Model-year matrix
Compare every Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution model year the EPA recorded, 2003 to 2015. See complaint patterns, fuel economy and configurations side by side, then open any year for recall campaigns and the full dossier. Confirm against the official NHTSA recall search.
Evidence-led answer
The official records cannot honestly name a best, worst or most reliable year. Complaint totals have no sales, mileage or age denominator. They can show where more reports were filed and which components were named, giving you years to investigate more closely before checking the exact car and its VIN.
No official dataset can support one universal best year. Use the table to compare complaint patterns and EPA figures, then open the shortlisted years for recall campaigns and exact specifications.
The records cannot justify a blanket avoid label. Years with more reports are surfaced below as research priorities, not predictions about every car from that year.
98 indexed complaint reports; power train is the most-reported component label.
Open the 2003 dossier →02 · More reports to inspect200836 indexed complaint reports; power train is the most-reported component label.
Open the 2008 dossier →03 · More reports to inspect201028 indexed complaint reports; power train is the most-reported component label.
Open the 2010 dossier →Do not read this as an avoid list. Older and higher-selling model years usually accumulate more reports. A low count can also mean a newer, rarer or poorly matched vehicle—not a safer one.
Complaint totals are counts of owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects, and they carry no denominator: they are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received. A high-volume or older year will usually show more reports than a rare or recent one. The site does not convert these into a reliability score, because the data needed to do that honestly is not in the public record.
Direct comparison
Choose any two years. The URL keeps the pair so you can return to the same comparison. Every figure below is an observed official record or EPA estimate—not a reliability score.
2015 has 3 fewer indexed complaint allegations than 2014.
This is not a rate or reliability finding. The counts have no sales, mileage, age or exposure denominator, and newer years have had less time to accumulate reports.Side by side
Complaint bars are scaled against this model’s own highest year, so they compare years with each other and with nothing else.
| Year | Complaints | Most-reported components | Combined MPG | EPA configs | Annual fuel cost | Dossier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 3 | power train 3engine 1steering 1 | — | — | — | Dossier → |
| 2014 | 6 | power train 3service brakes 3unknown or other 3 | — | — | — | Dossier → |
| 2013 | 4 | power train 2engine 1suspension 1 | — | — | — | Dossier → |
| 2012 | 3 | power train 2electronic stability control (esc) 1seats 1 | — | — | — | Dossier → |
| 2011 | 11 | power train 7electronic stability control (esc) 3electrical system 2 | — | — | — | Dossier → |
| 2010 | 28 | power train 20electronic stability control (esc) 8engine and engine cooling 3 | — | — | — | Dossier → |
| 2009 | 2 | engine 1tires 1 | — | — | — | Dossier → |
| 2008 | 36 | power train 26electronic stability control (esc) 19fuel system, gasoline 3 | — | — | — | Dossier → |
| 2006 | 24 | engine and engine cooling 10engine 3power train 3 | — | — | — | Dossier → |
| 2005 | 14 | steering 4suspension 4power train 3 | — | — | — | Dossier → |
| 2004 | 0 | — | — | — | — | Dossier → |
| 2003 | 98 | power train 70engine and engine cooling 11electrical system 9 | — | — | — | Dossier → |
Evidence snapshot generated . “Not indexed” means NHTSA holds no complaint record matching this exact year, make and model — not that no fault occurred. Recall campaigns are not summarised here: NHTSA publishes no bulk recall dataset, and fetching them per year would take longer than the page should. Each year’s dossier shows its recalls in full, live from NHTSA.