Mitsubishi hatches the 2009 Lancer Sportback

PETER BLEAKNEY FOR THE TORONTO STAR

The Ralliart Lancer's hatch takes up a large swath of real estate.

Peter Bleakney

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

South Beach, Fla.–You can't accuse Mitsubishi of bad timing. With auto buyers reportedly seeking smaller and more efficiently packaged vehicles to perform the daily chores, this seems as good a time as any to introduce a hatchback ... er, sportback version of the compact Lancer sedan.

The numbers certainly support this. While Canadian compact four-door sales were up 7.6 per cent in 2008 over the previous year, compact five-door sales increased 14.4 per cent.

Think Subaru Impreza hatchback, Toyota Matrix, VW Rabbit, Mazda3 Sport, Honda Fit, Dodge Caliber and Pontiac Vibe.

Joining this party is the 2009 Lancer Sportback, currently arriving in Mitsubishi showrooms.

It comes in two trim levels: the front-wheel-drive GTS starting at $23,498 and the all-wheel-drive Ralliart that starts at $33,498. Both cars roll on 18-inch wheels, are mechanically identical to their four-door counterparts, and carry a price premium of $500.

While the previous Lancer Sportback (last seen in 2006) was all upright in a Volvo-wagony way, this 2009 variant has a raked hatch adorned with an aggressive spoiler. In fact, the profile of the Lancer sedan and Sportback are quite close, unlike Subaru's Impreza sedan and hatch, which are markedly different.

But this plays into the Mitsu's favour. The Lancer sedan is a handsomely chiselled piece, and this hatch version expands on those good looks.

In fact, my "rally red" Ralliart, with its aggressive Evo snout and hood scoops managed to raise a few eyebrows here in South Beach, which is no small feat in a hedonistic hotspot where you have to put 24-inch spinners on your Rolls-Royce Phantom just to get noticed.

The Lancer's hatch takes up a large swath of real estate, stretching from the top of the back bumper to just beyond the heads of the rear seat passengers.

Lift over height is low, and with the 60/40 rear seats folded, the nearly flat load space expands cargo volume from 390 to 1,320 litres in the Ralliart, and up to 435 to 1,492 litres in the GTS, thanks to a clever dual height adjustable cargo floor that drops 90 mm. The Ralliart doesn't get this because of the all-wheel-drive mechanicals.

Total cargo volume in a Toyota Matrix is 1,360 litres and in a Subaru WRX hatch it's 1,257 litres.

The GTS is powered by an all-aluminum 2.4 L four that generates 168 hp and 167 lb.-ft. of torque at 4100 r.p.m. Standard is a fine shifting five-speed manual transmission paired with a progressive clutch. A six-speed would have been nice here, but regardless, the GTS feels quick and highway cruising is relaxed, showing 2500 r.p.m. at 100 km/h.

A CVT (continuously variable transmission) is offered in the GTS for $1,300.

Along with auto mode, there are six programmed "virtual" gears that can be quickly selected via steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters, which is a fun and effective way to avoid the engine drone under hard acceleration inherent with this type of tranny.

The CVT gets slightly better in-town fuel economy over the manual five-speed (9.9 vs 10.4 L/100 km) (28.5-27.1 m.p.g.) while highway consumption is the same at 7.4 L/100 km (38.1 m.p.g.).

Standard GTS features include Bluetooth connectivity, air-con, seven airbags (front, side, curtain and knee), heated seats and mirrors, and six-months of Sirius satellite radio.

The $2,700 Sun and Sound Leather Package adds a sunroof, leather, 650-watt Rockford Fosgate sound and FAST-key entry system.

In all other aspects, the GTS Sportback drives like the GTS sedan, offering feelsome steering, a solid structure, good ride and nicely balanced handling.

The Ralliart Sportback ramps up the performance (and price) considerably, not at all shy about its junior-Evo status.

The ride is stiff-legged, the standard fabric Recaro seats grip like a mother-in-law's embrace, and the Evo's 4B11 2.0 L turbo (detuned from 291 hp to 237 hp via a smaller single-scroll turbo and intercooler) feels plenty strong. It delivers its power in a more linear (read civilized) fashion than the Evo.

The Ralliart's only gearbox is the Evo MR's excellent six-speed Twin-Clutch Sport Shift Transmission (TC-SST), operable by paddle shifters or the floor-mounted shifter.

Sport mode serves up quicker shifts at higher r.p.m., but the Evo's track-ready S-Sport mode, which will hang the engine at redline in every gear, is not found here.

Continuing the kid-brother theme, the Ralliart's AWC (all-wheel control) does without the Evo's ultimate party trick of active yaw control, wherein torque can be distributed from side to side as well as front to back, giving the Evo its otherworldly directional control.

Nonetheless, the Ralliart has front and rear limited slip differentials, active centre differential and stability control. Three surface settings – tarmac, gravel and snow – vary torque bias from rear to front.

The Ralliart also gets dual-piston front brake calipers, an Evo steering wheel, multi-function trip computer and adjustable HID headlamps.

With the $5,000 Premium Package (Sirius, more aggressively bolstered leather/alcantara Recaros, navigation, Fosgate sound, sunroof, Bluetooth, proximity key and rain-sensing wipers), the Ralliart's bottom line ($40,058) comes within spitting distance of the heavy-hitting Evolution GSR ($41,498) and Subaru WRX STi ($39,995). Although neither, at that price point, is as well equipped.

The Lancer is ultimately let down by its sombre interior swathed in hard black plastic.

It is functional and ergonomically sound, but feels a bit cheap. Forgivable in the base model Lancers, but not so much in a car approaching 40 large.

Travel was provided to freelance writer Peter Bleakney by the automaker. pebleakney@sympatico.ca

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