2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart @ The Tracks

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When you line up the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart next to its street-bred competitors, it might seem slow and expensive. But that's how a bean counter would make his purchase decision. A guy like that draws a line (with a straightedge) down the center of a sheet of graph paper to put pluses on one side and minuses on the other. He'd never be able to get his pointy head around the visceral experience the rally-inspired Ralliart supplies. But he might just have another point to make here.

As they now exist, a front-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Lancer GTS with its naturally aspirated 168-horsepower engine is priced at $18,665, while the twin-scroll turbocharged 291-hp all-wheel-drive Evolution GSR starts at $33,665. If we were to follow the accountant's rigid method of finding the average of these two cars, it'd be a three-wheel-drive Lancer with a single-scroll turbo making 229 hp and costing $26,165. And if we would add the $1,500 price of the Evo MR's state-of-the-art dual-clutch six-speed transmission with its shift paddles on the steering wheel, our dream car's price would rise to $27,665.

And wouldn't you know it? That's almost exactly the price of the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart. As a bonus, it has four-wheel drive (not three) and 237 hp at no extra cost.