All the security of 2wd, er... 4wd!
You've got to feel sorry for Mitsubishi. This is a company that spent years perfecting the ultimate rally weapon - the Evo - only to have the car's
wiped out by a change in the WRC rules.
Fine, says Mitsubishi, we'll just concentrate on turning the Evo into the most devastating point-to-point machine on the cheap side of £30k. Which it becomes. Except that now, with the arrival on the scene of the Ford Focus RS and, most recently, the VW Scirocco R, the Evo has suddenly lost its USP. Because these 'upstart' hot hatches can tear down a back road every bit as quickly as an Evo without the need for heavy, complicated four-wheel drive systems and for a good three grand less than the cheapest Evo X (the £29,499 FQ300 GS)
Which brings us to this, the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart. It is Mitsubishi's answer to those pesky hot hatches; if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. So while the upper echelons of the hot hatch ranks chase down the Evo X saloon, Mitsubishi is hunting in the heart of fast hatch land with its new 237bhp five-door. In fact, with a price tag of £22,109, it's got the £23,600 five-door VW Golf GTi squarely in its sights.
On paper, it looks like Mitsubishi may have scored a direct hit, too. For your money you get a twin-clutch gearbox as standard (something that costs £1300 in the Golf) as well as all the Evo's four-wheel drive trickery. Should you be able to fork out £24,609 for the plusher GSR version we tested, you also get the same Rockford Fosgate sat-nav/stereo system with an integrated 30Gb hard disk drive that you find in posher versions of the Evo X.
Performance is comparable with the Golf as well. At 1595kg, the Lancer is a chunky 324kg heavier than the Golf, but Mitsubishi counters with 237bhp playing 208bhp, and 253lb ft of torque against the Golf's 206lb ft. As a result, the Lancer manages to sprint to 62mph from rest in 7.1secs, a scant 0.2secs behind the Golf. Mind you, the Lancer does run out of steam at 137mph, whereas the Golf can be coaxed up to 149mph.
The Lancer Ralliart is not without visual charm, either. Its side profile seems a little stretched, and the sharply raked rear window makes the rear three-quarter view gawky, but the Lancer has plenty of Evo X-inspired menace with its sharky grille and vented bonnet. It gets plenty of attention too, although admittedly mostly from the Kappa massive, who presumably think 'it's that new Evo, innit'.
But all this is really just so much fluff. The real crux of the matter is this: how does the Lancer Ralliart perform over a twisting back road?
The short answer is that it does reasonably well. Its torquey turbo motor means you never feel short of puff, and the gearbox is smooth enough (even if it still feels under-developed compared with VW's DSG system). There's not much in the way of aural excitement, but the engine note is smooth and rarely raucous.
The abilities of the clever electronics and four-wheel drive of the Evo X are well known, but the softer set-up of the Lancer (which shares the same platform as the Evo) reveals an essentially well-balanced, chuckable chassis underneath. In fact, the slightly softer, less hardcore chassis makes the Lancer seem more pliant and accessible than the Evo X. The steering feels nicer too, with a more faithful, less hyperactive turn-in than the helm of its big brother.
That heavy four-wheel drive kit combined with the softer suspension set-up does give the nose a tendency to push wide on roundabouts, however, and the Ralliart is not always particularly eager to change direction, but the overall the Lancer handles with a fluidity that makes it feel competent, assured and surefooted.
The interior isn't so smart though. It might be identical to the Evo's but it feels low-rent even in a £22k hot hatch. For a car taking on something with a cabin as classy as a golf GTi's it's a major slip-up.
The real problem, however, is character. If you want a car that looks like an Evo, then you'll probably want the hyperactive handling and explosive acceleration of an Evo. You may even gain some sort of perverse pleasure from the jarring ride.
The point is that the Lancer Ralliart is a sort of Evo-lite and that's a concept that doesn't quite work. If you want an Evo for the price of a Golf GTi, get a secondhand one.