2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Sportback Thomaston GA

2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Sportback By Brian Alexander, Road Test Editor



DriverSide Overview
After years of waging war on the World Rally circuit, be it through the woods of Finland or the atop the precipices of Corsica, Mitsubishi and Subaru found themselves competing for rally-bred sales on the showroom floor with their Lancer Evolution and Impreza WRX STI models respectively. But the upside-down economy has a funny way of turning the World Rally scene, well, upside-down. Now neither Mitsubishi nor Subaru compete on the famed stages of the WRC, but they are adding fuel to the fire at the dealership level. Hence the Lancer Ralliart, a pound-for-pound Subaru WRX fighter if ever there were one. Closer to the Lancer Evolution X (that’s Mitsubishi’s fire-breathing, eternally oversteering compact sedan) than it ever will be to the humdrum Lancer compact in its demeanor, the Ralliart was built to fill a void within Mitsubishi’s lineup that was previously left unoccupied. Funny, we swear Subaru said the same thing when they updated the WRX last year. So what does the Lancer Ralliart bring to the table? How does 237 horsepower, 253 lb-ft of torque, all-wheel drive and a twin-clutch SST automatic transmission sound? It definitely strikes a happy medium between the everyday Lancer and the superhero Evo X, but don’t look at it as an Evo on the cheap, because this car has a distinct character all to itself. Whether that character suits you or not depends on how you like your vehicle to perform.








What's to Like
No other Japanese brand offers a twin-clutch transmission in this segment, and we applaud Mitsubishi for taking the lead and replacing the traditional automatic with a 21st century solution. The Sportback’s hatch provides ample room for oversized cargo and if you need more space, the 60/40 folding seats are there to help.

What's Not to Like
At $28,310 to start, the Ralliart Sportback comes in well above the competition, and the sedan is only a few hundred dollars less so there aren’t many savings to be had should you not need hatchback versatility. Fuel economy feels more Evo than Lancer, which isn’t a good thing, though the twin-clutch SST transmission does its best to shift into the highest available gear as quickly as possible.

The Drive:
DriverSide Driving Impressions
Coupled with the ultra-fast shifting twin-clutch SST transmission, the Ralliart’s 2.0-liter MIVEC turbo inline-four manages to feel more powerful than it actually is, much in the same light of its big brother, the Evo MR. There is a hard thump of torque around 3,500 rpm that really kicks you back into the seat, and as the revs climb you brace for more explosive acceleration, but unlike the Evo, it never arrives. Still, it’s very, very quick, with 0-60 mph coming up in under six seconds thanks to the short gearing, and you really feel like you can...

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