Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart is high performance, sporty

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The 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart may be the best 'tweener available.Here's the deal: Japan's Mitsubishi makes a whole bunch of Lancer sedans, ranging from the economy DE model, with a starting price of $14,865, all the way up to the track- and rally-bred Evolution, which will set you back nearly $39,000.The economy Lancers, while not exactly wimps, are compact family sedans with 152-horsepower four-cylinder engines. The priciest of these, mainly because of equipment and 168 horsepower, is the GTS.On the other hand, there's the no-quarter Evolution, which really is more suited to a race track than the public roads. It sports a four-cylinder turbo engine that pumps out a raucous 300 horsepower.The new Ralliart slots in between -- hence the 'tweener appellation -- the GTS and the Evolution, though it leans heavily toward the Evo.Its turbocharged four-cylinder engine, with just two liters of displacement, sends 237 horsepower to all four wheels through a marvelous twin-clutch automated manual transmission.A twin-clutch tranny, also found on some models of Audi, Nissan and Volkswagen, is two transmissions in a box. One handles first, third and fifth gears and the other contains second, fourth and sixth, with reverse off to the side.Though it's a manual gearbox, there's no clutch pedal. If you choose, you can leave the shifter in the automatic slot and it shifts as slickly as any dedicated automatic transmission.But if you want to shift manually, computer wizardry takes over, and the transmission pre-selects the next gear. Regardless of whether your shift is up or down, the computer has made the prediction, so when you nudge the console-mounted shifter or the steering-column mounted shift paddles, the transmission is ready and snaps off the shift instantly and smoothly.How it knows what to do is almost spooky, but delightful.Many cars have paddle shifters these days, for both automatic and automated manual transmissions. Most of them are mounted on the steering wheel. They turn with the wheel and can be hard to find with your fingers as you spin and shuffle the wheel in tight turns.But the Lancer's large paddles are in a fixed position on the steering column, so you always know where to find them.What the Ralliart gives you is a high-performance sports sedan that looks and feels a lot like the Evolution, which costs $11,000 more. But the Ralliart is way more street friendly.Even at that, the Ralliart has a stiff suspension that can rattle the molars on rough roads. But that same system, along with the all-wheel drive, performance tires and precise steering, delivers confident handling at high speeds on curving roads or autocross tracks.Abetting the overall performance are settings for the transmission and the all-wheel drive. The former allows the driver to choose between a normal setting for shift points in the automatic mode and the sport setting, which holds higher engine revolutions before the transmission shifts to the next gear.For the all-wheel drive, there are three settings: tarmac, for smooth pavement; gravel, for conditions with less traction, and snow, for slippery conditions. The Ralliart has a starting price of $27,265, which is for a fully-equipped car. There are only two main options: a navigation system at $2,000 and a $2,700 package that includes Recaro racing seats, a Rockford-Fosgate audio system, high-intensity headlights and Sirius satellite radio.But because some of the extra equipment can be dealer installed, you can pick and choose. For example, unless you do a lot of hard rally-like driving, you might not want the Recaro seats, which are difficult to get out of and into. In that case, you could keep the standard seats and still order the other goodies.No car is perfect, of course, and for all of its basic excitement, the Ralliart has some shortcomings -- fortunately not related to its performance characteristics. The speedometer and tachometer, with white on black markings, are buried in two dark holes, flanking an orange-on-black digital readout, all of which are difficult to see, particularly in bright sunlight.The sun visors are short when moved to the side, and do not slide on their support rods, which means blocking sunlight from the side is problematic. On the center stack, the audio and navigation controls have a multitude of features and readouts controlled only with buttons and touch locations on the screen. A few ergonomically friendly knobs would be welcome.Out back, the trunk is shallow and small, only 10 cubic feet, and even smaller with the giant subwoofer that comes with the upgraded sound system.The steering wheel tilts but does not telescope. Despite that, it's easy to find a comfortable driving position. Seats in front are supportive, and the outboard positions in back are almost as comfortable, with plenty of head and knee room. The center-rear seat, as in most cars, is nearly impossible.None of the minor lapses, however, detracts from the basic performance goodness of the Ralliart, for which there is little competition in the marketplace aside from the Subaru WRX.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)