2012 Chevrolet Sonic turbo - reviewed by txGarage

First and foremost, let’s do some house cleaning. The Sonic is a replacement for the Chevrolet Aveo. Don’t look on this site for an Aveo review, because there isn’t one. I have driven a few versions of the Aveo. Back when running a small local dealership in Dallas we would stumble across an Aveo or two. This was always a tough sell as there was nothing particularly good about these cars, except maybe it’s price. I could never recommend it to anyone; not as a teenager’s first car or a cheap family car. There were just too many other products you could get that were much better.

Now we have the Sonic and GM says that it’s not really replacing the Aveo because it’s a whole new car. You see the Aveo was a car built by Daewoo and badged in the U.S. as a Chevrolet. The Sonic on the other hand is all Chevy and assembled in Michigan. So did Chevy do it right this time? Can I finally recommend a Chevrolet, compact hatchback, to friends and readers?

Let’s start with the looks. The Sonic’s design was given high priority. With manufactures like Ford and Hyundai making not just good products but great designed compact cars, GM couldn’t afford getting it wrong. They haven’t disappointed either. The design is supposed to inspire sportiness and it’s said to be taken direction from motorcycles. I’ll have to say I really like the headlight and front fascia design. Looking from the side you can tell the car leans aggressively forward. This is no mistake as it’s given two character lines running from wheel to wheel showing off it’s aggressive stance.

Step inside and you’ll notice that this is a budget car. Unlike the Hyundai Veloster that offers a big touchscreen with navigation on even it’s base model, the Sonic doesn’t even offer one on it’s top-of-the-line LTZ trim. No matter though, what you really want to be looking at is the gauge cluster. This is more styling taking from “sport-bikes” with a large tachometer showing your 6500 rpm redline. Beside the large tachometer is every other output displayed onto a LCD display.

The rest of the interior is designed well and you don’t automatically notice its cheapness. There are a lot of plastics used but GM did a good job of breaking up the interior and keeping the driver focused on driving. In our tester we had cloth seats that were comfortable and supportive. There were a few times that I longed for leather/heated seats but after seeing the leather seats in the LTZ trim, I’ll stick with the cloth on this car.

The Sonic comes with two different engine options. You can get a 1.8 liter 4 cylinder that pushes 138 horsepower matched up with either a 6-speed automatic or a 5-speed manual transmission. You can also get a 1.4 liter 4 cylinder turbocharged engine with the same 138 horsepower but torque is bumped from 125 lb-ft to 148. This engine can be matched to a 6-speed auto or a 6-speed manual. Our tester was equipped with the 1.4 turbo and a 6-speed manual, so we’re expecting some fun driving!

Ride:

Driving a car with a turbocharged, small displacement engine is a lot different than what I’m used to. Living in Texas our sports cars are equipped with big V8’s or V6’s with lots of low down power. The Sonic’s 1.4 turbo doesn’t have that kind of lowdown power on tap. Cruising down the highway in 6th gear at 70 mph is smooth and fine, but what if someone pulls out in front of you and you need to slow down a little. Slow from 70 to 55 mph and then put the peddle to the floor and you get nothing. No power. Drop a gear to 5th and you get the same result, now people behind you are getting frustrated. Drop it another gear and finally that turbo is spoiling and you can use that 138 hp. It’s the same story around town. Corners I’d normally take in 3rd gear in my car require 2nd in the Sonic.

You might be thinking that this is a slow and un-fun car to drive then. Well you’d be wrong. You just need to adjust your driving style to get the most power of the small engine. Keep the rpm’s above 2500 or 3000 and you’re good. Keep them at the top of 5000 rpm and you’re having a blast! I know 138 horsepower isn’t that much but the suspension and the chassis are tuned for cornering. You can toss this car into corners at speed and you don’t get wobbling body roll. You get decent grip and balanced, level cornering. The steering has good feel as well so it’s easy to predict the amount of lock needed to attack a corner. This would be a great weekend time-attack car.

Economy:

This is a small hatchback and many will buy it not just for the price or utility but also for its economy. Our tester with the 1.4 turbo engine and 6-speed manual transmission is ratted at 40 mpg highway and 29 mpg in the city. Overall, with our fun spirited driving style, we averaged 32.8 mpg.

The Sonic is light and small but feels more spacious inside. I can easily get out of the driver seat and sit in the back without having to adjust the seat and I’m 6’ 1”. The hatch has decent space too and it helps that the seats fold down. The biggest thing that bothered me was the size of the fuel tank. Although you get great fuel economy the tank is so small you’ll be filling up ever few days if you drive a decent amount a day.

Comparison:

So the Sonic is giant leap above the outgoing Aveo and that’s great for GM, but how does it stack up to all the great compact hatches in the American market today? We really like the new Ford Fiesta and the hot new Hyundai Veloster. Not just that but the Mazda 2, Suzuki SX4, Honda Fit, Kia Rio, and Hyundai Accent are all decent cars.

I think the Sonic can be thrown right up there with in the top 3. It’s got good looks, a good engine, and it’s great to drive. This could easily be a weekend time-attack car and still produce good economy on day-to-day runs. My only slight reservation is on the price. When you’re comparing it to the likes of the Fiesta and the Veloster it’s priced similarly, but offers a little less as far as standard equipment. When you start looking at some of the others though, like the Mazda 2, you can find an economical and fun car for a lot cheaper.

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The 2012 Mazda 2 reviewed by txGarage

Small, compact cars are really making a comeback in America, and we’ve driven quite a few here, including the new Ford Fiesta. The all new Mazda 2 is based on the same platform as the Fiesta, so you’d assume they are pretty similar cars. While they’re similar in size, that might just be where the similarities stop. We’ve had the opportunity to drive a few different models of the Fiesta and on every occasion we’ve come back with the same opinions. It’s a great car for the money. Lots of fun to drive on tight, twisty roads and economical. So what did we think about the Mazda 2?

Mazda obviously has roots in racing and they have been branding their portfolio to remind you of that fact. So the first area where the Mazda differs from the Ford is in the weight of the car. Mazda knows lighter is better. The Mazda 2 is only a few hundred pounds heavier than the Lotus Elise, one of the best handling and fun cars you can buy. It’s also a few hundred pounds lighter than it’s cousin, the Ford Fiesta.

This really translates into less body roll and more agility around corners. The Fiesta is good on windy roads, but the Mazda 2 is great. We had this car zipping around Dallas, namely some of the back roads around White Rock Lake. If you’ve ever been out there, you’ll know you can’t pickup a lot of speed, but you can have lots of fun in the corners, and in this Mazda, we really had some good fun.

2012 Mazda 2 reviewed by txGarage

The Mazda 2 does have 1 less liter in the engine than the Fiesta. All models come equipped with at 1.5 liter 4-cylinder engine that pushes out 100 horsepower and 98 ft-lbs of torque. Our tester came equipped with Mazda’s 4-speed automatic transmission, but it can be had with a 5 speed manual. This is less than the Fiesta, but remember, you’re pushing less weight around. Obviously this is also the big letdown of these small hatchbacks. You can have fun zipping around the corners, but when it comes to really putting the power down, you’re always left wanting more. Highway driving is decent, but you need to plan ahead when overtaking.

One thing to look forward to with this car, though, is the aftermarket getting involved. We’ve already seen some great concepts from Mazda and others with some real racing potential. The lack of power in this 1.5 liter engine is just begging for an aftermarket turbo kit. It’s already a great handling, light car, all you need now is a few more ponies under the hood.

Standing back and looking at this car, it is unmistakably a Mazda. The “smiley-face” front end runs throughout Mazda’s lineup, and swooping lines down the side plays to Mazda’s key design language. The only real problem with the looks of the Mazda 2 is the looks of the Ford Fiesta. I think the Fiesta looks much better, but that might just be me.

Inside the car looks good, but isn’t as refined as what you get in the Fiesta. Mazda keeps it simple and straight forward. Our tester was nicely packaged for the price with steering wheel mounted controls and some nice red bordering along the seats.

Another difference between the two cars is fuel economy. Although the Mazda is lighter and has a smaller engine the Ford actually beats it out in fuel economy. I think this mainly comes down to the transmission as you get a better geared 6-speed automatic in the Ford. Either way you’re looking at the high 30 mpg range in either of these cars.

The last difference between the two is in price. Picking up a Fiesta hatch will set you back a minimum of $15,965 and the last one we tested with leather seats pushed up to just over $24k. The Mazda 2 starts at $14,370 and our tester as specked out at $17,460.

I can definitely see why these compact cars are catching on. If you live within a bigger city like Dallas or Houston where you’ll be negotiating tight corners and heavy traffic, these cars come in handy. With all the options in the American market you have to choose from now, though, is the Mazda 2 the one I’d buy? Maybe. I do like the way it drives and the way it feels on the road. My only slight reservation comes when comparing it to the Fiesta. I think I’d pay the extra money for the nicer interior and better looks.

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GAINSCO 2012 Corvette Daytona Prototype

Texas based GAINSCO has been testing it’s new 2012 Corvette Daytona Prototype racecar for the coming Grand-Am series.

Check out their photos and page on facebook!

txGarage on the infield track at Texas Motor Speedway for the SRT Track Experience

Last week, we were invited to come out and experience the SRT Track Experience put on by the SRT division of Chrysler and the Richard Petty Driving School. This is a member’s only experience, hence to be involved, you must first purchase a SRT product. None of the staff at txGarage own any SRT products, but luckily, it’s more about who you know.

Let us first talk about what SRT stands for. SRT stands for Street and Racing Technology and is the high-performance divisions of Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge. When you purchase any of these SRT products, this SRT Track Experience is included into the price; so if you don’t attend one of these events after buying your car, you’re definitely missing out.

The run down:

[SinglePic not found] The event is held at Texas Motor Speedway. We pulled up following the long road that leads underneath the massive track and parked just to the left of the infield track where we’ll get the opportunity to run some SRT products to their potential. To our left was the Media Center building in the middle of the oval. Checking in with the SRT guys, they handed me a badge with an attached flash drive. Each car is equipped with a camera system to record the driver and out the front of the car. All you have to do is pop in your flash drive and it records strait to it. It’s a pretty slick setup and the video turns out pretty good.

Next, the instructors come out to welcome everyone, get us all familiar with the concept of what we’ll be doing, and lay out some short ground rules. As quick as that, we’re splitting into teams and heading to the infield track. The lineup of SRT products we were able to drive was unfortunately mostly the 2010 lineup. They did have some 2011 Charger R/T’s and the 2011 392 Challengers on hand. Nonetheless, walking out to that track seeing a large group of high performance V8 cars just waiting to be thrashed around the track was a great feeling.

[SinglePic not found] As you could imagine, the lineup isn’t that massive. The SRT brand is pretty exclusive for Chrysler with only a hand full of vehicles making the cut. Lined up on pit-row was a group of 2011 Charger R/T’s, 2010 Chrysler 300 SRT8, 2010 Challenger SRT8, and the 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. Now we’ve driven the 2011 Charger R/T and the 2011 Challenger 392 out on this same track before during the Texas Auto Roundup. This time though, we’ll be following in the tire tracks of professional drivers. If you want, or need a little more help, you can ride shotgun with one of the instructors at anytime to get some quick tips on what you should be doing.

You start off running 2 laps at a slow pace getting comfortable with the lines and braking zones of the track. Hop out of whatever car you were just in, hop in another SRT and back out. This time for 2 more laps running a little faster and a little harder on braking and exit speeds. Do another car switch and back out. The pace has increased even more and you’re now doing some hard turning, hard braking, and turning 3 laps now instead of 2.

I easily made it through the entire lineup and even got the chance to make two passes in the SRT8 Grand Cherokee. I also had time to run a few laps sitting shotgun with one of the instructors. Everyone out there was extremely nice and willing to talk and help where they were needed.

[SinglePic not found] Just as we finished up on the infield track, we crossed the street and headed to a parking lot full of cones. This was a time-attack event using the SRT8 Challenger. We got our instructions and pep talk; this was a competition event versus the other team by the way. I was first up for our team and was already nervous knowing there was no way I could keep that big, heavy car from smothering every cone on the course. I jumped in, got a few more words of encouragement from the SRT team leader and off I went. Smash the peddle to the floor and spinning the tires off the line with just enough time to get right back on the brakes hard for the first corner. After coming to a screeching halt back in the box, my time was 35.something seconds with 2 cones knocked down. Not a great time but I get to make another pass. My second pass was a little better, running in the low 34-second range, but I made it through the course without hitting any cones so I was pretty happy with myself. After everyone had their 2 passes in the Challenger, we had the chance to redeem ourselves taking on the same course with the Jeep Grand Cherokee. It was insane to think about taking this same tight track with this bigger SUV, but the AWD was now working in our favor. My time in the Jeep was about the same as my second run and amazingly I hit no cones!

Next was lunch and more time to talk with the SRT staff. This is a great bunch of guys that are dedicated to what they do and travel the U.S. for most of the year to bring these events to a town near you. After lunch, it was back out to the infield track for more fast running, taking the lessons we learned in the first 2 events and applying them back to track driving.

[SinglePic not found] The last event we were in was another competition event called head-to-head. Back out in the parking lot full of cones, they had 2 identical tracks laid out where 2 competitors could run against each other to see who was the fastest and more importantly who was the most accurate. All 4 of my runs in this head-to-head challenge I managed to hit no cones and not accrue any penalties. I was undefeated in my first 3 runs then lost my last run, being a little slower than my competitor who also hit no cones.

After this last challenge, we were all feeling good about our skills and accomplishments throughout the day. As a parting gift, we went once again to the infield track to ride shotgun with the instructors doing what they do best. With no one else on the track but professional drivers, the instructors were unleashed to run all out and really show us what these cars were made of. The distance in skill from what we were running and what these professionals can do is always nice to experience.

All in all, it was a great event and I’m extremely appreciative to the team at SRT for giving me the opportunity to take it on. These events are a great way to really experience what your car can do without having to thrash your car around these tracks. It also helps people develop their skills so they know how to handle their car and get the opportunity to feel the balance and weight shifting of the car. In my mind, all manufacturers should offer something along these lines included in the price of buying a performance car. Even non-performance cars can surprise you when you get it on a track in the hands of a skilled driver. We look forward with working further with the SRT team, Chrysler, Fiat, Dodge, and Jeep in the future and seeing what great products they have for us in the future.

Winners 1, 2, and 3

2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302

I wasn’t alive in the 60’s and 70’s, a time that most call the golden era of American motorsports. I never had the opportunity to watch the original Boss 302 race in the Trans-Am series and win, yet it’s a car I’ve heard of many times as this American classic certainly has a reputation that precedes it..

It’s been a long time since the Boss 302 rose to glory, and the Mustang has gone through many changes. When I first heard that Ford was considering bringing the Boss back, I was actually worried. Would it just be another dressed up Mustang with a graphics package and fancy wheels? The only real track worthy Mustang to date has been those branded with a Roush badge, so would this be more of the same?

Ford’s VP of global marketing, Jim Farley, made a pretty bold statement that made me hope for the best. He said “My dream for the car was that it would make a lot of money for a guy street racing. It should be a car that winds up on YouTube doing something illegal. I’ve been waiting 20-plus years to launch a car like this.” Now you see why this statement gave me hope!

Not a nostalgic machine:

On the outside, the Boss is basically a 2012 Mustang. The front grill sports the Mustang pony badge with red, white, and blue stripes behind it. It has a more aggressive and race-inspired front splitter. The graphics are all nostalgia with the iconic C-stripe on each side and black on the hood come straight from the ’69 Boss 302.

We all really liked the overall styling of the Boss. It wasn’t overdone; it’s pretty straight forward and race inspired. We couldn’t agree though on the best color scheme. The Boss only comes in five colors including the Performance White, Race Red, Competition Orange, Kona Blue Metallic, and Yellow Blaze Metallic. I really like the White/Black car we were reviewing while Toby thought the Orange/Black was a better fit. Actually I like pretty much every color scheme I’ve seen on the Boss.

Inside The Beast:

There isn’t much as far as options in the Boss, and that’s a good thing. You can’t get a sat-nav with SYNC and you can’t get heated/electric/leather seats. The option that is available, and you’ll want to get, are the Recoro seats. These are heavily bolstered, but incredibly comfortable!

The rest of the interior is your basic Mustang, which isn’t as bad as it used to be. A few track-themed items are scattered around you including an Alcantara steering-wheel, a retro cue-ball shifter, black gauges with a tach that stretches to 9,000 rpm, and some “Powered by Ford” door plates.

It’s a basic, business only interior and we loved it!

Powering the Boss:

The Boss 302 carries around the 5.0 liter engine like the current GT Mustang. For those of you hearing nostalgic numbers, that’s 302 cubic inches. It’s the same engine, yet it’s been tweaked and reworked to push out 32 more horses. This was done with an all new intake manifold with runners resembling velocity stacks, new cylinder heads with stronger alloy, camshafts increased lift, the intake valves grew larger, and the bearings are replaced with race-spec bearings. All this jargon equates to 444 horsepower at 7500 rpm. Yes, that’s 7500 rpm on a Mustang.

Revving the Boss up to 7500 takes a little getting used to. If you are familiar with driving Mustangs, you don’t expect to keep your foot on the throttle that long, but it keeps going. This car doesn’t just push you back in the seat, it rockets you seamlessly to where you need to be. With over a 100 hp disadvantage to the GT500, the Boss is only 0.2 seconds slower 0-60.
The horsepower numbers aren’t the big kicker with the Boss, though. It goes without saying that a 32 hp gain isn’t that substantial, but there’s so much more to this engine and car than peak horsepower.

On the track and on the street:

No matter if you’re on the track or on the street, when you hit a corner, it’s time for this Mustang to shine. One of the first things I noticed when I got behind the wheel of the Boss is how different the steering felt compared to other Mustangs. It was lighter, but not in a bad way. It felt very direct, but made the car feel lighter on it’s feet and much more nimble. The chassis feels overwhelmingly balanced as you don’t get the feeling of a heavy front end like you do in the GT500. This, in turn, inspires confidence in the turns.

To step up the Boss’ suspension, Ford gave it stiffer springs, a fatter stabilizer bar, 5 way adjustable shocks, and new bushings. You ride on top of 19-inch Pirelli P Zero tires which are 9.5-inches wide in the rear. The tires alone give you so much grip that it inspires you even more so.

Getting ready to stop this bad boy are some 4-piston Brembo brakes resting on 14-inch rotors, vented for better cooling. The pads tucked in these Brembos are close to race-spec compound, but give minimal squeal.

Everything about this car came to life once we got it out on the track at Texas Motorsport Ranch. The track is full of elevation changes and tight cornering. The Boss just took it all in and spit it all out. I’ve been out on a few tracks in a few different cars, but this track and this car were definitely the peak of my track driving experience.

Yes, how much:

The price of the Boss isn’t that outrageous. In terms of power and performance, on paper, the Boss falls nicely in between the Mustang GT and the GT500. The price is no different. You can get a base Boss 302 tor $40,995; throw in the Racaro seats and Torsen limited-slip differential and only add another $1,995 to that price. If you are worried about fuel cost, it is a high-performance track-ready car, well don’t be. We easily averaged in the mid 20 mpg range throughout our week of everyday driving. For a weekend racer as competent on the track as the Boss is, that’s quite a bargain. Ford will be producing only 3250 Boss 302s and 750 Laguna Seca editions totalling out at 4000 total examples.

We had this car out at Texas Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, Texas for almost the entire day. The day before they actually delivered a Boss 302 Laguna Seca S to a customer from Houston to this very track. Ford brought the car to the MSR track and had the Ford engineering team tune it and fit it to the driver. While we were there in our review car, we not only received many looks but were told on many occasions how much people loved this car. Those came from Porsche owners and even a guy who just purchased a new GT500 who told us he should have waited and bought one of these. I can see why this car is so popular at the track. It really is more than just a Mustang, it’s a great track car. It’s a Boss 302 through and through.

Video on YouTube:

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Laguna Seca:

Just a little extra about the Laguna Seca edition. We had the chance to do a Quick Drive review of this car a few months back, but we were not able to get it for a full review. As I stated above, the Laguna Seca is a special edition of the Boss 302 that Ford will only produce 750 examples of total. What makes this better than the standard Boss 302? The Laguna Seca implements the “less is more” attitude. No rear seats, just a fancy tubular-steel X-brace where the seat should be. The front end has an even more aggressive front splitter that looks like it’s taken strait off a Grand-Am car. The springs are refitted with an even higher-rate. The rear wheels are up from 9.5 to 10-inches wide in the rear. You get brake-cooling ducts, an
under-body air scoop, a rear anti-sway bar, and inside the cabin you get extra gauges for oil-pressure and water-temperature. The R-compound Pirelli’s fitted to the Laguna Seca are so slick and track ready that it’s not really advised to drive it in the wet. If you are serious about trackday driving, you can’t go wrong with this car and at a $6995 premium over the standard Boss, the Laguna Seca still comes in way under any other trackday dedicated car out there.

Laguna Seca Photos

2011 Acura TL on the track!

We haven’t had much interest in Acura over the past few years, although I owned an Integra back in the day, but we’ve tested a few cars that compare to this so we thought we’d jump right in. Also we drove the new TSX real quick at the Main Street in Motion event and were pretty impressed with it.

For 2012 Acura toned back the styling of the TL, which was a good thing. Inside the Acura was nice luxury and great materials. One thing Acura has been known for is packing their cars with advanced technology. We didn’t get the chance to really sit down and mess with everything packed into this car but we can tell you it was a lot.

The TL was one of the cars we did take out on the infield track. It’s equipped with a 6-speed multi-clutch automatic transmission and features a rev-matching downshift, so we really wanted to check it out. I was not disappointed. The steering was really balanced and although this car did have some lean to it, it was never too much. The shifting and getting the power to the wheels is really where this TL shined on the track. It was by far the best car quipped with an automatic transmission that we drove on the track that day.

Thanks to our friends at Non-Stock Photography for the photos.

Car was driven and reviewed by Adam Moore at the Texas Auto Roundup in conjunction with the Texas Auto Writers Association.

Audi R18 TDI Le Mans Race Car

There have been many rumors circulating that Audi would be jumping into Formula 1. To set the record straight, Audi has come out to say that it isn’t, and won’t be considering such a move. According to the company’s motorsport boss, F1 bears “no relevance to the road.” The point has been made that in one 24 hour race, one car can cover as many miles as a car doing an entire F1 season. Le Mans, it seems, is the place to be for really developing technology for road cars in Audi’s eyes, and we don’t disagree. Not to mention that Audi is pretty dominant in La Mans racing.

[source: autoblog]

Lexus CT 200h - Gazoo Racing

On the heels of our week in a Lexus CT 200h, we read this article showing what Gazoo Racing sees in its racing future. Although we like this car a lot more than we anticipated, which you’ll read about soon, we are not sure that we’d go this far.

The car in question is basically bone stock, except required safety modifications. The other thing that is not stock is the gas engine that powers the wheels and charged the electronic system. This racing CT has a 2.4 liter engine instead of the 1.8 liter in the original car. Is this all for racing or might Lexus be testing this setup for future development? We’re not sure, but we would love to drive it!

2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart by txGarage

The Mitsubishi Lancer has been around for a while now, and even though it didn’t start out being sold in the American market, it has always been the platform for Mitsubishi’s halo car; the Evolution. When I was in high school, I had a friend who owned a Mitsubishi Mirage, yeah remember those, that had a body kit to look like the Japanese only Evo. My first experience seeing a true Evo was also in high school. I knew this one was the real deal mostly because it was right-hand drive. Needless to say, even though we didn’t get the Evo in America, it was still a very popular car. So popular that Mitsubishi finally decided to bring the Lancer and the Evo to the United States in 2003. This was the eighth generation of the Evo, so you see that Mitsubishi took it’s time.

Ralliart was the high-performance and motorsports division of Mitsubishi. The Ralliart division was responsible for the company’s rally racing programs and also built high performance cars for the public market. It was Ralliart dealers across the world that started importing the Evolution into markets other than Japan. So, obviously, anything with a Ralliart badge on it is going to be great, right?

Not so fast, the first Ralliart Lancers to hit American streets were no more than a regular Lancer with some wheels and Ralliart badges. If you wanted the halo performance car, you still had to splurge for the Evo. Just like any other car, the Evo had gotten bigger, faster, more technologically advanced, and more expensive. Mitsubishi itself started seeing the gap between the Evo and the Lancer growing and needed something to fill it. In come the 2011 Ralliart.

This is no normal Lancer with some fancy wheels and badges. This is a detuned version of the Evo with a 237 hp 2.0 liter turbocharged engine and all-wheel-drive. The Ralliart is a fun car that gives you some of the Evo fun for less money.

So the real question is how did it handle in our Texas torture testing?

2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart by txGarage

Let’s start with the interior. The Lancer isn’t known for its great interior quality. As a matter of fact, the base Lancer’s interior is pretty poor when compared to others in its segment. This Ralliart had a nice interior. We had bolstered seats with nice quality leather, a leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter, and nice leather touch-points around the cabin. The dash and center stack were minimalist at best. No navigation system and not a ton of buttons to distract you. The most important buttons lay near the shifter. One was the traction button to let the electronics controlling the awd systems know what kind of conditions you are facing. Your options are tarmac, gravel, or snow. The other button to take note of is your shifting pattern. The Ralliart comes with a SST (Sport- or Sportronic Shift Transmission) and this button allows you to switch from normal shifts to sporty shifting. Most of the time, we would prefer a manual transmission over an automatic, but when you put this SST into Sport Mode and shift with the paddle shifters attached to the steering column, this car moves! One great aspect about the paddle shifters is that they are big and made of medal. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven a sporty car with paddle shifters and wished they were as nice as these.

So knowing the most important parts of the interior have to do with traction and shifting, let’s see just how well this thing goes. As I mentioned before, this is a detuned Evo engine, but this car doesn’t like to be driven slow. It actually seems to taunt you into driving fast and aggressive. Every time you let off the gas as you’re cruising down the road, the nose seems to dip as if to give the feeling that it’s restraining all the power. As soon as you mash that gas pedal down, it seems to rear back and shoot like a rocket and finally feels as if the car is happy to be on the move. Mix in the paddle shifters and some loose gravel and this car really comes alive. Luckily we have plenty of dirt and gravel roads around Texas to really put the Ralliart in its natural environment. If you are looking for a quite, smooth ride though, this might not be the car for you.

So it’s time to run out and buy one, right? A cheaper version of the Evo that’s still fun to drive and works well when traction isn’t there, what’s not to want? Well when we say cheaper, we’re talking a little over $32k specked out as ours was. That’s not too bad when shopping for performance cars nowadays, but you also have to factor in fuel economy. The Ralliart did okay on the highway where we were able to push it up around 22mpg, but on the city streets you were lucky to keep it above 14mpg. Take in the fact that this car entices you to drive like a 12 year old playing Gran Turismo and you’re looking more at the 12mpg range. For some, the fun factor will outweigh the fuel cost. If you can justify having the space granted by the hatchback Ralliart, the traction abilities, and the fun factor over the fuel cost, then you’ll have one great ride!

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We were surprised to say the least when Hyundai debuted the Veloster with its 3 door configuration and sport looks. Shortly after showing the Veloster, Hyundai gave us a peak of whats to come with the Veloster Rally car. 
It’s been only a little over a month since this car was on stage at the Chicago Auto show, but now has already made it’s competition debut at the Global Rally Championship this past week.

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