2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback starting at $19,190, Ralliart at $27,590
Click above for high-res image gallery of the 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart
Lancer, good. Lancer Sportback, better. Lancer Sportback Ralliart, better still. The hatchified version of Mitsubishi's Lancer was confirmed earlier this year to go on sale as a 2010 model. For the first two-thirds, it's a normal Lancer, but out back there's a smidge of extra length and a newly fattened C-Pillar for the practical hatch profile. Not only is it sporting smart-looking hatchy excellence, the Lancer Sportback glowers at the Subaru Impreza and says "bring it."
Tweaking an Impreza's nose is best done when you're rocking the $27,590 Lancer Sportback Ralliart. The entry GTS serves up the style and utility for a reasonable $19,190, but the 2.4-liter four cylinder's 168 horsepower, while good, doesn't exactly get enthusiast blood boiling. If you want your Sportback GTS to shift itself, it will start at $20,190 and pack a CVT with magnesium shift paddles and six fixed ratios to emulate more conventional transmissions.
Real performance isn't the exclusive domain of the Evo. In fact, the Lancer Sportback Ralliart is something of a 2/3 Evo, running an underachieving version of that car's 2.0-liter turbocharged engine spitting out 237 horsepower through all four wheels either via a twin-clutch paddle-shifted six-speed. More hatches are always good, and more higher-performance hatches are even more welcome. Get all the details in the press release after the jump.
Gallery: 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback
PRESS RELEASE
Mitsubishi Motors Announces Pricing for Versatile Five-Door Lancer Sportback; Newest Model Begins Arriving in Dealerships Aug. 17
Mitsubishi Motors North America (MMNA) today announced pricing for its newest addition to the multiple award-winning Lancer lineup - the versatile five-door 2010 Lancer Sportback GTS and Ralliart. The Lancer Sportback carries with it similar distinctive and aggressive styling as the rally-inspired Lancer Evolution, yet with greater flexibility to accommodate active lifestyles.
The economical Lancer Sportback GTS features Mitsubishi's efficient 2.4-liter engine with 168 horsepower and 167 pound-feet of torque. MSRP for the GTS with a five-speed manual transmission is $19,190, while the six-speed CVT automatic transmission with magnesium paddle shifters starts at an MSRP of $20,190.
The Lancer Sportback Ralliart is powered by Mitsubishi's 2.0-liter MIVEC turbocharged engine that pumps out 237 horsepower and 253 lb.-ft. of torque. All-Wheel Control (AWC) with Active Center Differential (ACD) is standard, as is the quick-shifting six-speed Twin Clutch-Sportronic® Shift Transmission (TC-SST) and magnesium paddle shifters that it shares with the high performance Lancer Evolution. The Lancer Sportback Ralliart starts at an MSRP of $27,590.
"Today's new car buyers are moving toward smaller, fuel efficient cars, and yet, there is still a need for cargo capacity. The Lancer Sportback's carrying capacity, coupled with a more aggressive design than contemporary hatchbacks, perfectly fills the void," explains Bryan Arnett, manager of product strategy of MMNA.
Mitsubishi designers created a dynamic and fluid shape for the Sportback that is instantly recognizable as a Lancer from the front, with its signature "jet fighter" grille, while being completely fresh from the C-pillar rearward. The sleek sloping rear door with integrated roof wing creates a visually distinctive shape while making the Lancer significantly more versatile. The door extends down to the rear bumper to make loading cumbersome objects like surfboards, camping gear and bicycles as easy as possible.
The Lancer Sportback's overall length is just slightly longer than the Lancer four-door sedan, yet it gains substantial cargo-carrying flexibility--especially when the 60:40-split rear seats are folded flat by its one-touch auto-folding feature. To add still more volume, the rear cargo floor of the GTS can be cleverly lowered three inches, yielding 52.7 cubic ft. maximum cargo space. The roof will also conveniently accommodate a plug-in Thule® Sport Rack for additional flexibility.
Premium interior features like those found on the Lancer sedans are also part of the Sportback's resume. Key components in the Ralliart version include a standard 140-watt CD/MP3 audio system with six speakers or an available 710-watt Rockford-Fosgate Premium Sound System, in-dash CD changer with MP3 capability, plus Sirius Satellite Radio. A hard disc-drive navigation system with Mitsubishi's exclusive Diamond Lane Guidance to provide route guidance is optional, as are Recaro sport seats that provide optimal support for the driver and front passenger.
Safety Features
Standard safety features in all Lancer models include an advanced dual front air bag supplemental restraint system (SRS) with occupant sensors, front seat-mounted side-impact air bags and side curtain air bags, plus a driver's knee air bag. Active Stability Control (ASC) also comes on every Lancer Sportback, and the GTS is equipped with Reinforced Impact Safety Engineering (RISE), a unibody construction designed to help absorb energy in a collision. Every Lancer Sportback has a built-in Anti-Theft system with immobilizer key, and the Touring Package adds HID (high intensity discharge) headlamps.
Premium Warranty
The 2010 Lancer Sportback GTS and Ralliart have comprehensive bumper-to-bumper warranties. The GTS comes with a 10-year/100,000 mile powertrain limited warranty with a fully transferable 5-year/60,000 mile warranty for subsequent owners, and a 5-year/60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper limited warranty. The Ralliart offers a fully transferable 5-year/60,000 mile powertrain package and a 3-year/36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper limited warranty. Both the GTS and Ralliart come with a 7-year/100,000 mile anti-corrosion/perforation limited warranty and 5-year unlimited miles Roadside Assistance benefits.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
VW GTi 10:00AM (8/07/2009)
The price of the Ralliart is outrageous. You could buy a Lancer Evolution GSR for a couple grand more.
Reply
TwinTurbo3000GT 10:25AM (8/07/2009)
$8000 is a significant price difference. Also insurance is twice as much on an Evo. I looked into it before buying my ralliart.
Scooter 10:30AM (8/07/2009)
My Evo X GSR stickered out at just over $38,000, with the only options it has being the upgraded audio system, HID headlights, FAST key, and aluminum handbrake and shifter knob.
That's more than a slight price increase over the Ralliart.
Oddly enough, when I bought my Evo, the financing was only about $50 a month more than it would've been for a RalliArt, because I could get 0% on the Evo, but NOT on the RalliArt, since it'd only come out that week (the sedan, obvously, not the hatch). The Evo was worth the extra $50/month, I think!
VW GTi 6:40PM (8/07/2009)
TwinTurbo3000GT and Scooter,
Excluding the increase in insurance premium, a GSR stickers at $33,000. Add the Sight and Sound Package (which includes all of the options that Scooter mentioned) and thats an additional $2,000. What threw me off was the $2,000 discount good until the end of August, which brings the price back down to $33,000. This is all according to Mitsubishi's own website.
I'm not sure what discounts were available at the time you purchased, or if the price went down since then, but this is what I found to be current.
Jason 7:05PM (8/07/2009)
I have an Apex Silver 2008 Evolution X GSR with the works minus nav - including HIDs, aero kit, the larger wing, Rockford system, fastkey, etc. and I paid just over $29,9 for it AND got 0% financing through Mitsu. I feel sorry for anyone who paid $40K for theirs, and anyone who paid $30K for the Ralliart with inflated horsepower numbers. If I would have had the choice between the Ralliart for $30K and the X GSR for $38, I would have gone with an 09 WRX.
John Johnson 10:01AM (8/07/2009)
That's not going to compete with the 265HP WRX, sorry.
Reply
Neil Schelly 10:19AM (8/07/2009)
I suspect it will do just fine. It's not all about horsepower and the Ralliart will have a much more intelligent drivetrain than a plain WRX. Evos have always had a bit of an edge on STis, despite the STi having more power. Now that the Ralliart is properly a performance-oriented Lancer between the base model and the Evo, I suspect it will be a pretty close match-up to the WRX.
-N
Tim 10:30AM (8/07/2009)
Inside Line tested one against the new WRX and found it isn't much of a contest; the Ralliart is a bit of a pig.
Bloke 10:32AM (8/07/2009)
These cars aren't about straight-line performance. The Ralliart outhandles the WRX, which is worth far more than the loss of 28bhp.
fixitfixitstop 10:34AM (8/07/2009)
The Ralliart is also a lot less homely than the WRX, and that counts for a lot.
Redline 10:38AM (8/07/2009)
Yeah my thoughts exactly, while it might try to "tweak the Impreza's nose", the Impreza will give it a bloody nose.
CB 10:45AM (8/07/2009)
Everyone's entitled to their opinion. Mine is that that thing looks retarded. I'd much rather have the WRX. Intelligent drive systems don't mean much when this car will be looking at the WRX's taillights.
Sam 12:10PM (8/07/2009)
WRX 3175lbs
Ralliart: 3584
and if you don't believe that, look at this edmunds article that pits the two together. Would-be Ralliart owners, think again.
Tourian 1:29PM (8/07/2009)
Its a good thing people don't always buy car's based on 0-60, hp, and 1/4 mi times. Otherwise, no one would have ever bought a STi instead of an Evo, but they did. This car has a lot more avilable and standard features then a WRX, so it will have an audience.
Rev 1:36PM (8/07/2009)
The Raliart outhandles the WRX?
Not in road tests.
If a Stig-driven EVO can't keep up with a Stig-driven STI, and road test are making the Lancer and Raliart sound like exercises in mediocrity, I honestly think the Subaru/Mitsu gap is only widening. I know it's been a little while but I'll never forget on Top Gear where bits of the EVO's interior were already falling off. There's simply no way I'd buy a Mitsubushi over Subaru on build quality alone.
And I think the Mitsu looks like it has Down's Syndrome. The WRX hatch (especially in black or white) looks pretty cool these days.
Jason 7:10PM (8/07/2009)
Don't get me wrong, I think this thing is hideous too, BUT...
I LOVE it when people bring up the latest Stig in Evo vs Stig in STI comments. You do know that it was 0.02 seconds difference right? That's two HUNDREDTHS of a second.
If it matters, and since anyone who buys one of these cars will most likely mod it, you can throw a $3000 Perrin Stage III kit at an Evo X and gain almost 100 wheel horsepower and torque. Try doing that with the crappy turbo on the WRX when you're overboosting due to their crappy tiny wastegates and throwing CELs all over the place...
RG 10:02AM (8/07/2009)
With the WRX now putting down 265-hp, I wonder how this Ralliart Sportback is going to compete performance-wise?
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lern2read fgt 11:47AM (8/08/2009)
It won't be able to. The Ralliart has 40 less HP and weighs 300lbs more than the WRX. Plus the Ralliart costs a few thousand more.
BigMcLargeHuge 10:11AM (8/07/2009)
No good news from Mitsubishi lately. Sad.
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Erik 10:21AM (8/07/2009)
I like the look of the regular Lancer Sportback a lot, but the hood vents on the Ralliart are too much, they make it look overstyled and busy.
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