In 1994, Mitsubishi introduced a sedan version for the Mirage lineup and named it Lancer for specific markets.
Every successful story has a beginning, and the modest-looking Lancer was the base for the future rally-racer named Lancer Evolution. In fact, the 1994 Lancer offered a version named GSR, which was punchy enough to stir emotions in a parking lot among a few car enthusiasts, but not too much to attract more people.

The car’s look was, somehow, bland. Its rounded shapes from the bio-design era were not very clear, like if the design team was not very sure that they had to do that. At the front, the narrow headlights and grille were on the same page with other Japanese carmakers such as the Honda Civic or the Toyota Corolla. The low beltline and tall greenhouse, related to the overall height, was more conventional, like a 1990 Escort.

Inside, the Lancer featured a simple cloth upholstery, but like most Japanese cars from that era, it came well equipped. The power windows and locks and the AC were fitted as standard. In the instrument panel, Mitsubishi installed a center speedometer flanked on the left by the tachometer and on the right by the fuel and coolant temperature gauges, stacked one on top of the other.

Under the hood, apart from the GSR version, the regular Lancer provided similar engines as its Mirage sibling. The base version featured a 1.3-liter engine, while the top version had a 1.8-liter, fuel-injected engine.