Ralliart Sportback: Ride quality & comfort

[boondoc]

^Great!

If she likes it but it right then and there so she doesn't have a chance to change her mind......again.

[tipoytm]

Okay... just got home from the dealership. Good and bad news.

The good first. I test drove the sportback... this I gotta say. THE TC-SST is KILLER. I was so impressed with it that deep down, I began to regret getting the X GSR+SSS and should have shelled out an extra $3K for a base MR. It was that good, the thing actually downshifts just like I would upon deceleration. On other important aspects of the car:
1.) Power = more than enough... not quite the same as the X, but still PLENTY (stock for stock). I guess maybe it's the torque, I floored the thing and it just went!
2.) Ride quality = definitely softer than the X.
3.) Road feel/Harshness: Camry = 0/10, RA = 2/10, Evo X = 5/10, Z4 on runflats = 8/10, intolerable = 10/10

Overall, I was impressed, the RA is just a lot of bang at this pricepoint. Even the styling has really grown on me. Pictures don't do justice to the Sportback, you have to see it in person to appreciate the styling.

Wife test drove it longer than I did (took it to the freeway), was also impressed with the acceleration and the tranny comparing it to the usual automatic cars she's owned before.

BAD NEWS: She couldn't stand the "stiffness" of the ride and thought it was a bit harsh. I said WHAT??? what harshness? I guess she's looking for a Lincoln Towncar LOL. She told me that the ride quality just wasnt as good as the A3 (period). We argued on the way home, but ultimately this is going to be her choice... sooo.. that was that, Mitsu got thrown out of the window =X Too bad, I really liked the thing.

[Ladogaboy]

Awww.

[boondoc]

Damn!!! The SST is something to love though. It is very impressive. Most reviewers consider it the best twin/dual clutch trann on the market.

Like i said in my post you will have fun driving it. Your wife got spoiled by the A3 give her a day or 2 she will come around, lol.

[ExcessLancer]

Originally Posted by tipoytm

Okay... just got home from the dealership. Good and bad news.

The good first. I test drove the sportback... this I gotta say. THE TC-SST is KILLER. I was so impressed with it that deep down, I began to regret getting the X GSR+SSS and should have shelled out an extra $3K for a base MR. It was that good, the thing actually downshifts just like I would upon deceleration. On other important aspects of the car:
1.) Power = more than enough... not quite the same as the X, but still PLENTY (stock for stock). I guess maybe it's the torque, I floored the thing and it just went!
2.) Ride quality = definitely softer than the X.
3.) Road feel/Harshness: Camry = 0/10, RA = 2/10, Evo X = 5/10, Z4 on runflats = 8/10, intolerable = 10/10

Overall, I was impressed, the RA is just a lot of bang at this pricepoint. Even the styling has really grown on me. Pictures don't do justice to the Sportback, you have to see it in person to appreciate the styling.

Wife test drove it longer than I did (took it to the freeway), was also impressed with the acceleration and the tranny comparing it to the usual automatic cars she's owned before.

BAD NEWS: She couldn't stand the "stiffness" of the ride and thought it was a bit harsh. I said WHAT??? what harshness? I guess she's looking for a Lincoln Towncar LOL. She told me that the ride quality just wasnt as good as the A3 (period). We argued on the way home, but ultimately this is going to be her choice... sooo.. that was that, Mitsu got thrown out of the window =X Too bad, I really liked the thing.

lol she wants something with a more luxurious brand than mitsu..lol she will not go from a Z4 to a mitsu what ever,, sorry dude..

[majinfajita]

Originally Posted by tipoytm

BAD NEWS: She couldn't stand the "stiffness" of the ride and thought it was a bit harsh. I said WHAT??? what harshness? I guess she's looking for a Lincoln Towncar LOL. She told me that the ride quality just wasnt as good as the A3 (period). We argued on the way home, but ultimately this is going to be her choice... sooo.. that was that, Mitsu got thrown out of the window =X Too bad, I really liked the thing.

Stock for stock, definitely the A3 is a softer ride than the RA or GTI. Back before the magnetic ride control was available, it used to be the other way around (the S-Line suspension was super stiff), but if you can get a deal on the A3, more power to ya!

And to UT_Evo, yes the civic had folding seats, I was very disappointed that I could carry home larger items from Ikea or Jysk in the civic coupe than I could in the GTI, even with the seats folded in the GTI

[UT_Evo]

Originally Posted by boondoc

Damn!!! The SST is something to love though. It is very impressive. Most reviewers consider it the best twin/dual clutch trann on the market.

Like i said in my post you will have fun driving it. Your wife got spoiled by the A3 give her a day or 2 she will come around, lol.

I really REALLY need to go test drive an RA or MR again... That MR I test drove in Palm Springs had to have been bunk... The SST was the worst auto/man tranny I've tried, and from all the reviews that cannot be the case, but freakin the one on the G35x I drove when the new body style came out was better. My girlfriend's Mini is insane compared to the MR I drove... Something had to be wrong! I demand a rematch!

Oh, I take that back though, my sister's 2004 325xi and a 2000 Carrera auto/manual are both worse.

Just spring the extra cash (since she makes more money anyway) and get the A3.

Originally Posted by majinfajita

And to UT_Evo, yes the civic had folding seats, I was very disappointed that I could carry home larger items from Ikea or Jysk in the civic coupe than I could in the GTI, even with the seats folded in the GTI

Yeah, the Mini has a weird shaped cargo area and not much room too, so even with the seats folded down it is hard to do anything more useful with it than with a car with a regular trunk. At least I have a stationwagon though!

[jazket]

A3!!! :-D good choice imo... the Sportback looks meaner and is a better performer, but the A3 is more luxurious

[ExcessLancer]

Originally Posted by jazket

A3!!! :-D good choice imo... the Sportback looks meaner and is a better performer, but the A3 is more luxurious

Yup.. im thinking that is what she wants.. cause her friends will be like" where is your beamer? why did you get this?"

I have told people that i am trading my 323 for a RA and they are like WTF? why would you do that..lol i tell them the RA is much better than my 323 but they cant accept that mitsu is worth anything at all.. it sad..

[jazket]

Originally Posted by ExcessLancer

Yup.. im thinking that is what she wants.. cause her friends will be like" where is your beamer? why did you get this?"

I have told people that i am trading my 323 for a RA and they are like WTF? why would you do that..lol i tell them the RA is much better than my 323 but they cant accept that mitsu is worth anything at all.. it sad..

It sucks because Mitsu needs to spread the word about their new cars.. they've been doing extremely good since 2007 will all the new technology and redesigns going on but their sales still tanked... their dealer network sucks and the few dealers they have are not as courteous as say a BMW dealer;

I remember when I went to Mercedes Benz to help my friend buy is 09 C300, man what a difference in service and every little detail compared to the Mitsubishi dealer where I got my car... they have a HUGE freezer with anything from a bottle of water, to a Starbucks Mocha Latte, to a cold Smirnoff, and its FREE, and they have cameras looking at the lot outside, as soon as you park there's a sales man stalking you ... I didn't have a bad experience buying our Lancers though, cause I have a friend who's now Manager at Lehman Mitsu so I don't deal with the morons and always go straight to him

[ambystom01]

Well to be fair to Mitsubishi, all manufacturers have had bad sales lately.

[Ladogaboy]

Originally Posted by UT_Evo

*** MR TC-SST ***

What, exactly, did you not like about the MR's tranny? I'm glad you're considering giving it another test drive, but I'm just curious what you didn't like about it on first impression.

[tipoytm]

Originally Posted by majinfajita

Stock for stock, definitely the A3 is a softer ride than the RA or GTI. Back before the magnetic ride control was available, it used to be the other way around (the S-Line suspension was super stiff), but if you can get a deal on the A3, more power to ya!

That's why I couldn't believe when she said the RA was too stiff and the A3 felt very smooth... she drove both on the freeway and she definitely could tell a big difference. The reason for this is that I thought the A3 would also have a sporty ride, it was lower to the ground than the RA, smaller chassis, etc... therefore it had to be at least the same level (or even more) in terms of harshness/stiffness compared to the RA. It just didn't make any sense to me, but then again, I didn't testdrive or ride in on the A3 when she tried it out. It had me stumped, I liked the RA a LOT (maybe cuz it just felt as solid as the X and couldn't stop admiring the SST).

The SST is a marvel, seriously, I didn't observe any clunking or whatever is being reported on some members here... smooth as butter when shifting, and downshifts made me "WHOA, NICE!". It got me curious about the DSG cuz there was a certified 2007 s-line A3 w/ DSG sitting on the Audi dealership lot (20K miles) stickered for $23.9K (just didn't have a glass roof). Unfortunately, Audi stopped making A3s with DSGs, now they come in either CVT or manual. Of course, my wife doesn't like pre-owned/used cars... so I guess that's out of the question.

[tipoytm]

Originally Posted by UT_Evo

The SST was the worst auto/man tranny I've tried, and from all the reviews that cannot be the case, but freakin the one on the G35x I drove when the new body style came out was better.

Oh, I take that back though, my sister's 2004 325xi and a 2000 Carrera auto/manual are both worse.

I don't get it, I thought the only car that Nissan/Infiniti has equipped w/ a dual-clutch tranny exclusively is the GT-R? I never knew G35X has a DSG/SST type transmission....

Almost sure BMW 325s never got equipped with auto-manuals either (only M3s), as for Porsche, I thought they only released the PDK recently (which is also a DSG type system)?

[UT_Evo]

Originally Posted by ExcessLancer

I have told people that i am trading my 323 for a RA and they are like WTF? why would you do that..lol i tell them the RA is much better than my 323 but they cant accept that mitsu is worth anything at all.. it sad..

That's way sad. I'd pick an RA over my sister's 325xi any day. She probably would too if she got a chance to drive the RA, or at least find out how much the boys like it. A 323... I mean, it is luxury, for sure. But it isn't a car I'd ever even second glance at. I barely even second glance 335s though. Maybe there's just a TON of Bimmers here.

Originally Posted by jazket

It sucks because Mitsu needs to spread the word about their new cars.. they've been doing extremely good since 2007 will all the new technology and redesigns going on but their sales still tanked... their dealer network sucks and the few dealers they have are not as courteous as say a BMW dealer

Start spreading. From communicating with average people Mitsu isn't seen much higher than Kia or Hyundai as a brand. Not necessarily because their cars suck, some of those people like the Forte/Soul/Evo/RA/Genesis line etc... But because people think their brand sucks. You gave an example yourself of the difference between Mercedes brand and Mitsubishi brand, and BMW too.

Maybe we should all start up a chain of EvoM Mitsubishi dealerships... All the ones here suck too. The bigger one here was even turning away test drives and still marking up the X by like 3,000 even way late into all the discounts and everything. At one point they had 14 of them on the lot even!!! When I went in and told them about Southcoast's deals, know what they said...? "Well go buy one from them then!" srsly

Originally Posted by Ladogaboy

What, exactly, did you not like about the MR's tranny? I'm glad you're considering giving it another test drive, but I'm just curious what you didn't like about it on first impression.

Here's the short version (yes I was in sport mode and all that fancy jazz): Hit paddle for upshift, wait 200-300 rpm, car shifts.

There's more to it then that, but rather than take up tip's thread I figured I'd just leave it at that. But like I said too, I am more and more thinking that something was wrong with the car.