2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Compact Car Review & Performance

The Mitsubishi Lancer is a lovely car, even with its fish face. Mitsubishi calls it shark-like, but it's more like a largemouth bass. The nose seems to copy Audi's oversize grille, although the body-colored front bumper perfectly splits it up and minimizes the gaping mouth. And if the angular headlights were human, they would be exotic eyes.

The GTS is cleaner than the Ralliart, which outlines that mouth with a chrome ring, like silver lipstick on a fish. But the Ralliart has a cool aluminum hood with an inset scoop for the turbocharger intercooler, and two functional vents that do resemble shark gills, ta-da. The Ralliart also has flared fenders that house low profile tires. The beautiful 18-inch alloy wheels, a 10-spoke wagon-wheel design, standard on the GTS and Ralliart, add an extra touch of class.

The angular taillamps have that same exotic-eye look as the headlights. They wrap around the rear edges of the car, and cling to yesterday's trend: clear with the actual round lights, red, white, and amber, visible inside. The rear deck is quite short, and both the GTS and Ralliart have a spoiler wing that's so big it nearly fills up the trunk lid. It's not unattractive, but it is overkill. The GTS has one chrome tailpipe, the Ralliart two.

The silhouette is sharp and tidy, and the overall lines are really nice, unlike the more edgy and boxy Subaru Impreza, main competitor for the Lancer. It's very handsome in Graphite Gray Pearl, and Octane Blue Pearl catches the eye. But Rotor Glow Metallic, a bright orangeish copper, is the prettiest color with the most creative name.

The front of the Evo borders on brutish, with a deep spoiler that does double duty, shoving the onrushing air out of the way to keep the front tires firmly planted while forcing cooling air past a sporty looking mesh through the intercooler and radiator. Shark eye-like headlamps curl around the fenders in a stylistic optical illusion masking the longish front overhang. Functional, NACA-like ducts in the hood, like the chin spoiler, serve dual purposes, vacuuming hot air out of the engine compartment, both cooling the powerplant and reducing front end lift.

There's nothing not to like about the interior of the Mitsubishi Lancer. The Lancer ES offers good rearward visibility. The big rear wing on the other models blocks a chunk of visibility out the rear window.

The sport bucket seats on the GTS are comfortable, afford an excellent seating position, and are made of a handsome rugged cloth. The steering wheel has one of the nicest leather wraps we've felt, and is the perfect size for sporty driving. The overall feel for the driver in the GTS is just right. This is another reason the GTS gets our bang for the buck nod.

The optional Recaro seats in the Ralliart seemed to us a bit too tight for everyday comfort. On the track they're terrific, however, so we liked having them on the Evo.

Cubbies and console compartments are good and plentiful, including cupholders between the front seats and in the front door pockets.

The interior is trimmed in faux carbon fiber, stylish and cleanly done. The gauges are tasteful, white-on-black with brushed aluminum rims. The tach and speedo have eaves, a double-hump visor on the dash, that provide shade for the rectangular digital readout that's between them, so you can read its red letters in the sun. It offers the usual information, miles traveled and distance to empty and such, but it's most immediately useful to show, clearly and always correctly (unlike some), the gear you're in, when you have the 6-speed SST transmission in the Ralliart. With that transmission you get butterfly paddles behind the steering wheel, excellent (and rare) because they're long enough to reach without moving your hands when you're holding the wheel in the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock position.

Rear-seat room is adequate. There isn't much knee room in the otherwise comfortable rear seat. The fold-down, center armrest in the ES and GTS is more stable than it looks, meaning everyday driving isn't likely to spill the kids' soda pop. In terms of roominess, the Lancer is comparable to that of the other cars in its class. Trunk space is also mid-pack.

The Rockford Fosgate sound system sounds terrific, with crisp highs that let us hear the chuckle clearly in Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond."

Driving impressions of the various models vary quite a bit due to their vastly different performance characteristics.

Fuel economy for the Lancer ES is an EPA-estimated City/Highway 22/30 mpg with its 2.0-liter engine and five-speed manual. The automatic loses just one mile per gallon on the highway. The Lancer ES offers decent steering response and tracks well through corners, with no excessive body lean. It tends to lose some concentration when pointed straight ahead for long stretches. The Civic feels smoother, the Mazda 3 sportier. Brake pedal feel is solid in the Lancer ES.

We find the Lancer GTS a compelling value for its balance of enjoyable driving characteristics and affordable pricing. If you don't need all-wheel drive or turbocharged acceleration, the GTS has the style of the Ralliart for thousands of dollars less. It's smooth, spirited and sporty. Its handing is taut at speeds inside the box, and its ride is comfortable: softer than the Ralliart, but still firm enough for good handling.

And it gets good fuel economy. The GTS with its 2.4-liter engine and manual transmission gets an EPA-estimated 21/28 mpg City/Highway.

The GTS brakes are nicely sensitive, and the five-speed gearbox is positive, easy to shift with slick clutch action. There's enough power from Mitsubishi's new 2.4-liter engine that you can definitely feel the front-wheel torque steer under hard acceleration, something absent in the Ralliart despite its horsepower, thanks to its all-wheel drive.

The GTS is quiet and smooth on the freeway, where 80 mph feels like 70, and that's saying something for a small car with a four-cylinder engine. Those good-looking 18-inch alloy wheels are shod with 215/45 Dunlops, while the Ralliart gets the same size Yokohamas, rated for higher speeds.

The Ralliart seems to run right down the middle of the road between the GTS and the Evo. It uses the newly introduced (for 2008) all-aluminum engine, 2.0 liters with intercooled turbocharging, like the Evo, but milder components keep the Ralliart at 237 horsepower, compared to the Evo's 291 hp. Its electronic all-wheel-drive system, which Mitsubishi calls All-Wheel Control (AWC), can be set for Gravel, Snow or Tarmac, but the system is not as encompassing as the Evo's Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC, got it?).

The Ralliart lacks the Evo's track-ready suspension (with forged aluminum control arms, quick steering ratio, and big brakes with four-piston front calipers). Instead, the Ralliart's suspension and brakes, upgraded a bit from the GTS, come off the Outlander SUV. Surprisingly, the Ralliart's ride can sometimes feel too firm on the street and wear on you, especially when equipped like our test model, with the Recaro seat package. If you think you can drive your Ralliart like an Evo, you'll be disappointed. Not in the power, but in the handling. The difference is apparently in the simple All-Wheel Control versus Super All-Wheel control. When driven hard through the corners on back roads, the Ralliart will understeer and even lurch as its tires try to bite the asphalt. This happens before the stability control kicks in.

The Ralliart comes with a choice of five-speed manual transmission or six-speed Twin Clutch Sportronic Shift Transmission. The TC-SST as it's called is essentially a manual transmission without a clutch pedal. This twin clutch design now prevails as the method for shifting manual transmissions without a clutch pedal, either automatically or with paddles. Many are built by the German company Getrag, but Mitsubishi builds its own.

On the road with the Ralliart in Washington's Cascade Mountains, we found the Sport Manual mode worked exceptionally well, providing sharper downshifts and quicker upshifts; and Normal Drive works so smoothly you can scarcely feel the relaxed upshifts. But Sport Drive confuses the transmission; it upshifts and downshifts at inconvenient times, inconsistently. The fourth possible mode, Normal Manual, is pretty much a contradiction, unless you just like to play with the paddles. Which, by the way, are about the best in the business. They're graceful magnesium, and long enough that you can reach them with your fingers while your hands remain on the steering wheel at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock. We preferred Sport Manual for sporty driving, Normal Drive for around town. We found that it takes couple blocks on cold mornings for the transmission to shake off some sluggishness.

As for the Evo, we think it's simply the best. You won't find a car that's more at home on the track than the Evo X, especially not for less than $40,000.

The Evo X is about 320 pounds heavier and has 14 less horsepower than its main rival, the Subaru WRX STi, but it feels more precise and more nimble, thanks to its 13:1 steering ratio compared to the STi's 15:1. The Super All-Wheel Control integrates all of the electronic dynamic controls, including Active Center Differential and Active Yaw Control in the rear differential. The TC-SST transmission has a third mode, called Sport Plus, for the track. You can turn the stability control entirely off, and it still feels balanced on the track. We found the SST Auto mode best for consistently quick runs through an autocross circuit.

We drove three models of Evo at Pacific Races. The Evo GSR, with the five-speed manual gearbox, was great. The Evo MR, with the paddle-shifting sequential manual six-speed, along with Bilstein shocks and lighter rotors ($5000 more), was greater; and the super Evo was the greatest. For another $2500 you get 70 more horsepower, a total of 360, thanks to a freer intake, exhaust, and chip. We hit 140 on the sweeping bend on the front straight, and the Evo tracked steady where a lot of race cars do a scary twitch.

The four-piston Brembos slowed it down to 70 for the turn at the end of the straight, quickly and without drama. A lot of laps were driving on the Evos that day, and the brakes never got soft or faded. Only three laps at a time, but that's more than could be said of most high-performance sedans.

Turbo lag is almost non-existent. Power delivery from the turbocharged 2.0-liter Evo engine is linear, more like a V6.

The 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer lineup spans five models of Lancer, spread over four levels of performance, and if you count the two models of the Evo for each transmission, it becomes six.

Lancer DE and ES use a 2.0-liter engine making 152 horsepower, mated to a five-speed manual transmission. Standard equipment on the DE ($14,190) is slim, including a 140-watt, four-speaker MP3 sound system and steel wheels with wheel covers; air conditioning, anti-lock brakes, power locks, and remote entry are optional.

Lancer ES ($16,390) comes standard with air conditioning, cruise control with steering wheel-mounted controls, power door locks with keyless remote, six-way adjustable driver seat, 60/40-split folding rear seatback with folding center armrest, front map lights, floor mats, the auto-up driver-side window, premium fabric upholstery, silver interior accents, body-color outside mirror housings and door handles, second power point, anti-theft security alarm and steering wheel-mounted redundant audio controls and pre-wired Bluetooth switch. Aluminum alloy wheels come standard, and the rear suspension gets a stabilizer bar. The Sun & Sound package includes a 650-watt, nine-speaker, Rockford-Fosgate premium audio system; a six-month, pre-paid Sirius satellite radio subscription; a six-disc in-dash CD/MP3 changer; an auxiliary audio input jack; and a power, tilt-and-slide, glass sunroof. Fog lights are sold by dealers. A Sport package is optional ($800).

Lancer GTS ($18,440) features a 2.4-liter four-cylinder making 168 horsepower. It's mated to either the 5-speed manual gearbox or an optional new CVT automatic (Continuously Variable Transmission) using Sportronic manual shifting with steering-wheel paddles. The six-speaker sound system is standard, along with sport bucket seats. The sport-tuned suspension is tied to pretty 18-inch alloy wheels.

Lancer Ralliart ($26,490) makes 237 horsepower from a 2.0-liter intercooled turbocharged engine, while its suspension and brakes are upgraded from the GTS. It uses just one transmission, a new six-speed twin-clutch automated manual called the TC-SST, with Normal and Sport modes. Automatic climate control is standard, along with sport bucket seats with unique fabric surfaces, and leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob. Also standard: six-speaker audio, aero package with front air dam, lower side air dams and rear spoiler, factory-installed fog lights, P215/45R18 tires on alloy wheels. Options include the Sun & Sound package. The Navigation & Technology package includes a GPS-based navigation system storing mapping data on a 30GB hard disk drive (with 6GB set aside for personally recorded audio files). Integrated into the navigation system is the driver information center plus screens displaying, among other things, ambient temperature, barometric pressure and altimeter; vehicle maintenance reminder and calendar; controls for the underlying Rockford-Fosgate audio system and Sirius satellite radio; and customization settings for the Lancer's various interior electronics. Also in this package is Fast-Key, a keyless, proximity-activated, auto-unlock system.

Lancer Evolution comes in two versions, the GSR ($32,990) and the MR. The GSR comes with a five-speed manual transmission. The MR features a computer-shifted, six-speed manual, BBS forged alloy wheels, Bilstein shocks, Eibach springs, two-piece brake rotors (steel disc on aluminum hub for weight savings).

The GSR comes with automatic climate control, 140-watt, six-speaker, multi-media stereo, Recaro bucket seats with manual fore-aft and back angle adjustments, power windows, power door locks, keyless remote entry, floor mats and front map lights, Yokohama ASVAN asymmetrical-tread performance tires with 18-inch, cast alloy wheels. Options include the Sight, Sound and Spoiler Package ($2000) that adds HID headlights with manual leveling; a 65-watt, Rockford-Fosgate premium sound system with eight, strategically positioned regular speakers plus one subwoofer; Sirius satellite radio with six months pre-paid subscription; six CD/MP3 in-dash changer; oversize rear spoiler; and FAST Key entry system, which allows keyless door unlocking and push-button start/stop for the engine. Phantom Black paint ($250) is optional.

The MR adds hands-free Bluetooth cell phone functionality with voice recognition, HID headlamps, the oversized rear spoiler and steering wheel-mounted audio controls (the toggle for the three all-wheel drive modes moves to the center console). The MR Technology Package adds Rockford-Fosgate, Sirius satellite radio, the 30GB HDD navigation system with 7.5-inch touch screen (that also displays video with the transmission in Park), the Mitsubishi Multi-Communication system (on-board computer and information system), and FAST Key.

Safety features for all Lancer models include front air bags, side airbags in front, side curtain air bags, a driver's knee air bag, and tire pressure monitor. Anti-lock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution is also standard for all models but the DE, where it's optional. Active Stability Control is not available with the DE and ES, is optional with the GTS, and standard on the Ralliart and Evo. Front seatbelts have pretensionsers and force limiters to help position users for maximum protection from airbags in crashes. Rear seats incorporate child safety seat anchors and tethers (LATCH).