Blessed with smooth flowing attractive lines, the four-door Lancer sedan is not only beautiful to the eye, but also easy to drive in the heaviest of traffic congestion.

Add to this the fact that the car is the only sedan in its category that provides CVT automatic transmission, while also being available at R197 000, and you have a vehicle that is well worth considering.

The Constantly Variable Transmission works on the basis of high and low ratio transmission choices being negotiated by a cone-shaped pulley system operating via a belt which in turn allows for infinite and step?less changes within the gearbox.

The sys?tem also allows the driver a choice of sequential manual gearchanges via up and down shifts with the gearlever.

As stated, this is a great looking car, the manufacturers having gotten away from the staid looks of previous models and produced a sporting shell complimented by some razor sharp styling, large frontal airdam and modern styled five-spoke alloy wheels.

A powerful 2.0-litre 114kW engine propels the Lancer to 200km/h, while also having a good turn of acceleration, Mitsubishi claiming 0-100km/h in 10,3 seconds.

The interior features all the bells and whistles.

Amongst all the nice goodies are a MP3-compatible tuner / CD with four speakers and satellite controls mounted within the steering wheel spokes.

The vehicle also has a trip computer, dual cup holders, automatic air conditioning, alarm-immobiliser and variable speed wipers with intermittent function.

Interior wise the Lancer is well appointed with the seats giving good support and head?room, while overall space within shades that of its competitors.

The boot copes with four medium sized suitcases.

A strong point is that packing and unpacking can be done with minimal fuss.

Thanks to Mitsubishi stiffening the body by 56% over its predecessor, the new Lancer has a more rigid feeling all-round.

This in turn creates for excellent roadholding on a passenger car of this nature.