Regular readers - hi guys, welcome back - will know that we've already discussed this particular Evo; the one with the least powerful (but still 291bhp) engine and the electronically-controlled twin-clutch SST manual gearbox. Our previous road test was based on a few hours' hard driving, but this time the Evo faces a sterner challenge: what exactly is this car like to live with?

The most important thing about any Evo is that it has to provide an out-of-the-ordinary driving experience, and the all-new Evo X certainly does that. It is, as all Evos should be, a magnificently competent car, interestingly quick in a straight line and with as much grip as you could conceivably require round corners.

Despite all that, it in not my favourite Evo. My favourite was the now-discontinued Evo IX MR FQ-360, which was just astonishing, not least because it was brutally fast (0-60mph in 3.9 seconds for heaven's sake). But it wasn't simply a matter of straightline speed; my second favourite car in the list was the much less powerful Evo VIII 260 which, like the 360, made an outstandingly good job of dealing with the power it had.

The Evo X FQ-300 is different. What it does on the road is remarkable, but it seems to do it all by itself. You tell it to round a particular corner very quickly, and that's what happens, but compared with the earlier Evos you don't feel as if you have an active, in-the-moment participation in the process. You feel distant from the real action, and while you can be deeply impressed by what's going on you may not be excited by it.

However, this is quite good in a way, because it means that the new FQ-300 feels a lot more civilised on the road than most of its predecessors did. In particular, it's very quiet for an Evo, and although this is disappointing in a way (the engine note is dull and muffled even at 7000rpm) it does mean that you can drive the car a long way without your eardrums leaping out of your skull. Previous Evos have been painfully noisy by comparison.

Don't let me give the impression that this is a soft, cossetting car, though. "These seats are not for the wide of arse, are they?" said the Assistant Editor as she climbed aboard for the first time (she's quite right, though they do provide fabulous support). She was also critical of the ride, which is admittedly a bit stiff, but to an experienced Evo driver it feels like you're lying on a large, expensive mattress.

So you might want to be careful about who you choose as a passenger, because for someone who's not in the mood a ride in an Evo is likely to be too much of a hardcore experience - which is ironic, considering how non-hardcore the whole business has become for the driver.

And yet you still get more from an Evo than from almost anything else in its price range. There is a great joy to be had from hurling it into a corner, feeling the back end break away just enough to aid turn-in (and then regain grip immediately afterwards) and then flooring the throttle for maximum drive through the corner and not changing up until the revlimiter becomes insistent on the subject. And you don't have to push anything like that hard to have fun - the grip, the balance and the straightline urge are all apparent even when you're behaving much more soberly.

The Evo magic is still there, then, even if it has largely become hidden during the transition from IX to X. And although I can't bring myself to think of this car as a classic Evo, I know I would be much more prepared to live with it on a regular basis than almost any of the other hot Mitsubishis I've driven.

Price: £31,999
Capacity: 1998cc
Power: 291bhp
0-62mph: 4.7 seconds
Maximum speed: 155mph
Economy: 33.6mpg extra urban, 26.2mpg combined
CO2 emissions: 256g/km
Insurance: Group 19
Manufacturer figures.