2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Road Test & Review

Pros: Great design; well priced; features.

Cons:

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Price: $17,010 to $28,680

Our Rating:

Performance, Ride & Handling	3
Comfort and Interior	3.5
Quality & Design	3
Value & Features	3.5
Safety	4
Green	3.5

2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Sedan and Sportback

Is a stellar design enough to push the Ralliart across the line?

Model Tested:

2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Sportback and Sedan six-speed SST – $42,990

Options:

None fitted.

Gearbox; understeer; handling; engine note.

CarAdvice Rating:

When we first road tested the Mitsubishi Evolution X, we were gob smacked at the precision and level of control on offer in a car used to cart family members around in its everyday sibling form.

Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to have another shot in a slightly detuned, although it uses the same 2.0-litre engine as the Evolution, version known as the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart.

The Lancer Ralliart is essentially a de-gadgetised Evo X, and the car Mitsubishi developed to take on the iconic Subaru WRX.

I spent a week in the Sportback variant and a week in the Sedan to see what all the fuss and banter was about.

Priced alongside the Subaru Impreza WRX, the Lancer Ralliart is meant to be the poor man’s Evolution. Fitted with all-wheel-drive and a snarling turbocharged, four-cylinder engine, it’s enough to get any car enthusiast’s pulse racing.

The Sportback model I drove was featured in a dark blue colour called Lightning Blue, while the Sedan looks exceptionally sexy in Black.

From head on, the front mount intercool is visible, as are bonnet grilles and a ventilation scoop. The only other telltale signs of this vehicle’s true nature are the Ralliart sticker on the rear, along with the Ralliart badge attached to the front grille.

If first impressions were enough to sell this car, every man and his dog would own one. Unfortunately, they only lend slightly to the overall picture and in this case it was with the first impressions that the good points ended.

What firstly got up my nose was the lack of a manual gearbox; Mitsubishi only offers the Ralliart variant with their new dual-clutch SST gearbox. If the gearbox worked as well as the variant fitted to Volkswagens and Audis, they’d have a winning formula, but the gearbox is just one of the many problems confronting the Lancer Ralliart.

Once you open the driver’s door and settle in to the seat, it doesn’t take long to realise this is a tamed version of the ball-breaking Evolution. The lacklustre side and bottom support of the seats, coupled with a steering wheel that doesn’t sit high enough begin to frustrate very quickly.

Interior room is impressive with ample legroom for front and rear occupants. An intuitive boot layout provides for ample boot access, with a built in cargo blind to hide expensive items.

Dashboard plastics feel exceptionally nasty. Although they are fitting for a vehicle in this segment, they are carried over from the base model ES. Competitors such as the Subaru Impreza WRX and Ford Focus XR5 also suffer the same fate.

The proximity-sensing key is all that’s required to get the show on the road. As long as the key is on the driver’s person, the car can be started with a quick turn of the rotary knob located where the key normally goes.

The first thing you will notice no doubt is the tinny and insignificant engine note, while the WRX and XR5 both share a menacing burble at start up, not so the Lancer Ralliart. The trend continues when pushing the Ralliart under full throttle, it sounds like a strangled Kingfisher, a sound that’s neither pleasant nor entertaining.

So let’s move on to the drive. Driving around the city is a frustrating task with the SST gearbox. Moving off from standing starts causes a shunt, once moving the car gets to around 40km/h where it instantly disposes of three gears and is moving along in fifth.

Sure, it’s great for fuel economy but dreadful if you need any torque. You literally need to stand on the throttle before it shifts back into a suitable ratio. Once that happens, you’re left with plenty of revs and boost, more than often too late to be of any use.

The continuous beeping when selecting reverse gear has nothing to do with the rear parking sensors, as I found out, and I got within inches of the car behind me before I got out to look how close I actually was. Luckily I didn’t get any closer, because the beeping was simply there to tell me I was in reverse. As if me selecting reverse gear with my left hand, the car rolling backwards and ‘R’ displayed on the dashboard wasn’t enough.

The static paddle shifters attached to the steering column instantly allow you to browse through the gears on offer but are also riddled with flaws. Slam the throttle in your desired gear and when you reach the end of the rev band and let off, there is a momentary delay before the car realises you are in fact off the throttle.

This anomaly causes the car to keep moving with no feeling of engine braking. It’s certainly daunting each and every time it’s encountered.

The static paddle shifters themselves are also a flawed concept in my opinion. If you’re coming out of a corner and need to shift up a gear, one hand needs to leave the wheel to grab the paddle, opposed to them being attached to the wheel where gear changes may be performed at any point.

Editor David Twomey also commented on this after attending the Evolution launch, which involved a large portion of track driving.

Straight-line acceleration is one of the Ralliart’s strong points. Sink the boot in and this baby Evo really does pile on speed in a hurry. The surge of torque once the turbocharged four-cylinder engine comes on boost is reminiscent of the torque band offered by the Evolution.

Although the Lancer Ralliart uses a similar all-wheel-drive system to the Evolution, it suffers from chronic understeer when pushed. The all-wheel-drive system features a front helical limited-slip differential, an active centre differential, and a mechanical rear limited-slip differential.

Although the Evolution features a similar gear set, the Evolution’s arrangement is termed Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC) and in addition to the Ralliart’s equipment receives Active Yaw Control (AYC), which allows it to vary torque between front/rear and left/right, working with the Active Stability Control (ASC) to deliver power to obtain maximum grip.

In brief, coupled with smaller 215/45R18 tyres (shared with VRX and Aspire) compared to the Evolution’s 245/40R18, the level of tyre squeal and understeer totally detracts from the Ralliart experience.

Driving the Ralliart hard through tight corners gives you the feeling it could be more capable with a decent set of rubber attached to the wheels. The lack of body roll is impressive, as is the steering accuracy, but it isn’t much use without grippy contact with the road.

Brake feel is yet another downside to the Ralliart. The pedal feels extremely firm on each application and although the car pulls up well when you stand on the anchors, they most certainly don’t fill the driver with any confidence.

It proved a thirsty beast as well with fuel efficiency far from stunning. Even if you drive the Ralliart sedately, it’s hard to match Mitsubishi’s claimed figures of 10-litres per 100km, especially when you continuously have to kick down through gears when you need power to move through traffic.

Under the bonnet, the Ralliart is powered by a version of the same 2.0-litre, turbocharged, MIVEC four-cylinder engine found in the Evolution X. Power output sits at 177kW at 6000rpm, while torque is rated at 343Nm at 4725rpm. The figures give you an indication that all the oomph is located well and truly north of the boost line.

At 1555kg, the Lancer Ralliart Sedan isn’t all that light, and the Sportback variant weighs an extra 35kg. Despite the weight difference, they both feel about the same to drive. Aside from visibility, there isn’t much difference in terms of cornering and braking.

If I was footing the bill, I’d be optioning the Rockford Fosgate sound system at $750, it offers plenty of bang for your buck – so to speak.

Priced at $42,990 for both the Sedan and Sportback, the Lancer Ralliart competes head on with the competition on offer.

Mitsubishi also offer a five-year warranty on the vehicle and 10-years on the drivetrain, along with five-year roadside assistance – it’s a pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

But, deal sweeteners don’t help to detract from what I see as essentially a mediocre space filler.

If you get into the Ralliart and drive it with few expectations, it’ll probably take your fancy.

If, on the other hand, you drive the Lancer Ralliart in the hope that it drives like (if only a bit) its Evolution sibling, you will be sadly disappointed. It totally misses the mark and left me wondering why Mitsubishi bothered with it.

CarAdvice Overall Rating:
How does it Drive:
How does it Look:
How does it Go:

Specifications:

Engine: 1998cc, inline four-cylinder
Power: 177kW @ 6000rpm
Torque: 343Nm @ 4725rpm
Induction: Turbocharged
Transmission: six-speed dual-clutch
Differential/Driven Wheels: All-wheel-drive
Brakes: 406mm 2-pot front, 406mm solid disc rear
Top Speed: 220km/h
0-100km/h: 7.1-seconds
0-400m: N/A
CO2 Emissions: 242g/km
Fuel Consumption: 10.2-litres/100km (claimed)
Fuel Tank Capacity: 55-litres
Fuel Type: 95/98RON petrol
ANCAP Rating: Five-star
Airbags: dual front, side, curtain and driver’s knee
Safety: ABS with EBD, BA and ESP.
Spare Wheel: 125/90D16 space saver
Tow Capacity: 1000kg(braked)/550kg(unbraked)
Turning Circle: 10 metres
Warranty: Five-year/100,000km
Weight: 1590kg
Wheels: 18-inch alloy, tyres 215/45R18 89W

Reader reviews of the MITSUBISHI LANCER

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henry

good review ,as it is a poorMAN evo-X
but still great CAR .. got to get one …
B-Man

But why would you bother when you can get a WRX for around the same price?
booter

its 0-100 seems slow for the amount of power claimed.
henry

B-Man
WRX now looks like a girls car.. (ave you seen how it looks like mate).
Sam

I haven’t read a review that scathing since, well, the Mahindra pick-up. Im a bit surprised to see that the reviewer still thinks it is good value even though its a massive pain in the arse to drive around.
http://caradvice.com.au OSU811

I have driven the ralliart and my09 wrx back to back, and had a lot of the same findings, the sst gearbox is definately flawed around town! with a slow take of and clunky change in first and frustrating in stop start driving.. But is very quick and efective once up and moving on the right road!. But the manual wrx is just a much better gearbox all round and has that lovely boxer engine sound, much smoother round town even with having to use clutch in traffic, and sounds better and you feel more in control of the car being a proper manual box!!
milobob

I feel that most DSG (so to speak in VWs and Mitsu terms) suffer from a not so smooth ride in start/stop traffic. Can’t comment on the Audi’s but I’m guessing they are hte same as VWs?
Neutral

Since the SST in this RalliArt is brought over from the Evo X, does the “ball breaking” Evo suffer from the same flaw as the RalliArt?
Adam

Interesting review.

I must admit that this car, along with the WRX and GTI VI are contenders on my shopping list for purchase later in the year.

This is the most negative commentary I have seen on the Ralliart so far. Sometimes I feel that motoring journos can be too critical (essentially because they drive so many top class cars), so it will be interesting to drive this one and compare it to your average car.

On paper the WRX looks a better package, especially now with better tyres, visual enhancements and leather and sunroof options.

Perhaps Mitsubishi should have a 6 speed manual version for $1500 or so less.
Adam

I also find it amusing at how concerned motoring journos seem to be about interior plastics.

Unless I’m going to sleep on the dash board I really don’t care how hard it is.
Alan

Adam, i think the interior plastic is like styling a personal choice, but it does make a difference in making a car appear more expensive and better made. Also, if you sit in the lancer and imprezza, the hard plastic used really gives them a cheap feeling.

I would personally prefer the WRX over this, or better yet the Mk VI Golf GTi when it’s released. I also find the look of the Lancer sportback to be quite ugly, the sedan is much better looking.
B-Man

Yeah it is a big problem Henry. Although the sedan looks slightly better than the hatch, but it still doesn’t look right.
http://caradvice.com.au OSU811

If you dont place your hands on the dash, which most people dont, most people wouldnt even notice the diffrence. and in the 40k price bracket to have all the engineering technology performance and safety of the ralliart and wrx, there has to be a compromise somewhere.. I think my09 wrx in pearl white sedan with the grey rims looks hot!!
Matt

After test driving this car for a moderate amount of time on more than one occasion, I find this review to be a pretty low mark for what is still a very good car for what it was designed to do. If you want EVO/Sti performance, go pay the extra $17,000 and you’ll be happy. 7.1 seconds 0-100km/h is very conservative, I’ve driven 6.3sec and if you don’t mind pushing the gearbox a bit harder, 5.6sec is on offer (TARMAC Magazine – Autumn 09 issue).

As for the complaints about no manual box and the subsequent foibles with the static paddle shifters, the gears can still be changed manually, and for mid-corner gear changes in a conventional manual, what does your hand do…??? Has to move a lot further than reaching a paddle.

In agreement however, the “Sportback” styling and tires are a poor effort by Mitsubishi and another inch wider on the rims would be nice. Still, AWD Turbo for 43K? Not a bad deal in my opinion.
http://caradvice.com.au OSU811

Adam I agree there should be a 5sp manual version of the ralliart like in the evo!, even if it was the same price, it would make for a better more enjoyable car…
Yianni

0-100km/h 7.1 seconds? What the?
nick

Was the writer half a sleep with figures of 7.1 every other test is in the 6sec mark. Was James May testing this car!!!!!!!
sillyhonda

What an overpriced crap!!

OttoAu

The irony!!

What does that make the haonda civic blahblah thats $40k+

nesh

If the acceleration times were that slow, you’d be a fool to not go with a GTI instead of this. All you plastics critics would be pleased with the german build.
Tom

7.1 to 100?

arnt base model aurions rolling off better numbers than that?

what a shameful car, id recommend buy the WRX instead, but then you have to live with its styling.
realcars

Love the look of these Lancers.

Who’s the dude on the left side of the poster?
I thought I was looking at a mirror.LOL.
Fasthonda

I’m suprised the review gave a 4 stars to the”How does it look”category!
Every review I’ve read about the Ralliart has not really impressed the testes.
All the negative points this review has mentioned seem to echo the thought that this car isn’t even a “poor man’s” EVO X.Other commentators have described it as “chalk and cheese” in comparing the two Lancers.
This car initially seemed so promising as a worthy competitor to the WRX and unfortunately,it’s has not lived up to expectations.
technofreak

The look already seems dated. Like the wrx really. The gearbox does not interest me at all. I’ll spend my money on something better
Peter

I think head-to-head vs the MY08 WRX this would be a clear winner. However, it’s now 2009 and the MY09 WRX is here with some much needed enhancements. I’m hoping that next year’s Ralliart gets some different tyres (seems to be a major complaint from most reviews), more power and fix the gearbox issues. I just can’t help but think that for the same money, someone could easily get a near-mint condition 2006 EVO IX. It would be a more technologically (minus the SST gearbox) advanced car to drive.

I’m looking at something in this segment late in the year, so will be interesting to see what turns up. If I were to pick now, it’d be the MY09 WRX Sedan. Otherwise, I may save up some more pennies and go all out on an Evolution X. Heck, by then there may be some 2008 examples going for around 50K.
Cupid Stunt

Expensive non performer. Lousy performance and economy. 3 stars seems about right.
G

I was considering getting one of these when they came out. They looked good on paper, and I actually like the styling. But when it finally was released here and I saw the amount of interior carry-over from the VRX model I changed my mind. They could at least put bucket seats in the thing like Subaru did with the WRX. The wheels were the final nail in that coffin, I’m not even going to bother test driving it. The WRX looks sedate in hatch and ugly in sedan form so now I’m holding out for an E46 M3 at a decent price – then I’ll get a decent luxury and performance package.
http://www.caradvice.com.au Paul Maric

Peter:

You’ll be interested to hear we have an MY09 Impreza WRX Sedan vs Lancer Ralliart Sedan comparo planned around the corner.

Review should be online within two weeks.

You guys will be able to see a few teaser pictures on our Facebook page by late next week.
Adam

Thanks Paul, that sounds great!
http://Mini Ben Larden

Spot on review Paul. Well done. Apart from looking like absolute crap, the car is burdened by one transmission choice, crappy tyres, and not much else going for it.
http://Antilag.com Joe

Ahh the good old interior plastic issue once again. Ok so the plastics might be hard…but have you checked the quality of them?

I know on our MY09 WRX, the plastics are hard but there are no squeaks or rattles, none of the plastic seems flimsy, and the interior panel gaps are spot on. The quality is there! I’d say the Lancer and the Focus would be very similar in this regard, and definitely a step up above an SS Commodore or XR6 Turbo falcon!!!
Neutral

It’s amazing how some people can call this car things like absolute crap or ugly piece of junk but praise the Evo X like they worshipped it. Come on this car shares the same basic design as the Evo except for the wider body and slightly different bumpers. So are you gonna call the Evo X piece of shit too?
milobob

Unfortunately this car will always be compared to the Evo, so it will never fail to ‘depress’. However, looking at the reviews for the WRX, it doesn’t seem to be compared that much to the STi (but alas the difference between the two is less than Ralliart vs Evo).

I personally think there is always room for improvement – yes, mitsu aus should have put better tyres, wheels, seats and even HIDs to entice the buyer more (I mean, other countries get these and they aren’t even an option for us!). But good on Mitsu for bringing us a poor-mans evo! It’s about time!
Flying High

I have seen these in the flesh and they are butt ugly in hatch form. The Rex may not be photogenic, but for whatever reason look far better on the road. This review is pretty much on the money with my expectations of the car.
David

I have driven the VW R32, GTI and Ralliart all on the same day back to back, and a MY08 WRX a few weeks prior. In my opinion the Ralliart puts the VW’s and 08 WRX to shame. Will be testing the 09 WRX soon although I am not very keen on the looks. Anyway my point is I cannot justify the bad review you have given the Ralliart.

Are you being paid by Subaru?

Why are there no photos of the better looking sedan you had for 1 week?

Did you drive the car in sports mode? As this deletes the sluggish response in normal mode you have complained about. Normal mode is ordinary I have to agree it’s only good for saving fuel, but sports mode is perfect as it does not change gears below 3000rpm.

If the static paddles were a problem, you are also able to change gears on the floor by tapping the gear stick up or down.

Also I do not understand how you could find brake feel a downside as I found the break feel in the Ralliart very good for its class and better than its competitors, but I suppose everyone has their own opinion and preference.

Unless it’s a typo, it looks to me that you were somehow ripped off, as the Ralliart is much quicker then 7.1 to 100. You should retest and/or make sure your timing equipment is up to scratch. (Or stop accepting bribes by Subaru )

On your comments at the end of your review, I feel you were expecting as much as an EVO X and were let down. We must not forget this car is designed to sit between the VRX and the EVO X. But then again I thought the Ralliart was better than the R32 which a caradvice.com journalist thought was better than the EVO X.

OttoAu

“Are you being paid by Subaru?”

LOL

No, just VW and Hyundai!!

Sam

Sports mode? Thats sounds very technical and cutting edge David. Who would think to look for such a device??????????
Paul Maric

David:

Are you suggesting the gearbox’s ‘Sport’ mode should be used during regular driving to stop the lag and jittery starts? I barely think that’s a wise idea considering it holds gears for longer and is designed for…sports driving.

Yes, we are being paid by Subaru. How did you find out? Surely it wasn’t courtesy of our four car sports sedan comparison where the WRX STI came last, or the three-stars we handed to the revised Tribeca.

It seems that every time an armchair experts sees a result they don’t like, we’re accused of being paid off by the competition.

0-100km/h in 7.1-seconds is the claimed result provided by Mitsubishi. It feels about that fast too. Again, this is mainly due to the dordling of the gearbox on take off. This is overcome in the Evo by a launch-control mode.

I wasn’t expecting an Evo performance, I was expecting more of a WRX/GTI/XR5 performance, as it stands, all three of the aforementioned would dish out a flogging to any Ralliart driver in terms of performance, handling and day-to-day driving dynamics.

http://yahoo.co.uk angelo

just curious paul. y you end up giving 3.5 stars to how it drives? on your pro and cons you’e listed garbox; understeer; handling as cons (all of this has got to do with the drive). and you also mentioned driving around the city is a frustrating task and the brakes feel is yet another downside to the Ralliart. so y 3.5 stars if it’s that bad? there’s no consistency with the review and the summary of the review of how it drives (3.5 stars)

ScienceGeek

@Sam: Obviously Paul Maric didn’t think to look for the sports mode button. Terrible review, I gave it only two steering wheels.
Huge

Reading a usa review, they had the baby evo and the wrx race each other with same tires around a test track. The ralliart was a touch quicker.. see http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=138347. I use sports mode on our golf in heavy traffic, with the lower gearing helping driving predictability with the stop atart traffic. Hell even the techie at the VW shop suggested this to me. However, i don’t leave it in this setting outside of horrible brisbane traffic.
carl guo

I wonder why they didn’t write about driving with manual mode, the test driver probably knows only how to drive automatic. does he ever or know how to drive with a tiptronic gearbox?
http://www.littlepixiegifts.com.au Gift-Ed

I’m quite surprised by the bitterness of some of the comments.

This is a review which inevitably reflects the journalists findings. You don’t have to agree, but why question the journalists integrity / intelligence / ability?

If you have a different opinion, great, share it.

If you only want a positive review of a particular car, you’d be better off reading the manufacturers brochure.
Kettlebells

Well said Gift-Ed
http://www.caradvice.com.au/21781/2009-mitsubishi-lancer-ralliart-sportback-and-sedan-review/ Ken

I own one (sedan), I am wondering why you lied about the car. Almost everything you said bad is not true at all. who paid you to lie? Maybe Subaru, or Mazda perhaps.
Yaoming

I just check this new lancer hour ago.I full in love with it.But before that i got couple choise in mind such as new Mazda 3,new VW GTI,new mini,subaru WRX.. However,I still stay with this sportback.Its all about how you feel to it.I dont care what comments so ever.If you care how much it worth to buy then dont buy it .Maybe you sould take bus at all.I love this car not just the good thing and bad thing too.
kris

do your own test before you buy, motoring jouro`s over the years have picked some of the biggest lemon`s as car of the year LOL I`ve been watching for more than fifty years they know f/all.that boy looks he`s just out of kinder.
Paul Maric

Kris:

Thanks for the comments. Please feel free to provide your own review if you feel you can do a better job.

Going by your spelling and grammar, I’m not sure you’d be allowed to loan a car, let alone afford to buy one.

I’m flattered by your comments, I pride myself on my boyish good looks. I’m afraid I don’t bat for your team though.

matt

lol desperate attempts by a cut man, lol admit it he got you.

Hayzel

kris Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 5:16 pm

do your own test before you buy, motoring jouro`s over the years have picked some of the biggest lemon`s as car of the year LOL I`ve been watching for more than fifty years they know f/all.that boy looks he`s just out of kinder.

errrmmm…with considerations to the use of English language here Kris just downgraded himself to a comment bashing white thrash. You’ve been watching for 50 years? Have you been reading for 50 years? I don’t think so..considering the level of your education, that honestly clearly shown here. Motoring journalists are in thei profession because they know what they are talking about…at least so much more so than average civilians. Seriously Kris your English is worst than a poor and hungry somalian immigrant.
Solar Flare

“Driving around the city is a frustrating task with the SST gearbox. Moving off from standing starts causes a shunt, once moving the car gets to around 40km/h where it instantly disposes of three gears and is moving along in fifth.”

Is this a joke? “Normal” mode is what driving around the city is for, yet you complain about its shifting when the WHOLE point of that mode is for that? If you want a jump start at the line and hit those high RPM’s, switch to “Sport” mode, which can be switched on the fly…
T_Money

I drive a 09 Ralliart and I must say that the people who seem to be giving this car a bad wrap really need to drive the car and then make an informed decision.

I agree with some of Paul’s comments relating to lag in acceleration in normal mode. I find myself having to be on the throttle up to 2 seconds before the apex of a corner in order to pull myself around at a decent speed. However in sports mode this problem is drastically reduced.

As for 0-100 times and ¼ mile times I have done quite a bit of testing at Willowbank Raceway in QLD and con confirm that 7.1 Sec 0-100 is very conservative. The best 0-100 time I have managed to date has been 5.8 Seconds. I have crossed the ¼ mile in 13.4. Remember that this is a completely stock car. That’s not too bad.

Around the Queensland Raceway Clubman track the car is pitched up against XR5’s, GTI’s and WRX’s. I can report that on road tyres, the car is significantly faster (up to 3 seconds) than both the XR5 and GTI and has an easy time keeping up with MY09 WRX’s. Yes driver ability comes into play, however, it just goes to show that the car is not a slouch, nor outdone by its competitors.
TDo

The hatchback styling doesn’t work for me no matter how much I try to like it.
I thought driving in normal mode was a bit too boring and didn’t bring any joy trying to actually drive it.
In sports mode however you can feel the difference if just a little average.
It has a very hard time keeping up with my 19 year old car.
Must at least commend Mitsub for having a go at it though.
Maybe a little more thought put into it’s setup and Mits should be onto something.
frank

I think it looks average just like the wrx, dissapointing stats alot slower than the wrx same uglyness. I think the vrx looks better and only slightly slower. Does it seem they have gone backwards on this one?
Graeme

I just drove the Lancer and then the Evo 10. I must say the Lancer was curtainly the better car. I was very disappointed with the Evo. I really enjoyed the Lancer in all modes auto/manual/sports it is very responsive and its value for money you can’t really complain. I am certainly going to purchase it with leather racing seats, sat tracking and up market sound system, sun roof etc.
Well I will see you on the track cheer’s.
robert

I RECENTLY PURCHASED A 2009 fastback RALLIART FOR MY WIFE. I AGREE WITH THE CRITICS.
Pathetic tyres which i have since upgraded to 285 19′s $1200
What a difference.
Love the big whaleshark front a bit Ausi’ish needs some LED’s , dont like the higher ground clearance rear stance. so I droped it down a tad.
added a $500 exhaust what a difference
$1200 chip wow! Very complicated job actually, probably should have cost $5000.00
Huge!!! improvement.Beats my friends WRX.
I dont flog it ijust drive it the way a car like this should be and can be driven.

no more jerking in 1st in shopping centeres, at lights etc.
Brakes? nothing wrong withthem the big rubber stops better than my friends WRX.
My wife drives it like a demon now whereas before the mods she hated it.
MITSUBISHI this message is for you!! Fix the bloody thing give it the few things it needs to make driveable and enjoyable.

Karen

Hi Robert Iam in the middle of purchasing a sportsback ralliart & was interested in what mods you had done to improve the car. My son who has a skyline GTT R34 says I have bought an Evo wanna be & I want to show him this can be a great car

http://www.lukehimself.net Luke

Karen,

I would tell your son that he has bought a wanna be GT-R The Ralliart and GT-Ts 0-100km/h time is very close, plus your Ralliart would be a lot newer with many more features.

Lourance

I even waited 9 months for the Golf MK6 GTI just so I could test drive all the hot hatches and I have to say the Lancer Ralliart still won me over. Love the Jekyll and Hyde Lancer. You can’t beat the 5 year warranty/road side assistance and 10 year engine and drive train. And stop comparing it with the EVO its no a EVO. Just have to wait for Feburary for mine to arrive. /sigh
Max

My Girlfriend bought a new Lancer VRX, Man what a car,with the paddle shift, goes up to 90km/h in 2nd gear, I always wanted to have some sort of FPV or HSV,but after a test drive of Ralli Art Lancer and Evo 10, trust me big muscle cars are good enough for a good noise not for handling, will get white evo 10 soon….

My girlfriend thinks that i forced her to buy a lighetening blue VRX, trust me i did not, but she made a best mistake ever by buying a VRX,,,,, LOLZ
Chris Shearer

Bought a RallArt from Toowong Mitsubishi, would have to say the worst experience ever in buying a car.
When a car is sold as a Demo it is sold still as a new car with a few k’s on the clock and the company sells it a a new car, that is till there is a problem and then all of a sudden it is a second hand car and that is what you paid for and get.
My Demo was BLACK in colour so I got the paint protection, they got some one to buff the car first, the person who buffed the car completely distroyed the paint job, can not be buffed out and really needs a new paint job. I live in Cairns flew down to pick up the car, the car was in the shade so could not see the damage and did not see it till I arrived back in Cairns and that was on a sunny day.
TOOWONG MITSUBISHI say it is my problem and to go away. Just want to let people know that there has to be a far better place to buy a car, even better if it is a different brand.

Chris

toxic_horse

Mate, I would be straight onto mitshibishi australia’s head office.
no dealership applies the paint protection themself, they send it to a contractor, if they have done a shoddy job it shoudl be up to the dealer that sent it there to fix it.

GSR 4G93T

I own a 1993 Mitsubishi Lancer GSR 4WD, its done 170,000k’s and still has the original TD04 stock turbo and intercooler and I wipe these RalliArt Lancers any day of the week. How come that after 17 years of engineering my car is still far superior than this current model. I looked up articles and came across this review as I was wondering what the stats were on these RalliArt Lancers and I’m far from impressed with the 0-100km/hr times, surely for a car with 177kw they should be running low 6′s at least. Personally I’d get an EVO VI – EVO VIII before one of these things that you would be able to pick up still in great conditon and true performance and not get laughed by Toyota Corolla’s.!

Al Juraj

Zero-100 kph of 7.1 seconds is obviously done by an incompetent driver. It did 0-60 mph in as low as 5.7 seconds, so 100 kph should come at around .3 or .4 second.

What’s the 0-100 kph time of your Evo I, II or III anyway?