I’d stick with a Mazdaspeed3 and keep the $4k price diff.

Ditch the rediculous transmission option in favor of a good old-fashioned 5-speed manual… drop about 3 grand off the price… then it’d be worth considering.

I agree with both of you, but on a side note it better stay under 27k or no one will buy it. Also, how is 25mpg hwy thrifty? Did they mean thirsty? It’s still a compact car, and any compact car getting less than 30mpg hwy is far from thrifty.

Thats an awful “bargain”. A detuned version of the EVO’s garbage motor?

alright…. When is head gasket blowing on these, 7,000 miles?

lets get serious, why would anyone buy thise for 30,000 when they can buy an 07 evo 9 or a 07 STi for the same money.

STUPID.

maybe i’m a bit biased but still.

25 MPG is good for a car this fast and w/awd. I will test drive one and possible replace my 05 WRX if the manual is offered.

I’d definitely have reservations towards buying a Mitsu, whether or not they’re warranted is another story. Maybe it’s that recall coverup in the 90’s? Maybe it’s their string of subpar products? At any rate, I dig the EVO and it certainly has a reputation as being a great car. I would assume the Ralliart will follow suit. They should (and probably will) make the fancy gearbox an option to keep cost down further. Regardless, it’d be a toss up between the aggressive styling of the Ralliart vs. the proven reliability of a WRX.

For 5 grand less I would settle for turbo Mini and if top speed overriding priority, Volvo C30 with manual would give this Mitsu good fight for less money (about 23K). At the end of the day who will take HIS OWN new car on rally circuit?

When news of this first came out I thought that this would be a pretty cool car. It’d be a great competitor to the WRX. But after reading a couple car reviews of it, the reviews weren’t the best. Most notably they were trying to compare it to the EVO, which I would understand why… It’s not an EVO, although some parts, engine, susp, front end, exhaust are actually taken from the EVO, in the end the review said you are better off spending the extra 6k and just getting a GSR….

Although if this was and I know it won’t start out in the low to mid 20’s like 22-23k it’d compete with all the FWD Sport sub-compacts like the Cobalt SS/TC, Caliber SRT-4, Mazdaspeed 3, Mini Cooper S, etc…

But yeah it’s intention was to compete with the WRX, so I think it’ll be interesting to see the magazine comparos between the two…

==========>>subarutecnica, u asked “why would anyone buy these for 30,000 when they can buy an 07 evo9 or a 07 STi for the same money?” Quite easy. When you’re a 20year-old male with 2 speeding tickets on record like me, insurance premiums will make a world of difference in my decision of purchasing a new car. Equipped with a 5spd, this car has more than enough power, looks, speed, AND fuel economy to satisfy me over an evo9 or STi with WAYYY lower insurance premiums.

Screw that. I would rather have a Mustang GT for less money. 300hp, V-8, and it gets 15/23, only 2 MPG less than the rice burning Evo wannabe.

Better yet, the Camaro should come with about 400hp for the same cost as this econobox.

You’re missing the point. For another 1000 in mods, which most people who buy this car are going to spend anyway, this car will put out over 400hp, smoke all your muscle cars, and still be functional in the snow.

Jon, you mean adding a fartcan cranks up HP?

seeing that this is infact a de-tuned version of the same engine that’s in the EVO, I wouldn’t be surprised if the aftermarket industry could give this an ECU tune to get it up somewhere to stock EVO figures… I wonder if they put a more restrictive exhaust set-up on this??

What do you guys think? I bet you could probably tune this engine back up… Then if this car cost like 25k-26k I could see getting this…

====>>Precisely, Need4SSpeed. Like i mentioned above, a 20year old male with 2tickets on record like me would GLADLY accept wayy lower insurance premiums on this car than an EVO. Dish out a quick grand, and this car would be Bullz Eye on EVO performance. with a wayy lower insurance premium.

^ lol Get caught racing too many times there? J/K MugenSentraKen, I’m 21 and have had like 4 tickets in the last 3+ years… (all from speeding but I got out of all the points thankfully) so I do know where you are coming from…

Yeah I’m sure an ECU tune, and a few eay bolt-ons could get this engine up in the 300’s @ the crank easily and since it’s AWD you’re looking at like what maybe only a 10% loss at the wheels? Only thing I’d question is the price though

I don’t know how insurance on this would be though… I know with mine they just look at the overall type of car.. (this would probably just be considered a sedan) so it probably wouldn’t be to bad..

Nevermind Mustangs…. Camrys are packing about 270HP now. Come on. When WRX first came out, Camrys were no comparison. Now you gotta drive it like you stole it, just to get a bumper ahead? Why the hell is Ralliart following suit? I guess they don’t want to f.uck up Evo sales.

17/25 is THRIFY??? i hope that was a typo for thirsty! the GLI gets 21/29, starts at $24,300, has a WAY better interior, factory HID’s, recaro designed seats, and a 6 cog manual instead of this manumatic crap, although the twin-clutch DSG is also available. A $600 chip alone puts the power ratings on this engine FAR ahead of the ralliart at 252hp and 303 lb/ft of torque. And thats for the GLI, you can get the GTI for even less. Im sticking with the solid volkswagen.

My Cayman gets 21mpg in the city and can pull 30 on the highway… I must say..W T F ! to those Fuel Ratings ! And my trip computer don’t lie. baby.

Why do these car companies believe that every old school manual drivers will convert to the dual-clutch transmissions? At least offer a couple of thousand manual transmissions.

^ yeah let’s just say (i’m not though) If I really wanted this car and wanted it from the day I heard it was coming out until it hit showrooms and they didn’t offer it in a manual… I’d be very disappointed and I would refuse to buy it.

====>>No manual tranny would be an absolute deal killer to me.

^^ Use one of the dual-clutch tranny’s… they aren’t that bad. It’s definately not the same feel as a stick, but they are fast as hell…

Kanucko, your cayman cost 60k and will get SPANKED royally by this mitsu.

Are you f.ucking stupid, Jonmiles? This junk will not beat the Cayman. Period. Get the facts straight.

Hmm that’s debatable. Stock will this??? Probably not. As far as 0-60, and maybe even on the track I think it’d have to be modded slightly to beat a Cayman. Although I’d like to see a Cayman vs the new Cobalt SS Turbocharged now I think that could beat a Cayman… LMAO a Solstice GXP probably would too if it beats the Boxster…