2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Sportback Road Test Review

The Stuff You Really Want To Read About

Okay folks, let’s get serious.

The Lancer Ralliart looks nice enough on the outside and its cabin is fairly comfortable, but this car’s real beauty is definitely more than skin deep.

Lift that alloy bonnet and you’re looking at Mitsubishi’s newly-developed 2.0 litre 4B11 inline-four. Internally, it’s exactly the same as the engine that powers the Evolution X.

That means fully-floating forged Mahle pistons, forged gudgeon pins and forged conrods whirl around within an all-aluminium crankcase, while the entire valve-train is identical in spec to the Evo.

The real differences are external. Due to the battery being housed under the bonnet rather than in the boot (as in the Evo), the induction piping takes a different route from air intake to inlet manifold. Exhaust gasses are expelled into a single-scroll TD04 turbine too, rather than the bigger twin-scroll TD05 unit found in the Evo.

The intercooler is also smaller than the Evo’s, and ECU maps are unique to the Ralliart. The result is an engine that pumps out 177kW and 343Nm of torque – a fair whack less than the Evo’s 217kW and 366Nm.

But – and here’s where I justify my heretical preference for the Ralliart over the Evo – it’s how the Ralliart makes its power that makes all the difference.

Having a smaller turbine than the Evolution means peak power is lower, but the upside is that boost builds further down in the rev range. The Ralliart’s huffer starts to produce positive pressure around 2400rpm, and the car’s peak torque figure of 343Nm is on tap from 2500rpm all the way to 4750rpm.

It’s not as grunty as the Evo, sure, but is its grunt more usable? Hell yes. Rather than wringing its neck, you can simply ride that ample torque-wave from corner to corner, exploiting the 4B11’s considerable twist. Roll-on acceleration is brisk as a result, and you’ll find yourself prodding the accelerator just to feel the swell of power that results.

But power is nothing without control, and the Ralliart has more than enough tech beneath its unassuming skin to rein in all that turbocharged muscle.

Bolted to the 4B11’s block is a variant of the Evolution X’s clever twin-clutch Getrag-sourced SST gearbox – the only gearbox on offer for the Ralliart. Able to change gears in the blink of an eye, the twin-clutch unit is a real revelation for performance cars and the Ralliart is easily the cheapest AWD sportscar to flaunt such technology.

But there are a few crucial differences between the TC-SST fitted to the Ralliart and the one that sees service in the big-daddy Evo. For one, there’s no launch control. Off-the-line performance is tardy as a result, and Mitsubishi claims a 0-100km/h sprint time of 6.3 seconds.

We managed to get to triple digits in the mid-fives by stalling up the engine before releasing the brake, but we’ve no idea what long-term issues that might give the complex twin-clutch gearbox. Best not to do it, and avoid any stoplight drag races.

Secondly – and perhaps more crucial than the lack of launch control – is the absence of a Super Sport mode for the TC-SST. In the Evo, Super Sport ensured that gears were held right up until redline and beautifully-blipped down-changes were executed whenever revs dropped below 4500rpm.

The Ralliart, however, only gets two modes for its gearbox: Normal and Sport. Sport is good, but it’s nowhere near as manic as the Evo’s Super Sport.

The throttle is blipped rather satisfyingly on downshifts though, and it’s still perfectly adequate for a weekend blast down your local B-road. But if you’re planning on going to the track, it’s probably best to use the magnesium paddles and change gear yourself.

As eyebrow-raisingly impressive as the TC-SST ‘box is though, it is eclipsed by the AWD system it’s hooked up to.

Similar in concept to the clever AWD underpinnings of the previous-gen Lancer Evolution IX, the Ralliart’s AWD tech endows it with a startling level of grip.

Torque is split 50-50 front to rear by default, with the Ralliart’s All Wheel Control (AWC) system varying torque distribution between the axles via the hydraulically-operated Active Centre Differential (ACD).

Yaw rate, G-load, steering angle, throttle position and wheel-speed are all fed into the AWC ECU, which then controls the ACD itself.

A spokesman from Team Mitsubishi Ralliart explained the system thusly:

“The ACD regulates the differential limiting action to optimise the front/rear torque split, which produces the best balance between traction and steering response as it moves between an ‘open’ and ‘closed’ state.”

If that made no sense to you, then let me summarise it this way: it’s brilliant.

Pitch the Ralliart into a corner under neutral throttle and there’s the usual understeery result; but get on the gas and the car simply pulls itself out. Easy, no fuss.

Push it further and you can even provoke it into a slide, which is all the more controllable thanks to the clever AWC system.

Power delivery is always rock-solid thanks to a helical LSD up front and a variable-lock mechanical LSD on the rear axle.

Changing AWC settings between the Tarmac, Gravel or Snow programs alters the clamp load of the rear LSD’s clutch plates, and also changes the level of stability control intervention. Favour a more tail-out attitude? Select Gravel or Snow. Prefer to keep things on the straight and narrow? Tarmac’s the mode you want.

The suspension, while not quite as impressive as the AWC, ACD, TC-SST or 4B11, is still an integral part of the Ralliart experience.

It is nowhere near as firm as the Evo’s gear, and it pays dividends in real world driving. Potholes and rutted asphalt are dispatched with little complaint, and it soaks up undulating pavement in a way that’s impossible in the stiffly-damped Evolution.

There is a fair degree of body roll, however, but realistically that would only present a problem on a racetrack. On the road the Ralliart’s suspension is composed, compliant and comfortable while still packing a sharp enough edge for the odd eight-tenths blast.

Commendable then, considering it lacks the Evo’s additional body reinforcements, wider track and alloy suspension uprights.

It is, however, let down by its tyres. The Yokohama Advans are the same as those fitted to the Lancer VRX, and it’s their lack of grip that really hurts the Ralliart.

Thankfully tyres are the easiest part of a car to change, and swapping them out in favour of rubber with a tread-wear rating of less than 240 would give the humble Ralliart an even greater turn of speed.