Comments on: Mitsubishi Unveils Lancer Hatch and WRX-Fighter

By: i6

i6 — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:03:54 +0000

Oh.
Yeah.

By: rtz

rtz — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:04:43 +0000

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..

By: quasimondo

quasimondo — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:55:41 +0000

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.

By: Cyril Sneer

Cyril Sneer — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:12:16 +0000

But is a manual confirmed yet? All I keep hearing about is the SST.

By: allythom

allythom — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:21:29 +0000

@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…

By: eh_political

eh_political — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:12:12 +0000

looks striking in white, maybe not so much in darker colours. i guess they sell in volumes too small to justify a wagon.

By: akatsuki

akatsuki — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:57:42 +0000

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…

By: 1138

1138 — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:29:25 +0000

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….

By: kazoomaloo

kazoomaloo — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:21:20 +0000

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.

By: Kman

Kman — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:15:44 +0000

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 ~~good~~ decent looks (I’m looking at you Impreza / WRX).

Well done to Mitsubishi.

By: psarhjinian

psarhjinian — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:12:45 +0000

Is the sportback coming to North America? The post seems somewhat unclear on that.

By: SupaMan

SupaMan — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:52:53 +0000

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.