New car: Ralliart vs. Mazda 3

[Fahrenheit1032]

I'm debating which of the listed cars to buy, a Mazda 3 or a Ralliart. Does anyone here know what the 0-60 and 1/4 mile times are for the Ralliart? I can't seem to find that information anywhere. How is the initial quality and reliability on the vehicle? Does Mitsu offer any performance parts that can be installed later (like GM's Ecotec turbo)?

As for the Mazda 3, I don't like the looks as much, but for the price it has similar power and a lot more options (leather seats, xenon lights, tire pressure monitor)... but no subwoofer. It's also cheaper to insure by about $100 every six months according to my carrier.

Which would you guys buy, and any answers to my above questions about the Ralliart would be GREATLY appreciated.

[JAY986]

ummm.... ralliart is the tuning section of mitsubishi just like trd is to toyota, nismo to nissan, mazdaspeed to mazda and so on. ralliart is not a car but parts for mistubishis.

[Fahrenheit1032]

Jay986, I'm not sure where you live, but where I am Mitsubishi is now selling the Lancer Ralliart, a Lancer with a 162hp/162tq MIVEC engine, 16-inch forged alloy wheels, a six-speaker stereo with a built-in 8-inch enclosed subwoofer, 4-wheel disc brakes, and upgraded suspension for aroudn $19,000. But you can't get leather and the seat cloth feels a bit cheap, to be honest.

[Fahrenheit1032]

Does ANYONE here have an opinion on the Lancer Ralliart? Know anything about the performance?

[Roscoe86]

In terms of performance, the Ralliart takes everything in its segment, the SVT Focus, Impreza RS, Sentra SE-R Spec V, Neon R/T, Mazda3, and it is actually quicker than a Mazdaspeed Protege'. 0-60 comes in high 6's (6.8) if you're a good driver, 1/4 in high 14's. Handling on the car was said to be on of the best FWD handling cars out there. The only bad thing about it is the low gearing, you'll be turning higher RPM's at highway speeds than in most cars. Well, the tires that come with it aren't all that good either...if you do anything to the car if/when you get it, put a set of good performance tires, stock ones don't do the car's awesome handling abilities any justice. And it does handle well, it handles better than an SVT Focus, and those cars really handle. It's a great buy overall to me, and i don't much care about the no leather option, to me leather is just another thing to jack up the price of a car. I like the grippyness of cloth seats better than leather, i slide around too much on leather seats.

[FourG63 98GST]

WHoa Excuse me but a Ralliart does not do 0-60 in 6.8 seconds and does not run the 1/4 time in high 14's. My friend Min owns a 2003 Ralliart, back when i had my Eclipse RS with intake only, i beat him by 2 car legnths, he was 5 speed i was auto. Now me and min race with my GST, i beat him by 8-9 cars. Ralliarts are really slow i would not recommend them at all. Min's car has intake, exhaust, etc. Its funny you say they run high 14's when a stock GST with 210 Horsepower does 0-60 in 6.5 seconds and a quartermile of 14.8-15.1 seconds. Please dont give false info. I would not recommend the ralliart at all..GET the Evo.

[Roscoe86]

Hey i go by what i read in magazines. This came from Motor Trend's testing of four compacts, it's an article called Thrash Compactors, go to their site and read it, or find the issue it was in and buy it, i have the issue, i bought it. If you're gonna spew accusations of false info then you go talk it up with Motor Trend, cause that's where i get my information from. Oh, and if your friend got beat by an auto Eclipse RS, then either one of two things happened: 1, he didn't race you, or 2: he doesn't have a Ralliart. It sounds more like he's got an OZ Rally Lancer, don't get it confused for a Ralliart. The Ralliarts are brand new, haven't been out but for a few months; there are no 2003 models. So how about you check your info too, aight? Oh, and another thing, it's funny how everybody says "get the Evo" at the end of their posts...do you people realise that the Evo is close to 30 grand? That's 10,000 dollars more than a Ralliart. Some people don't have the money to blow on these things. I have a good feeling that if this man had the money to buy an Evo, he wouldn't be considering a Ralliart or Mazda3.

[Fahrenheit1032]

Originally Posted by Roscoe86

I have a good feeling that if this man had the money to buy an Evo, he wouldn't be considering a Ralliart or Mazda3.

EXACTLY. Anyway, I read that article, too, after I made my original post here. Now my only worry is that Mitsubishi might go out of business now that DaimlerChrysler is pulling out. I don't want to spend this much on a car only to have my 10-year warranty go up in smoke. Do you guys think that Mitsu will last??

[Roscoe86]

Man, Mitsubishi will make it, i wouldn't fret too much about it. Every company goes through hard times. Dodge has, pretty much all of the Daimler-owned brands have had a hard time or two. Personally i think DaimlerChrysler is stupid for this. These companies have so much to benefit from each other. Personally i think the Germans don't know how to take risks, they play it too safe. They don't realise that sometimes you have to go out on a limb.

[urasula]

hey!

i would have to say go for the ralliart too. it's got way more performance then a mazda 3. mazda 3 does have 160 hp, but it doesn't have the 162 lb. torque that ralliart has. and like the guy up top said, 'change to a bigger wheel and tire' (if u've got the extra money). otherwise ur front tires will be spinning all over trying to get a grip when u accerate hard off a green light. overall, i don't think it's fair to compare mazda 3 with ralliart because ralliart is more tuned up than a mazda 3.

if u're worried about mitsubishi as a company, then sell the car after a couple of years and problem solved.

another car that u should consider the sentra se-r spec v. if u're okay with the car's looks and all. it's got great performance, and nismo is behind it.

[LjasonL]

Mazda 3 is too cool for school.

Just go test drive them both and see which you like better. Don't buy one over the other simply because it's a few tenths quicker in a straight line. That's dumb.

[Roscoe86]

Yeah, well Mazda3 won't handle like a Ralliart, either. Even with the crappy all-season tires, it'll still slice the twisties better than a 3 will. And the Sentra is getting really dated; plus the new look is ugly. I would take the Ralliart over any of them, no doubt about it. And the reason i said get bigger tires is because the stock tires are shit. They'l reach their limit lightyears before the suspension will, get a set that can stick like glue. And if you do get bigger wheels too, please don't get anything bigger than 17's...to me, anything bigger than that on a sport compact is useless, and will actually make the handling suffer more. Personally i'd stick with the stock 16's...they look fine to me, unless you were wanting a wheel that is slightly wider than stock.

[dewt]

The Ralliart has great low end torque but fifth gear should be different IMO. In fifth at 80 Mph your pushing 4500 RPMS...so much for the mpg that COULD be there if fifth were an actual overdrive gear. Other than that, and the new body style, it feels pretty solid and new mods are comming out for it all the time. I plan on buying one this summer and turboing the hell out of it. Hopefully the thin cylinder walls won't be a problem.

[Roscoe86]

It would be much better wth a 6-speed. make that 5th gear a 1:1 ratio and the 6th gear an overdrive gear. Then it would be alot better. Of course Mitsubishi has NEVER had a 6-speed in anything but the 3000GT's, so far as i recall.

[LjasonL]

Originally Posted by Roscoe86

Yeah, well Mazda3 won't handle like a Ralliart, either.

You don't get what I was saying, do you? That's still no good reason to buy it. You can make anything fast with the right mods. Buy the car you like most, and mod from there. If he likes the Mazda better but buys the Ralliart just because it's faster, thats a bad decision. Likewise if he likes the Ralliart better then he should buy it over the Mazda, even if the Mazda was faster. There's always gonna be something faster than you, you should just worry about what makes you happy.