KEY POINTS:
Mitsubishi needed a hatch and a more affordable hero car, and they are here - the Lancer hatch and Lancer Ralliart, the latter a hotted-up Lancer designed to look like the stonking Evo X and to mimic some of its livelier habits.
Meanwhile, a more refined Pajero is also on sale.
What's new?
The hatch's face is familiar Lancer; it's the rear that's changed. The boot is a tad smaller than the sedan's, but features a nifty double floor to offer either more space or a flat-load area.
Up front there's a 2.0-litre engine, or the 2.4 shared with the Outlander.
Meanwhile, the sedans feature a few minor modifications and slightly better fuel consump-tion - along with higher price tags.
As for the Ralliart, it's the Lancer sedan with a sportier suspension and the clever TC-SST transmission, an active centre diff and limited rear-slip diff, Ralliart-branded 18-inch wheels, Recaro seats - and much more.
And the new Pajero?
It has a smaller range, lots more power for the diesel and smoother, quieter performance.
The company line
Eighteen brands sell about 80 different hatch variants to take up about 13.5 per cent of passenger sales to September, although Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus and Mazda3 dominate - the latter mainly due to rental sales.
Mitsubishi needed the hatch to compete, particularly as this market may strengthen as SUV and large car sales continue to subside.
What we say
The Lancer sedan is smarter, with a larger boot - although you can't load it to the roofline, but how often do you do that? There's a good level of specification for the price, with seven airbags, stability control, alloy wheels and cruise control all standard and a neat drop-down boot floor to impart more space, or a flat floor.
As for the Ralliart, at $49,990 it's considerably less than Evo and will fool many onlookers - but not its driver. Still, it offers a handsome alternative to other mainstream warm hatches such as the WRX or Mazda's MPS3.
The $32,500 to $40,990 price range may change soon as car prices trend upwards.
On the road
I haven't yet sampled the hatch, but can tell you the Ralliart's a lot of fun - once you realise its limitations. At first glance it's very Evo, with its extrovert rear wing, sports seats and "sport-normal" toggle switch designed to sharpen the gearing and sporting persona.
You can't switch to "super-sport" and it doesn't have the clever stability aids of the Evo - but as the engine soars and you fire into the first corner, you don't know that.
Then you do; that first corner was a floppy, tyre-squealing shambles. Adjust vertical hold. This is not an Evo, and you can't drive it like one. It's the normal suspension, more sportingly tuned.
That's not at all bad - a bit comfort-biased and therefore too soft for serious sports appeal and there's not quite enough grip, but it's predictable enough for hard-driving shenanigans when conditions allow. Lots of tyre noise, though.
As for the Pajero, my brief drive revealed a much quieter, smoother experience.
Why you'll buy one
The Lancer because you want this model and require a hatch.
The Ralliart because you can't afford an Evo and because it offers a lot of goodies and plentiful additional fun for its 10 grand premium.
And the Pajero because it really is smoother and more refined.
Why you won't
The sedan boot is bigger than the hatch's, so why bother? The Lancer Ralliart isn't an Evo and as for the Pajero, big SUVs are over the top unless you seriously want to head off-road.
