Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart: Sam Moses evaluates Mitsubishi's latest sports coupe

The already legendary Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution has evolved to a higher level with the X (as in 10), which has more and better performance than most drivers need on the street, or need to pay for. The Evo X isn't difficult to drive on the street, and it's not uncompromising or uncomfortable; it's just way capable of doing more, which is what you pay your $33,665 or $38,965. Check out our test of the Evo.

So Mitsubishi has come up with a new model, the 2009 Lancer Ralliart, that isn't meant to be at home on the track like the Evo. If you don't do track days, and your ego or image doesn't need to be wrapped in an Evo on the street, you can save a bunch of money with the Ralliart, which costs $27,165 ($29,915 with Recaro seats, HID headlights and trick sound system).

Both the Ralliart and Evo use the new (in '08) all-aluminum engine, 2.0 liters with intercooled turbocharging, but the Ralliart delivers 237 horsepower compared to the Evo's 291. However the Ralliart is not a detuned Evo, it's a Lancer GTSwith a detuned Evo engine and the twin-clutch sequential transmission, shifted with lovely magnesium paddles behind the steering wheel. The transmission has Normal and Sport modes, lacking the Evo's third mode for the track.

The Ralliart's all-wheel-drive system is slightly less sophisticated than the Evo's, but it still can be set for Gravel, Snow or Tarmac. The Ralliart also lacks the Evo's track-ready suspension with forged aluminum control arms, and big brakes with four-piston front calipers, although the Ralliart's suspension and brakes are upgraded a bit from the GTS.

If you like the general notion of the Ralliart as poor man or smart woman's Evo, you might take a deeper peek into the exciting land of style over high-performance substance. You can buy a front-wheel-drive Lancer GTS for $19,115, and it's every bit as good-looking, maybe moreso because it's cleaner. If you must, you could get an aftermarket Evo snout for less than $500, and with a good enough paint job (a few more hundred) probably only enthusiasts will know the difference, never mind that it will also be missing the aluminum hood with scoop and vents, flared fenders that house low profile tires, and overdone rear wing. And that those enthusiasts might be your pals.

But let's keep it physical. With the GTS, you'll still have a very fine car, with a good 2.4-liter engine and smooth five-speed gearbox, although not awd. Nimble handling, nice seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel with great grip, beautiful 18-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels, clean interior and gauges: you're set.

Really nice lines, unlike the edgy-frumpy five-door WRX. Very handsome in Graphite Gray Pearl. Octane Blue Pearl catches the eye. But Rotor Glow Metallic is the best-best name, for sure. All of these features come on the Ralliart, without that milder 2.4-liter engine and five-speed gearbox.

I drove a Lancer GTS for a week, and it's plenty smooth, stylish, spirited and sporty, at 25 mpg.

I also drove three different Evos at Pacific Raceways, a beautiful circuit in Washington, unchanged from the '60s. The Evo GSR with a five-speed was great; the Evo MR with the paddle-shifting sequential manual six-speed, along with Bilstein shocks and lighter rotors, was greater; and the super 360-hp Evo was the greatest.

The next week I drove a Subaru Impreza WRX STi, on my own winding roads. I'll take the Lancer, for its looks, interior, gauges and the Evo's more linear acceleration, compared to the surging (in a good way) STi. The Evo is 320 pounds heavier and has 14 less horsepower, but it feels more nimble, thanks to its 13:1 steering ratio versus the STi's 15:1.

Mitsubishi's entry into the everyday world of the F1 tranny is the six-speed Twin Clutch Sportronic Shift Transmission. The Evo and Ralliart beat their arch-rival Subaru WRX to that technology, although Suba beat Mitsu to the market with the idea of moderation, with the '08 WRX that makes 224 horsepower compared to 305 from the WRX STi.

On the road with the Ralliart at the base of the Cascades around Tacoma, the Sportronic and I were having a little communication problem. Its twin clutch design now prevails as the method for shifting manual transmissions either automatically or with paddles - the VW GTI, Audi TT and Audi A3 shifts are seamless. Most twin-clutch automated gearboxes are made by Getrag (including now BMW, with Chrysler coming soon), but Mitsubishi builds its own.

Skipping the details of when the TC-SST (as they call it) in the Ralliart messes up, here's the secret to happiness with it: Sport Manual works (exceptionally well), and Normal Automatic works (smoothly), but Sport Automatic confuses the transmission - commendable for its literacy because "sport automatic" is an oxymoron anyhow. Well, "useful for driving in mountainous areas or where engine braking is required," says the press release.

In that mode, it upshifts and downshifts at the wrong times, inconsistently. Aggressive shifts? Casual? When? The inquiring mind of the tranny wants to know. It needs to know.

The Ralliart is not alone in this dilemma in the middle of the road. It's a programming paradox, for both automanual and manumatic transmissions.

The Ralliart is a good choice, if you'd like an Evo but don't need a bulging power-to-weight ratio, or if the GTS is not quite enough for you, for whatever reason. But the GTS is enough for this world, and offers the best value.

Not considering the value you put on thrill.

If that's the case, you might look at the Pontiac G8 GT, built by Holden in Australia.