FIRSTDRIVE MITSUBISHI LANCER SPORTBACK/RALLIART:Mitsubishi has two new varieties of Lancer, and Paddy Comynfound them to be versatile if pricey motors
PART OF the problem of choosing a mid-sized family car these days is the almost bewildering choice. Decades ago it used to be pretty easy to pick your chosen chariot. You would talk to a few people down the pub or in the local shop, and they had an Escort or an Opel Kadett that was fairly reliable and there was only one dealer in your area anyway.
Mitsubishi is one of those brands that built up quite a loyal following in pre-boom Ireland: they had cars like the Colt, the excellent Galant and the Lancer. The latter was probably their greatest triumph here in Ireland, Pajero aside, but just as the good times started in Ireland, Mitsubishi's "volume" car got worse until it became a tinny, bland motoring appliance.
Thankfully Mitsubishi has redeemed itself with the current Lancer, just at a time when we need value from our cars again like never before. The saloon model is selling well, and that's hardly surprising considering its good looks, value and perky 1.5-litre engine.
September will bring a further addition to the range in the form of the Lancer Sportback. Mitsubishi tells us that in Europe, it needs a hatchback and that this new version will account for 70 per cent of its European volume, with the remainder made up from 24 per cent sports sedan and 6 per cent from the rally-inspired Evolution.
The opposite split is likely in Ireland. Mitsubishi Motors Ireland's marketing manager Gavin Flood told us at the car's launch in Barcelona that he expects the Sportback to account for 35 per cent of the sales volume.
So what do you need to know about the new variant? Well, essentially this is the hatchback version for those who prefer a hatchback. And there is not much need to complicate it any further than that.
Mitsubishi wanted the car to have emotional appeal and used the Saab 900 Turbo Combi-Coupé from 1978 as an inspiration.
They see it straddling the C- and D-segment much like the way Lancia intends its Delta model to do, meaning that buyers of both the Ford Focus and Ford Mondeo size cars could be drawn to the Sportback.
This feels like a big car and compared to a natural rival such the Golf, it is some 380mm longer, has a 57mm longer wheelbase and has better front and rear headroom. The load space of 344 litres, which can extend out to 1,394, is generous too.
We have already praised the Lancer saloon for its sharp handling and agility, and this is no different with this Sportback model.
At the launch we tried the 1.8-litre petrol, which was fine, but will be a largely ignored model in Ireland, the Ralliart, and a 2.0-litre diesel, which is a 140bhp Volkswagen unit, which will be sold from September until we get Mitsubishi's own 1.8-litre diesel in June of 2009.
The 1.5-litre model is likely to remain the best selling model in the range, as the 2.0-litre diesel isn't particularly clean, with CO2 emissions of at best 163g/km, which place it in Band D. Compare this to the 119g/km BMW can manage with its 143bhp 2.0-litre diesel in the 118d, and you can see the need for a new diesel for the Lancer.
An expensive exercise in aiming for the high performance market
A SECOND offshoot model to the Lancer range is the Lancer Ralliart. The temptation among commentators is to call it a toned-down version of the Evolution, but Mitsubishi is at pains to correct this assertion. They prefer to call it a "Super Lancer". And after driving it I can tend to see why they were distancing it from their Evolution model. The Evo is a powerhouse. Its 2.0-litre turbocharged engine puts out 292bhp and it gets to 100km/h in 5.4 secs, and has so much grip you could drive it upside down.
The Ralliart idea is a good one. Putting the same engine, Active Centre Differential and dual-clutch SST sequential automatic as features in the Evo, but without the Evo's Active Yaw Control and the Evo's Sport ABS, the Ralliart adds performance to both saloon and sports hatch versions of the standard Lancer.
In this model, the 2.0-litre Turbo puts out 240bhp and 343Nm of torque and looks the part, with dramatic body styling. Inside it looks pretty Evo-like too, so you might think this would be a nice compromise for those who don't want the full-fat Evo experience.
The thing is that the Ralliart version just doesn't feel that potent. Because it uses the SST gearbox only, it feels as if this transmission drains some of the get up and go from this car. 240bhp, a top speed of 220km/h and 0-100km/h time of 7.1 seconds all appear to be rather quick, but the Audi S3 Sportback has 265bhp and takes 5.7 seconds to get to 100km/h and it too has four-wheel drive. A Seat Leon Cupra will give you the same power and performance for €37,000.
It is an easy car to drive enthusiastically but feels like driving an Evo running on diesel - it just doesn't feel right. The point is that this could all be overlooked if it was a cheap car. If we were talking about the Ralliart being a €40,000 motor car, then we would be hailing it as a real Golf GTi basher, but the prospect of it costing around €55,000 puts it in a class it really shouldn't be in.
At that price Ford will probably give us the forthcoming Focus RS with 300bhp and you can have the Audi S3, the VW Golf R32 or a BMW 135i Coupé. Plus, its CO2 emissions put it in Band G, with €2,000 a year road tax. It all adds up to the fact that if you are prepared to spend €55,000 (we really hope that this turns out to be a high estimate) on a Lancer with some of the Evo's talent, that you could find the extra €9,500-odd to get the real thing. The Ralliart arrives here next March, and hopefully by then Mitsubishi will have found a way of shaving €10,000 off the potentially big price tag.
FACTFILE MITSUBISHI LANCER
• Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback:
Engines: 1,499cc four-cylinder petrol putting out 109bhp and 143Nm of torque. 1,968cc four-cylinder diesel putting out 140bhp and 310Nm of torque.
Transmission: Five- and six-speed manual, four-speed manual, front-wheel-drive.
Max speed: 1.5 petrol 182 km/h, 2.0 diesel 204 km/h.
0-100km/h: 1.5 11.8 seconds 2.0D 9.6 seconds
Fuel economy: 1.5 6.6 l/100km (42.8mpg) 2.0D 6.2 l/100km (45.6mpg)
CO2: 1.5 156g/km (Band C 20 per cent VRT / €290 Road Tax) 2.0D 163g/km (Band D 24 per cent VRT / €430 Road Tax)
Prices: TBA - Will most likely to be the same as saloon, so from €21,261
• Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart:
Engine: 1,998cc four-cylinder turbo putting out 240bhp and 343Nm of torque.
Transmission: six-speed twin clutch SST, four-wheel-drive.
Max speed: 2.0 220 km/h
0-100km/h: 2.0 240bhp 7.1 seconds
Fuel economy: 2.0 240bhp 10.2 l/100km (27.6 mpg)
CO2: 2.0 240bhp 243g/km (Band G 36 per cent VRT / €2,000 Road Tax)
Prices: TBA - Due to be around €55,000