By Justin Berkowitz
June 11, 2008
Mitsubishi has unveiled the Lancer Sportback, which is their fun language for "hatchback version of the Lancer." While it may not be the world's finest execution of a hatch in the history of cars, the Lancer is already a good looking vehicle and the added flexibility is most welcome. Mitsubishi's also announced the Ralliart version of the Lancer, which we've been waiting on since we realized that the regular Lancer is as much fun as eating glass. The Ralliart retains the 2.0-liter DOHC engine, but turbocharges its way to 236hp and 253 lb ft of torque. All that power is routed through a clever all wheel-drive system. While we can't yet confirm it for the US, the SST dual-clutch transmission IS go for European production. Considering the American love affair with automatic transmissions and Mitsu's desperate need to move metal here, the dual clutch gearbox's entry into the North America market seems highly likely. Sounds like the Evo's little brother will make for a great WRX competitor.
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POWERED
June 11th, 2008 at 10:52 am
From the messageboards, I’ve been hearing that the AWD system comes for the Evo 9. Should be a great car and could give me pause before I go out and get that Mazdaspeed3. If they can get the Ralliart version here for $25k then it’s definitely a player.
June 11th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Is the sportback coming to North America? The post seems somewhat unclear on that.
June 11th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Most welcome.
As exciting as the EVO X is, here in Canada, it’s priced just ridiculously, as is the STi, both hovering around $50K. When plunking down that kinda cash, I’ll be looking at BMWs (135i), Infinitis (G37S) and other, more liveable brands.
And in any case, it’s gotten that the higher performance models are simply unusable — borderline silly — for daily urban driving. [Tangent: I've found myself to prefer the 230hp BMW 128i to the 135i as a fun car]
All this to say, the Ralliart finally brings together many desirable point heretofore unavailable in a single vehicle:
Affordability, good performance, great driving charactaristics, utility and
gooddecent looks (I’m looking at you Impreza / WRX).Well done to Mitsubishi.
June 11th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Oh my goodness gracious this is the coolest hatch I’ve seen to date, if I wasn’t poor and married and fuel-efficency obsessesd I would buy one immediately. Good heavens, if this hatch is reasonably priced (near/under WRX) Subaru is pretty much doomed forever, with the MS3 and this little number potentially gobbling up the Japanese Compact sport market.
June 11th, 2008 at 11:29 am
According to Edmunds.com the lancer hatch is coming to America.
TOKYO — Mitsubishi has already released photos of its Prototype-S, a near-production-ready concept of the new Lancer Sportback, which will debut at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show on March 4. Today the Japanese automaker confirmed plans to bring the new Sportback to the United States. Previously, Mitsubishi only committed the new Sportback to the European market.
Wonder if the gas mileage will be any good….
June 11th, 2008 at 11:57 am
I’d rather have a proper hatch version… The sportback just means you get less storage room and you might as well just get the sedan…
June 11th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
looks striking in white, maybe not so much in darker colours. i guess they sell in volumes too small to justify a wagon.
June 11th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
@akatsuki
If the trunk area is shorter than on the sedan, then you are correct, but you do gain some flexibility. However, it looks as though the trunk length is similar to the sedan, so no loss, plus flexibility (at a slight security penalty).
Besides, have you seen the trunk size on an Evo X, it’s tiny. I believe the Ralliart will be a little better than the Evo in this respect, due to not having the battery and a water reservoir in there.
What they really need is a pair of Evo/Ralliart Wagons, oh yes…
June 11th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
But is a manual confirmed yet? All I keep hearing about is the SST.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
They had the same worries about the Evo X not having a true manual. I think it would be silly of Mitsubishi to not offer a manual to the lesser Ralliart.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
I thought the WRX hatch(wagon) was ugly. This thing looks like an Outback or Mazda 5!
Style is popular in Colorado though so I hear..
June 12th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Oh.
Yeah.