I recently totaled my car and I have been looking around for a some what sporty sedan. The two I particularly like are the Ralliart and the Nissan Sentra SE-R. I test drove the Ralliart and I absolutely adore it. I love the purr that is has and it was so much fun to drive. Ok so back to the reason I wrote the message. I wanted to have input from people that have had previous lancers and I wanted to know if it is a good car to invest in. Does it have any problems...or is it reliable... Or would the SE-R be a better choice. I would love to hear what anyone has to say. Thanks!

 

The SE-R is definitely a better car than the Ralliart.
I trust Nissan more than Mitsubishi.
But if I were you, I'd pick the Lancer Ralliart...heh..for no reason.

 

i would def go for the ralliart, i know a lot of people with the SE-R and there all *******s, and u my firned are not, so Ralliart it is!

haha.

what car did u have that u totalled?

 

I totaled a 1998 Chrysler Sebring Lxi. I loved my car despite all the problems that came along with it...That and it had a V-6..not too powerful with only 163 hp but still nice. Now I have to downsize to a 4 cyl 4 door car. I dont want to be dissapointed thats why I like the ralliart and se-r. Both have the same hp I had and both alot lighter. Thats a BIG + I just want to make sure I make the right decision and that I wont be dissapointed. I will be test driving the SE-R friday and also the ralliart again on fri as well. So we will see what I drive off the lot in.

 

I think a back-to-back test drive is the way to go. Choose the one that "feels" better to you.
I personally prefer the RalliArt, even thought the SE-R has more power. IMHO the Lancer has the better chassis (feels stiffer) and handles better (I.E. better balance). I also LOVE the 5-speed short-throw on it.

 

I just bought a new car & considered some of the sub 20 econosports cars when shopping. Here's what I think.
SRT4 - fastest & least fun because it doesn't handle as well as the others
SE-R Spec V - Cheapest
Focus SVT - Best in my biased opinion
Mazdaspeed - Coolest
Civic SI - overpriced but cool
Cooper S - Best eye catcher
The Ralliart seems cooler than an SE-R to me. You might want to check out the SE-R Spec V. The Spec V has a six speed & some other stuff.

 

Motor Trend just compared the Ralliart, SVT focus, SE-R spec-v, and Impreza 2.5 Rs. As far as their performance is concerned, here is what they said about the Ralliart (my choice if I didn't have my Evo).
"The result of this sophisticated system is that the engine simply feels larger than 2.4 liters. The system works so well that, despite being rated with the lowest horsepower of the group, the Lancer ralliart manages to be the fastest car here by a reasonable margin (gearing also helps)."

As for reliability, I had my yellow oz for two years and drove the s**t out of it and never had one problem.

 

the ralliart is the better of the 2

 

Will someone post the Motortrend link that compares the Ralliart, Spec V, & SVT?
I hope this site is wrong about the skidpad
http://www.modernracer.com/mitsubish...rralliart.html

 

Only problems with my Lancer so far is some rattles, and apparently I'm not alone on this. Other than that, it is holding up to my standards very well. I don't think the SER will have as many rattles. I do think the Ralliart will handle much better than the SER, and the hp is comparable.

But I agree that you should choose the car that "feels" best to you. The ONLY reason I didn't buy a Ford Focus is because the center console kept getting in the way of my elbow when I shifted into 2nd or 4th. Other than that, I was impressed with that car as well. And I like everything about Fords... except their radiators.

 

SRT-4 !

 

W/ TC, you pay for it in the end on insurance.

Buy the car that you feel the most comfortable and managible on the payment. It's not good to love a car when payment is going to nearly kill you every month.

 

Lip Smack: buy whatever car looks the best. or you could buy a used saturn and buy some GE stock with the rest of the money and you could get an NSX with that money when u turn 65.