My brother test drove one a couple of years ago. it was a 2.0 manual Sport. Went well - spritely is the word I'd use! In the end he didn't buy any car but I knew he was tempted by it.

Impression I got was that it was very Japanese utilitarian - in a good way. Nothing flash but well built, purposeful - a solid piece of kit. Its rarity was also appealing. All the essentials were there - aircon, CD autochanger, electric windows, that's about it. I think from 2007 they did a facelift - they sort of look different at the front (more agressive 'face') and they get a bit more kit including more airbags. Worth hunting down I reckon.

They look sleek from the outside and they're not too massive or too small. Fairly spacious inside as well. I'd go for a 2.0 as it'd be a more flexible and enjoyable drive I would have thought.

The post facelift models (Mk IX I believe) are not bad looking but I drove one for a long trip for work as a hire and they are very tinny. They need a lot of gas to get going and fuel economy was mediocre. It looked naff inside (I had a Mk I Focus at the time and that looked nicer) and when it rained the sound was really loud! Like I said, tinny.

The Lancer is a fairly basic car in terms of quality of materials and design, but likely to be pretty bombproof. Its not awful and not great, but it is a good sized car for the money without being cheap and nasty.