2009 Mitsubishi Lancer

Review

“That boy’s got the Devil in Him!”

By: Nathan Adlen 

This car is one step from perfection – okay, a FEW steps from perfection, but the main issue I have is the lack of a manual transmission. I know – I ALWAYS kvetch about not stirring my own coffee (I’m full of manual transmission euphemisms). The Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart would be SO much more fun if it had a 5 or 6-speed manual.

Still, this little guy is a bantamweight fighter.  

The automatic is a version of the DSG used in the Evo X MR. You bang on either of the magnesium paddles or floor shifter to bounce up and down gears. It works better than the garbage so many automakers are trying to pass off as “manual/automatic.” You can blip gears and hold gears better than any electronic system used on just about any other volume automaker.

The turbocharged 237 horsepower (making 253 lbs feet of torque) 2.0 liter 4-cylinder is just right for this platform. I feel that too much torque through those smaller skinny tires (P215/45/18) compared with the Evo’s fat (P245/40R18) would make for skittish performance. This setup is a fine compromise between a compliant ride and sporty performance.  

Let me put it another way. Imaging that you could test this vehicle for a week. This is a much better way to ascertain its individual merits verses a 5 minute test-drive. Unfortunately, most people can’t do this. Thus – I will tell you what a full week torture test is like in a Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart.

Kids can fit. However, it is not a very kid friendly car. The sports seats and especially the optional Recaro seats make looking over the shoulder kind of tough. There are few pockets, storage compartments and cup holders. Trunk space is mediocre and a subwoofer takes up many valuable inches (but it is essential for the great audio system). You can stuff a stroller and some important kiddy items in there and the seats do fold as there is no additional structural bracing blocking the way like the Evo X.  If you have 2 child seats, you will have a hard time fitting a third person or a third child seat in the back. So, if you kid is over 2 and/or you have more than 2 – you may want to look elsewhere. 

If you have pets, you may not like the Lancer Ralliart’s interior. The black fabric has a very good grip, but makes for suction material with any hair (my passenger’s hair remained a long after she departed). I think a dog or cat would be a nightmare with most of the Ralliart’s interior.

Once you get past a few other gripes (plastics and digital readouts could have been better) you get into the soul of the car. Yes, this little Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart has a soul. THAT in itself is saying something based on the fact that 70% of the cars built today are soulless. Saying (and proving) that a car has a personality is HUGE to me. There are many fast cars out there that are only one step above from being a transportation appliance. The Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart is more than that – thank god.  

It’s all in the driving, where this machine comes alive.  

Even when you approach, it’s easy to find many attractive lines in the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart; simply put, it is a VERY attractive car. The Mitsubishi designers should be commended for the original shape. I mean, sure it would have been nice if the Ralliart had a few things to separate it from the Lancer GTS other than the emblems, exhaust and a few trim bits. Still, the design is distinctive, aggressive and handsome.  

Once you flop over the sport seats and nestle in, you feel like you are sitting in a similar position as a rally racer. In some ways, you are. The 2.0 liter 4 banger is a little snarley, but nowhere near as fierce as its bigger Evo X brother (or a Subaru WRX STi for that matter). It only sounds aggressive above 4500 rpm and by then you will know the love that is the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart.

In city traffic, there is nothing too remarkable about the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart. It does everything a regular commuter does with a tad more bravado on passing and on-ramps. The Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart is fairly narrow and easy to park when you get used to the long, shark-shaped nose. Other than the boy-racer wing (which is far less obnoxious than the Evo X’s former Bi-plane wing) there is little to let on that your Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart is anything more than a gussied up small 4-door.   

Now, find a road.

In any state, any country, on any continent, anywhere on the planet – there is THE road. The road in question has turns and switchbacks, hairpins and “S’s” long and short straightaways, tight and sweeping turns and many elevation changes. Hopefully, this road has little or no traffic and the local constabularies keep clear of it.  

If you drive the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart – find this road!

Once you begin, keep in mind that its sweet-spot (where the turbo is spooled up and rpm is optimum) is between 3,800 and 5,500 give or take a few hundred rpm. Select your traction preference by selecting “tarmac,” “gravel” or “snow” on the traction switch (this will change the whole character of the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart’s traction adhesion). Lag off the line is kind of slow, but once things begin to spin, the power flies right up to the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart’s redline. As each corner closes, just tap the (-) paddle until you are in the right gear at the right speed. Burry your foot in it and you’re screaming threw the apex before slapping the (+) paddle again and again until you’re steady. Once you have the knack for the paddle shifter’s timing, gear lag (which is minimal) and tire adhesion down, you will have no CHOICE but to have a blast.  

It wasn’t until I hit a corner WAY too fast and over-steered about 10 yards past where I wanted to maneuver that I remembered that this was no Evo. In some ways (may god forbid me) this little devil, the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart can be more enjoyable than the Evo X.

Hold ON! I know you’re about to scream, but let me explain.  

The Evo X is a SERIOUS sports car. This sucker is one mean machine that can take on ANY vehicle on real roads. The Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart is much more real, has playful a demeanor and rewards more while punishing less. The Evo X is a monster that will rip out fillings, hurt your reproductive organs and slap you around – when it’s in a good mood.

That’s what I truly love about the simple yet rewarding Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart. It is fun at a drop of a hat and makes you feel good when you drive it hard. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and it’s smart enough to keep you from driving too stupidly – like me.  

If this thing came in a 5 or 6-speed manual, I would say it is better than the Subaru WRX.

I love this little devil!