Filed under: Performance, Hatchback, Mitsubishi, Reviews

There has always been a glaringly obvious gap in Mitsubishi's current Lancer lineup. On the bottom is the... Lancer, a biggish-for-its-class economy car that no one particularly likes - at least that's what the sales charts would indicate. It's slow, filled with cheap plastics and dull. It hasn't even proven to be all that reliable by Japanese small-car standards, but at least it looks good. At the top of the heap and on a wholly different plane sits the Lancer Evolution. It's the giant-slayer, David, the little car that humbles supercars. It's also the hottest of the rally-inspired all-wheel-drive turbocharged pocket rockets. The Evo's only real competition is the Subaru WRX STI and, let's be honest, the Evo has been the better car for years now (Subaru has just updated its warrior for 2011, so a new comparison is in order). Its handling is more precise, yet at the same time more insane. The Mitsu is rawer, rougher, tougher and most importantly faster, even though it's down half a liter on the WRX STI in terms of displacement. Don't read this wrong, the STI is a fine backroad killer. But the EVO is more homicidal.

Back to that gap. In the middle of its arch rival's portfolio has long lived the WRX, Subaru's Goldie Loxian sportster, which is very fast, very nimble, but very well priced (it still starts at under $25,000). The WRX has long threaded the needle between excellent all-around performance and the customer not being able to afford a higher monthly payment. Subaru, therefore, has sold a ton of them, for not only does the WRX offer all that power and rally-bred oomph at a low price, it can be had as a wagon. Mitsubishi had nothing until this year, when the Japanese industrial powerhouse brought over two new flavors of its hopped-up Lancer, the Ralliart and the Ralliart Sportback.

Today we're taking a look at the supposedly more practical of those two additions, the five-door Sportback. When the pictures of the Lancer Sportback Ralliart started spilling onto this here internet, Yours Truly was especially excited. The main reason being that for the past eight years, I've owned a WRX wagon in one form or another. Biased? You could say that, but at that same time, I've been driving Evos against STIs and have remained aware (perhaps painfully aware) that the Evo is the sharper blade. Perhaps, then, the Sportback Ralliart could be my next fast and furious wagon, or at least go wheel-to-wheel with its competition from Fuji Heavy Industries? Hop the jump to find out.



Photos copyright (C)2010 Drew Phillips / AOL

Continue reading Review: 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart takes aim at the competition

Review: 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart takes aim at the competition originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrid, Truck, Chevrolet, GM, Reviews

For every engineering stroke of genius out there, there are a million duds - projects that someone slaved over in good faith, only to realize that someone else had already come to market with a superior and/or more viable alternative. Both the electronic and automotive industries are awash with tales of second-place finishes in two-man races. Blu-ray vs. HD DVD, VHS vs. Betamax and Oldsmobile vs. Edsel are all stories of outright champions and also-rans. It's rarer, however, to see a company build and sell an ugly duckling right alongside the varsity all-stars of the family, which is exactly what General Motors has done with its 2010 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid.

It's clear that GM desperately wants to mix the seemingly unblendable worlds of full-size pickup trucks and hybrids with its electrified Silverado, and to some degree, they've succeeded. Yes, our tester has a bed, four-wheel drive and a meaty V8 up front. And yes, it packs an electric motor and a mammoth battery pack. But the finished product feels like the road-going equivalent of a spork - a utensil to be used as a last resort. The only problem is, there are far better alternatives, many of which are available from The General's stable.



Photos by Zach Bowman / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Review: 2010 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid is all swing, all miss

Review: 2010 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid is all swing, all miss originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Coupe, Audi, Reviews, Luxury

With the introduction of the A5 for 2008, Audi launched itself into a vehicle segment it had never competed in - one which has waned significantly over the past two decades. Not so long ago, the personal luxury coupe was one of the top selling segments in the U.S., but for a wide variety of reasons, the overall sales picture left it behind.

Now you might ask yourself, "How is an A5 in any way similar to the likes of a 1970s-era Chevrolet Monte Carlo or Ford Thunderbird?" At first glance, the A5 is something completely different, but when you dig below the surface, there are more similarities than one might think - particularly when considering the 2.0T model. Except for a few NASCAR-inspired specials, PLCs of the 1970s weren't typically performance machines anyway - they focused more on style and creature comforts. And it's here where the A5 delivers.



Photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Max Abuelsamid / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Review: 2010 Audi A5 is a personal luxury coupe for the modern age

Review: 2010 Audi A5 is a personal luxury coupe for the modern age originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Europe, BMW, Reviews, Luxury

We like to think of ourselves as a voice of the people - a place for the proletariat of the interwebs who clamor for an honest take on the latest automotive hardware. To that end, we've always viewed the constant stream of fawning over BMW with something of a jaundice eye. We get it. The company builds good products, but does it really deserve wave after wave of gushing prose in every car magazine? Even more troubling, does the 3 Series deserve its honored position as the benchmark against which all other mid-sized sports sedans must be measured?

In a word, yes. We say that almost against our plebeian nature, but if you've come searching for a scathing tear-down of the bread-and-butter 3, best point your clickers elsewhere. After a full week with the 2010 BMW 335i sedan, we've come to understand why the bastions of auto-journodom have spent the last 10 years drinking the BMW Kool-Aid. It's just that good. Read on to find out why the latest 3 Series continues the tradition.



Photos by Zach Bowman / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Review: 2010 BMW 335i Sedan is what we've been missing

Review: 2010 BMW 335i Sedan is what we've been missing originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Mercedes-Benz, Reviews, Luxury

When pondering the idea of any near-$100,000 hybrid luxury sedan, one has to wonder, "What's the point?" The only hybrids that sell in any significant numbers are the Toyota Prius and Ford Fusion, and for good reason. Both allow drivers - and particularly hyper-milers - to squeeze every last mile out of each gallon of fuel.

Obviously, anyone with the financial wherewithal to purchase a 2010 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid is unlikely to be motivated by the technology's fuel savings. Similarly, if someone wants to make a social statement by driving a "green" vehicle, they will likely want their ride to be instantly recognizable as a hybrid.

So the cost-no-object camp is divided. They can either drop their coin on an all-electric Tesla Roadster or, in spite of their bank balance, go with a lowly Toyota. Which begs the question: Is there something in between? We tested Mercedes' newest hybrid to find out.

Continue reading Review: 2010 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid, who is it for?

Review: 2010 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid, who is it for? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Crossover, Hatchback, Honda, Reviews

Its introduction was a case study in how to bungle an automotive social media campaign. Badly. It had people running for thesauruses to find new and fascinating synonyms for "ugly." Its TV campaign has something to do with jazz music and animals. And yet, for all the hubbub, hysterics and lamentations that Honda had completely lost its mind, the 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour quietly showed up and began finding customers.

Last month - its best sales performance to date - 2,587 people drove the odd-looking hatchwagon home. Recently, we took delivery of our own Crosstour EX-L tester, loaded-up with all-wheel drive and navigation, to see how we felt about spending a week with Honda's latest experiment.



Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Review: 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour hatches a new niche

Review: 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour hatches a new niche originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: SUV, Crossover, Honda, Specialty, Reviews

How does an automaker take a model that's been largely unchanged since inception and give it a little juice seven years into its life cycle? If you're Honda, you go to the dogs. Literally. After unveiling it as a "concept" at the 2009 New York Auto Show, the Dog Friendly Honda Element accessory package has made the transition to production. The theory is that if you're a dog lover, you might consider buying an Element geared specifically toward those needs.

The Big H has plenty of experience in this department. As we showed you earlier today, in Japan there's a dedicated Honda Dog website (it's incredible, really) loaded with info about transporting pups in basically every JDM Honda offering. Naturally, there are "Travel Dog" accessories that drivers can purchase for each car as well. In fact, in Japan, there's also a dedicated model, the Vamos Travel Dog, which is specifically outfitted with dog owners in mind - much like the Stateside-market Elements kitted out with the new Dog Friendly gear. As luck would have it, I have two dogs. Hence, I, and they, will be your humble 2010 Honda Element (Dog Friendly!) evaluators. Get your paws over to the jump to read more.



Photos by Alex Núñez / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Review: 2010 Honda Element with Dog Friendly package leaves tails wagging

Review: 2010 Honda Element with Dog Friendly package leaves tails wagging originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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