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The problem is that the Ralliart is a heavy machine, what with all that transmission, and the SST transmission has an annoyingly tardy getaway. All would be forgiven were the Ralliart a rousing drive, but for all its claimed power the engine never really lets rip. You find yourself revving it to death to goad it along, easily done given the strange shortness of the intermediate gear ratios, and it’s much harder work than a torquey turbomotor should be. It sounds nondescript, too. But it will all come good in the corners, yes? No. This Lancer really misses its tougher brother’s AYC and the resultant favourable torque distribution to each rear wheel. There’ll be no lovely powerslides here; go too quickly into a tight bend and it understeers like the nose-heavy car it is. – evo

Here are pics of the car the next Evo will be based on.

The dynamics of the recently revised Outlander the Lancer shares its platform with and rumors that Mitsubishi’s readying a dual clutch sequential transmission and an SH-AWD style drive system gives me hope for the new Evo (seen here in concept form). The fact that components are also shared with the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot and that some form of active steering may be used gives me pause.

Click here for a look at how the Super AYC (similar to Acura’s SH-AWD) turns a car that can be chucked into a corner and pull itself out of trouble into a car that points itself through turns under power…

Let’s cut to the chase – what distinguishes ‘real’ driver’s cars from grocery getters boils down to where the engine is placed and where the torque is sent (the closer to the center and the more to the rear respectively, the more agile the final product).

The Mercedes A class was ingenious in its placing the engine below the floor but the more you loaded it up the more likely it was to go belly up. Later cars were stiffenened to the point that they rode like sports cars but didn’t handle all that much better.

The Smart conversely showed the world the minimal power – when combined with minimal weight – could be maximal fun. In fact Gordon Murray, designed of the vaunted McLaren F1, loves the ForTwo, especially in Brabus form, where the front tires are widened and the torque curve is fattened.

All that said, I’d like to see efficient cars of the future to follow a mid or rear engine, rear drive or rear biased all wheel drive layout similar to the Mitsubishi i. With the advent of ESP and traction control there’s really no point in front engined, front drive cars (that is unless you’re a carmarker – they love the design because it reduces assembly time and maximizes profits).

The Evo’s a tricky blighter to launch. A ball of pent-up energy, it’s all too easy to let the engine flounder off-boost, cremate the clutch, or send such a jolt through the transmission that something pops. But John Barker learned the knack from an engineer some time ago, and it’s something he’s passed on, Yoda-like, to the rest of the evo team. The secret is to hold the car against the handbrake, clutch biting, engine boosting, any slack on the drivetrain taken up, before simply releasing the handbrake and punching away from the line. It’s a bit disconcerting at first, but surprisingly kind to the car. – evo

You might have heard that Mitsubishi (and more recently DaimlerChrysler) is offering free gasoline with the purchase of a new car.

Executive Vice President of Mitsubishi’s Sales and Marketing Dave Schembri points out, “There are a lot of confusing incentive offers out there whose true value is extremely hard for customers to determine” but the true value of the Mitsubishi offer is – well – confusing and extrememely hard to determine…

Here’s the fine print:

Each customer after purchasing a new 2005-model-year Mitsubishi vehicle will receive in the mail pre-paid debit cards, totaling from $1,500 to $2,500. The amount varies by vehicle depending on two factors: 1) The estimated amount of gas required to drive the new vehicle for 12,000 miles (at the EPA combined rating for the vehicle). 2)Whether the recommended fuel for the vehicle is regular (computed at $2.80 per gallon) or premium (computed at $3.10 per gallon). These rounded prices were fixed at the average price per gallon as reported in the AAA daily fuel report of Monday, September 19, 2005. Customers can select from a variety of major motor oil companies for each debit card. source: Motor Trend

(If Mitsubishi spent as much effort on all their cars as they do the Evo, they wouldn’t need any incentives).