Road Test 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart: Goldilocks at the wheel

Call me Goldilocks. No, it's not "Call me Ishmael", but this is a car review of the 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart, not Moby Dick. And if that still doesn't make sense, consider that the Sportback Ralliart is the just-right middle that splits the difference in sports-oriented Mitsubishi Lancers. On one end is the Mitsubishi Lancer/Lancer Sportback GTS and at the other the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. The Lancer GTS, for example, has front drive and a naturally aspirated 168-hp engine--a step up from the base (Lancer DE and Lancer) 152-horsepower four-cylinder--and the Lancer Evo has all-wheel drive with a twin-scroll turbocharged engine producing 291 horsepower. Splitting the difference: the Lancer Ralliart, single-scroll turbocharged with an output of 237 horsepower and all-wheel drive.

There's more than motor, of course. The GTS has a standard five-speed manual transmission with an optional continuously-variable transmission (CVT) with steering column-mounted shift paddles, the Lancer EVO depending on model (GSR) a five-speed manual gearbox or (MR) twin-clutch sportronic shift. Again, the Lancer Ralliart is in the middle with only the twin-clutch sportronic transmission available.

Yet more: The Lancer GTS is offered as a conventional four-door sedan or a five-door hatchback that Mitsubishi calls "Sportback." The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution comes only as a conventional four-door sedan. The Lancer Ralliart is available as a sedan or Sportback.

It's the latter, as mentioned above, that we're here to discuss, the 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart. And for what some might consider a compromise, it's one without sacrifice. As noted, the 2.0-liter turbo engine makes enough power for spirited performance. It's not the heavy breather its big brother Evo is but it suffers only in comparison. It's quick and while we don't have any numbers to back that up, the Sportback Ralliart will lose very few tollbooth drag races to the open lane. What the Lancer Sportback Ralliart lacks, however, is the sound of performance. Despite the available poke, it lacks the mechanical noises of the Lancer Evo that give driving enthusiasts a positive version of the willies.

The Lancer Ralliart's twin-clutch sportronic-shift transmission is the same as used in the Lancer Evo MR. Both can be used in fully-automatic mode or can be shifted manually using either the console-mounted shifter or column-mounted magnesium shift paddles. The paddles are larger than most shifter paddles, necessary because the paddles, mounted to the steering column, do not turn with the wheel. The bad news is that they're not always at the driver's fingertips. The good news is that they're not spinning around with the wheel but always right where you left them. Either way it doesn't matter. One really doesn't do much serious shifting with the steering wheel cranked way around.

The Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart's transmission isn't exactly like the Evo MR's. Fifth and sixth gears are taller to improve fuel economy, and while the Lancer Ralliart has driver-selectable Normal and Sport modes, it lacks the ultra-performance S-Sport mode found in the MR.

Scroll down for more photos of the 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart in the photo gallery.

The Lancer Sportback Ralliart doesn't have all the tricks of the EVO's suspension/drivetrain but it has enough for Saturday playtime nonetheless. The Ralliart's all-wheel drive system has a computer-controlled center differential with front and rear limited-slip differentials, plus stability and traction control. Suspension is performance-tuned MacPherson struts and multi-link rear, with cast trailing arms exclusive to Ralliart models. It's similar in layout to the GTS, except for cast trailing arms and stiffer springs and shocks of the Ralliart. (The Lancer Evo goes much further, actaually with a widened version of the standard Lancer platform).

Similar to engine performance, the Lancer Evolution is going to out-corner the Lancer Ralliart which is going to handle better than the GTS. That said, the Ralliart--thanks largely to its sophisticated all-wheel drive system--is a major step up from the GTS. Torque steer is absent and the suspension engineers have tuned the Ralliart sufficiently neutral that lifting--backing off the gas pedal--in the middle of a curve will noticeably cause the tail to want to step out. The stability control is tuned "loose" enough that it will allow the Lancer Ralliart to rotate--something that can be used by the skillful driver to get around sharper corners--while still around enough to keep a driver from seeing the world coming at him through the rear view mirror.

The Lancer Ralliart's all-wheel drive can also be set to "tarmac, gravel or snow", selecting the software profile for the center differential's computer program. We had no snow and we don't have gravel roads to play on, so we can't vouch for the efficacy of the latter two settings. Nice to know they're there, and it does impress passengers.

Passengers will either be delighted or annoyed by the Recaro Sport package which includes, not surprisingly, Recaro seats. HID headlights are also part of the package but annoyingly, so it a high-end Rockford-Fosgate audio system that the performance fans might not want, especially at $2,750. An accessory navigation system weighs in at $1,999.

Standard on the 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart are Bluetooth handsfree phone and a proximity key with keyless start (not a dash pushbutton but a keyless twist knob where a conventional key would otherwise go).

The Lancer Sportback differs from the Lancer sedans by having the fifth door, or hatch, which makes loading larger items easier. Mitsubishi says bicycles. We think apartment furniture, especially the stuff that you have to put together with those camlock things, and extra large baskets of clothes for the laundromat, or better, mom's washer and dryer.

Not that the 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart is limited to apartment dwelling twentysomethings. To the contrary. With the twin-clutch transmission, the Lancer Ralliart is a handsome scooter for anyone who commutes via car, having to deal with traffic backups and toll plazas, and still wants a weekend toy for playing on the twisty bits, or even track days and autocrosses. The softer suspension makes the Lancer Ralliart more palatable for daily use on imperfect roads where the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution tattoos every pavement irregularity onto occupants' derrieres. The Mitsubishi Lancer GTS, however, always leaves the driver thinking "I coulda had the Lancer Ralliart's punch and all-wheel drive."

Most importantly, perhaps, the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart also lies between the Lancer GTS and the Lancer Evolution in price. Our tester, a 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart, came with a window sticker listing the base price as $27,590. The consumer media internet site, however, pegs that price at $28,310. The Lancer (sedan) Ralliart has a base price of $27,910 (per the website) and the 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is $34,310 for the GSR, $39,710 for the MR and $41,710 for the MR Touring. The Lancer GTS is the baby bear of the bunch, with a base price of $19,710 for the sedan with the manual transmission. The 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback GTS is $200 more. The $10,000 or so difference between the GTS and the Ralliart is a continental chasm...but then, so is the performance. The GTS is, well, sporty, and the Evolution is hard core. The 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart is not too weak, not too strong, it's a Just Right performance car.

But for anyone wailing down some back road in the 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart and having whale of a good time, we promise not to call you Goldilocks. Unless of course you want us to. Just don't call us Ishmael. 

Illustration: 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart. Photo by John Matras.

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