Sneak peek at Lancer update

Australia’s oldest new small car, Mitsubishi’s Lancer will get a facelift for 2016. We know that much. But exactly when the revised car will arrive Down Under isn’t quite clear.

The rollout of the US-market “fun-to-drive 2016 Mitsubishi Lancer” however, has delivered a sneak peek at the changes. They’re minor, but go some way to bringing the small car stalwart in line with the latest styling from the Japanese marque.

Mitsubishi spokesperson Genevieve Kerin confirmed the new car was coming Down Under but told motoring.com.au the local timeline for the facelifted Lancer is still to be finalised.

“There’s no [firm] timing yet on the updated Lancer. We're still negotiating details for our market so hopefully we will have something to announce in the coming months,” Kerin said.

“We're still working through specification so at this stage all we can confirm are the new looks,” she added.

The current Lancer is effectively the same car as was launched in late 2007. Mitsubishi sources have recently told motoring.com.au it has at least another 18 months to soldier on before it is replaced, most likely by a car built using a platform shared with the Renault Nissan alliance.

The final version of the hero of the Lancer range, the Lancer Evolution Final Edition attracted more than 650 local expressions of interest for a final allocation of just 150 cars.