Dare you FQ?

Is this Evo an overpowered monstrosity or music to the soul?

AT the annual test day, my friend from 'another manufacturer' asked me to take her out in the Evo VIII. Not any Evo VIII, but the FQ-340. As we set off, she was on the phone to her boyfriend. "Guess what car I'm in. Yeah, the FQ-340!" Then she turned to me; "My boyfriend says what's FQ mean?" she said. "Work it out," I replied, "The second word is quick..."

Make no bones about it, this car is mad. I've driven Mitsubishi's Evolutions - wild bewinged versions of the Lancer saloon that owe more to the Japanese manufacturer's rather successful World rally programme than any road intention - before. Last time I had one Mrs C tried to convince me that it was a practical family car. Yeah right...

I mean look at this new version. The 'MR' stands for 'Mitsubishi Racing', the FQ - well despite my comment Mitsubishi hasn't said what that stands for, but it's appropriate. Let's just say it's closely related to the 340 bit, which is approximately the number of horses this Evo has got nestling under its bonnet.

Actually there are 342, encased within what is basically a 1997cc turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine. Except that FQ models get a bigger turbo and reworked camshafts. My version, the most outrageous of the three models available, also acquires an upgrade kit developed by Ralliart (they run Mitsubishi's rally team) helping the engine to breathe more freely - the motoring equivalent of cough medicine? A new exhaust is a part of the treatment, along with an extra engine electronic control unit. So what does it all add up to?

Well the FQ-340 hits 62mph from rest in 4.4 seconds - and that's not an official laboratory figure, but the result of a real-world test by Autocar magazine. This car will go onto 157mph before an electronic anchor stops it. Until a few weeks ago it was the ultimate in road-going rally replicas (I'll tell you more about why it's not any longer shortly). But Mrs C is definitely wrong - one title the FQ certainly cannot wear is that of practical family car...

On the other hand... (Note for lovers of 'Fiddler on the Roof' - I apologise now...). It's a four-door saloon, with plenty of room in the back - number one son's two friends were no less cramped on the daily school run than in the Peugeot Estate I was using last week.

On the other hand... Squeeze the accelerator just a tad past tickover and said schoolfriends are forced back in their seats as this thing takes off. The crucial point is around the 3500rpm mark - then the turbo comes fully on song and we have lift off. In one straight-line acceleration test – I hasten to add well away from public roads - this car took me past 120mph without even breaking sweat... 

On the other hand... This is a very safe car, particularly at this time of year, because it's four-wheel drive. So as the roads get damp and worst of all covered in that slushy mush that once were leaves on trees, an Evo takes it all in its stride, gripping with confidence. This is particularly true of the FQ-340 which has had its chassis fine-tuned by the finest racing brains around. It boasts lots of electronic aids too in addition tot he expected (but uprated) ABS brakes. There's even an 'Active Yaw Control' - which sounds like something pilots learn about.

On the other hand... When developing the FQ-340 the racing types managed to get the Active Yaw Control subtly modified to still fully operate under braking, so it can actually be used to alter the balance of the car and better place it for the next bend, enabling that bend to be taken more rapidly! This thing grips at unreal speeds - speeds you can only experience on a closed circuit - trackday membership is a must alongside Evo ownership.

On the other hand... During my all too short week with the FQ it cruised along at 30mph in the morning queue to Redhill without a murmur of complaint. And it's got a proper boot, with enough space to take the full supermarket shopping run.

On the other hand... Lifting that boot is fun because it has got the most enormous rear wing attached to the top of it. This is combined with an equally enormous front spoiler arrangement that you constantly worry about bending on a kerb. And the FQ is not the most economical car either... Okay, it's not at all economical. Mitsubishi curiously doesn't quote mpg figures, but by the end of my week I was on very good terms with my local filling station. Emissions figures are quoted, but you don't want to know - let's just say significantly the wrong side of 300g/km... And all that comes after you've paid the £33 Grand that an FQ-340 costs...

So no, I have to conclude that it's not a practical family car. But you wouldn't want it to be. The FQ-340 is a car you should keep for special occasions, cossetted in your garage and taken out every few weeks for a track day where you can really experience its considerable performance qualities - boy it has so many.

Now, however, it's not the maddest Evo - there's an even faster one. Mitsubishi revealed it a few weeks ago. it's called the FQ-400, it drops the 0-60mph sprint into sub-four second territory and even boasts funny little shark fins on the back of the roof to aid stability. They are only making 100 of them, and they will cost a mere £46,999. You can bet too they will sell out, so Mitsubishi won't really require me to test one then, sadly...