Introducing the 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback
In an attempt to get just a little more competitive among compact cars, Mitsubishi is getting ready to introduce a sleeker, more stylish version of its popular Lancer sedan: the 2010 Lancer Sportback. The Lancer is already one of the most stylish cars among compact sedans, but now the new Lancer Sportback looks to take on the best among compact hatchbacks including the Hyundai Accent, Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe. When the 2010 Lancer Sportback goes on sale late this summer, it will be available in the two upper trim levels of its sedan counterpart, GTS and Ralliart. Pricing has yet to be announced, but the Sportback models should be just a little pricier than the current sedan's starting MSRP which is $18,590 for the GTS and $25,685 for the Ralliart.If the design Lancer Sportback looks familiar, it's because Mitsubishi first showed this car as a concept car in 2008 called the Prototype-S Concept. Similar to the previous year's Prototype X Concept which loosely showed what turned out to be the current Lancer Evolution, the 2010 Lancer Sportback is almost identical to the Prototype-S. From the rear passenger doors forward, the Sportback shares all of its sheet metal with the sedan, but instead of a three-box sedan shape, the Sportback gets a steeply raked hatchback and unique taillights. The Lancer's aggressive front end and the curvy hatchback rear end seem to be fighting for attention on the Sportback, but the new Lancer model looks every bit as sporty as the sedan. While most hatchbacks suffer from a lack of unique styling in the rear, the Lancer Sportback has a very distinct look thanks to the 45 degree angle of the rear glass sits and the long, straight-edge spoiler mounted at roof level above the rear glass. The angled glass and lengthened spoiler help create lines similar to the car's front end. Helping to distinguish the GTS from the Ralliart model, the souped-up Lancer Sportback Ralliart will add performance aspects shared with the Lancer Evolution including the vented aluminum hood, gunmetal grey alloy wheels and chrome-tipped dual exhaust outlets.
Inside, the taller and longer roofline should help improve headroom over the sedan, but all other interior dimensions should remain fairly similar. Standard features inside the GTS include Bluetooth connectivity, a nine-speaker audio system with MP3 capability and cruise control, while the Ralliart model adds automatic climate control, leather wrapped sport steering wheel and shift lever and Mitsubishi's Fast Key hands-free keyless entry and keyless ignition. The Ralliart is available with Recaro racing front bucket seats, high-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps, and a 710-watt Rockford-Fosgate audio system with a subwoofer mounted in the cargo area.
No official interior specs have been announced yet, but the Sportback will obviously benefit from the hatchback design by offering an increase in cargo capacity. With a longer length and wheelbase than the Pontiac Vibe, the Sportback should easily manage close to or more than the Vibe's 49.4 cubic feet of cargo space. Like the Mitsubishi Outlander we test drove recently, the 60/40 split rear bench seat can easily fold flat in the new Lancer Sportback thanks to useful release levers mounted on the seat backs and in the cargo area.
Like the Lancer sedan, the Sportback will be offered with a pair of engine options. The base Lancer Sportback GTS will use a 168-horsepower, 2.4-liter inline-4 paired with either a five-speed manual or a continuously variable transmission (CVT) with shift paddles mounted behind the steering wheel. For increased performance, the Lancer Sportback Ralliart will use the turbocharged and intercooled 2.0-liter inline-4 derived from the Lancer Evolution putting out 237 horsepower and 253 lb-ft of torque. Unlike the Evolution, the Sportback Ralliart will not offer a manual transmission, just the twin-clutch sport shift transmission (TC-SST) that delivers quick and precise shifts. The Ralliart will also use a three-mode all-wheel control system that uses a computer-controlled Active Center Differential which should help give the car performance similar to the Lancer Ralliart sedan. Both Sportback models should also carry on the stellar safety record of the sedan which was named a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Despite the added weight inherent from the Sportback's hatchback design, both models will match their sedan counterparts for fuel economy - the Sportback GTS is rated at 21 miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway, while the performance-tuned Ralliart is rated at 17 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway.