Top Safety Pick

2011 Mitsubishi Lancer

small car / 4-door sedan

Award applies only to vehicles Except 4-wheel drive

2011 Mitsubishi Lancer 4-door sedan — 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2008-17 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer ES 4-door

The Mitsubishi Lancer was redesigned for the 2008 model year. The small overlap frontal ratings also apply to the hatchback version of the Lancer, known as the Sportback, available for the 2010-14 model years.

Evaluation criteria	Rating

Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics The dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side, leaving the head vulnerable to contact with forward side structure. Additionally, the seat belt allowed excessive forward excursion of the dummy’s head and torso. The side curtain airbag deployed but does not have sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with forward side structure and outside objects, and the driver's seat tipped forward and toward the B-pillar. The side torso airbag deployed.

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained reasonably well.

During the crash, the dummy's head and torso barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off to the left. The seat belt allowed the dummy's head and torso to move too far forward, and the side curtain airbag did not extend far enough forward toward the A-pillar.

Except for door hinge pillar deformation and instrument panel intrusion, the driver's space was maintained reasonably well, and risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1411
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	21
Footrest (cm)	18
Left toepan (cm)	12
Brake pedal (cm)	9
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	3
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	1
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	11
Upper dash (cm)	12
Lower instrument panel (cm)	14

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1411
Head
HIC-15	168
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.8
Extension bending moment (Nm)	20
Maximum Nij	0.37
Chest maximum compression (mm)	17
Femur (kN)
Left	1.0
Right	0.7
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	5
Right	1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.54
Right	0.35
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	2.8
Right	1.7
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	56
Right	46

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2008-17 models

Tested vehicle: 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer ES 4-door

The Mitsubishi Lancer was redesigned for the 2008 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Mitsubishi. The frontal ratings also apply to the hatchback version of the Lancer, known as the Sportback, available for the 2010-14 model years.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF0618
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	3
Left (cm)	8
Center (cm)	8
Right (cm)	6
Brake pedal (cm)	5
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	1
Right (cm)	2
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	0
Rearward (cm)	0
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	1

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF0618
Head
HIC-15	207
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.4
Extension bending moment (Nm)	10
Maximum Nij	0.28
Chest maximum compression (mm)	32
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	1.3
Femur force - right (kN)	1.4
Knee displacement - left (mm)	2
Knee displacement - right (mm)	2
Maximum tibia index - left	0.52
Maximum tibia index - right	0.37
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	3.2
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	2.2
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	45
Right	63

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2008-11 models

Tested vehicle: 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer ES 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Mitsubishi Lancer was redesigned for the 2008 model year. The side ratings also apply to the hatchback version of the Lancer, known as the Sportback, beginning with 2010 models.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	CES0837
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-10.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0837
Head HIC-15	174
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.1
Compression (kN)	0.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	36
Lateral force (kN)	1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	34
Average deflection (mm)	29
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	5.53
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.67
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	2.6
Acetabulum force (kN)	3.1
Combined force (kN)	5.7
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.6
L-M moment (Nm)	185
A-P moment (Nm)	70

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0837
Head HIC-15	260
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.3
Compression (kN)	0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	50
Lateral force (kN)	1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	35
Average deflection (mm)	29
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.13
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.41
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.1
Acetabulum force (kN)	3.2
Combined force (kN)	3.9
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.8
L-M moment (Nm)	147
A-P moment (Nm)	-40

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2008-17 models

Tested vehicle: 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer ES 4-door

Rating also applies to the 4-door hatchback (Sportback) variant, but does not apply to 2015 and earlier models of the Ralliart and Evolution. These two models rate Acceptable.

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	2,984 lbs
Peak force	12,863 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	4.31

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seats

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Manual cloth seats
Geometry
Backset (mm)	54
Distance below top of head (mm)	32
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	13.5
Head contact time (ms)	63
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	1
Max neck tension (N)	554

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.