and since they are currently priced at around 29,000 U.S $, (entry variant), or 13.5 lac INR approx., (without duties), maybe HM could bring in the evo at about 26 lacs or so; (much) lesser, if brought in as SKD's or CKD's...

now that would be something.....