Still driving this, 245,000 miles original engine and transmission! The interior held up too, good plastics.

Not offering the Lancer Wagon with a manual and in EVO VII/VIII/IX guises truly was a missed opportunity.

The Honda Fit limousine

These older Motorweek reviews are miles better than today's.

Never knew there was a Lancer station wagon that came out in the USA.

I remember seeing these years ago more often as a sedan than a wagon. There was a Yellow one I saw alot near my neighborhood. Sharp wagon, good handling.

One of the last good things to come out of Mitsu. Boy I miss this Mitsu too.

I believe I saw one of these on the other day! Had to take a double look at it to make sure I was not going crazy! But it’s sad that wagons are not popular, hopefully they make a comeback soon!

Side and rear is Volvoesque good. Rare then, unicorn status in 2023.

I've always been fond of this and the later 9th generation Lancer wagon. Shame they were both so short lived here in the US.

Back when Mitsubishi made good cars

I had a 2004 Lancer Sportback, although not the Ralliart. Still, it was my favorite of the 5 cars I've owned/driven in my life.

These were relatively common in Europe in it's day, and if I remember correctly, they were mainly manuals back then. Interesting vehicles!

Although this Lancer Wagon is just a Ralliart, there is a small number of people who upgraded these to have the same power as an Evo. It was the only way to get an "Evo Wagon" outside of Japan since the real Evo Wagon was only sold in Japan for about 5 years. But still, interesting and cool looking car nonetheless.

A rare gem to see in the Dallas TX area. Most of the ones I've seen came from Cali.

I remember looking at a couple of these when they first came out and never found one with a manual transmission. Today I learned they were never even available with one so I don't feel as bad for not looking harder for one. No way would I have purchased an auto back in those days. These things did not sell well compared to the sedan and I'm guessing the automatic - only powertrain is part of the reason. Very sad considering these were decent cars. I've known a few people with Lancers from this era and they had absolutely nothing negative to say about them. Great cars from a bygone time

I had the sedan! Loved that car!

I live in an area with over 1,000,000 people and I have never seen one of these wagons. I factory ordered a 2003 Passat GLX wagon in May of 2002. 5 speed manual. Sticker price was $10k more than this Mitsubishi wagon. I drove that VW for 18 years and loved it.

Hey look, it's something you don't see everyday: a really cool and fun Mitsubishi! It's a shame these all rotted to pieces.

I can't believe I don't see this '04 car on the road anymore....

super clean cluster and audio system.

Mitsubishi needs to bring some kind of Lancer back (as long as it's not an SUV that they name the "Lancer Cross")

Not knocking this little wagon but it's interesting that 24mpg on a natually aspirated 4cyl back then was considered good, whereas today you can get 38-40mpg on a much larger Camry 4cyl. I guess a few extra gears and engine tech really has improved.

I've never seen or heard of the regular Lancer wagon let alone this.

I miss the 2000's

I've seen one of these done up with all EVO parts and CTS-V Brembos... great looking little wagon.

I have the Ralliart trim and love it. I take great pride in owning this rare wagon. Have had it for almost 1 year now. Only 79000 miles. Fun little car.

Man, these things are rare but I know somebody that has one and it only has about 20,000 miles and it is mine whenever they decide to sell such a cool little wagon! But like everybody says it was a missed opportunity to Evo it

Bought one new in 04 and still have it. Great car.

It's always odd to see a model that was only around for 1 year like the Ralliart wagon. It makes me think "why did they even bother?". I test drove one of these way back in 2012 at a dealership and really liked it. Next day I decided to buy it and called them but it was gone. Subsequently forgot about them until recently, and now looking for one.

I had the regular 04 sportback. Loved it. Wish it had a bigger tank. I miss my baby. Reliable. I took a risk as I got mine at 171k and drove it till 250k.

I had the sedan, and I hated that transmission. It wasn't bad in terms of reliability, but the only way you were getting 28MPG out of it was at 55 MPH. The overdrive had a high ratio and at 75MPH it threatened to roll into the MIVEC lobe because the variable timing kicked in at 3200 RPM. Every day I owned that car I genuinely wished I had bought the manual instead.

There was very popular 1.6 (98hp, 5 speed manual) petrol engine in EU. Extremly reliable, dirt chep for maitenance and perfect for LPG instalation. Even today we can find decent one for 2500-3000 euros.

Two HP more than the LS! 😆

Mitsubishi seemed to have a lot of good ideas but their timing was often out of sync with the market. The Expo and the Expo LRV were too early to the market, there was no demand for small SUVs when Mitsubishi offered them

The engine seen here would later be used in the 4G Eclipse.

A neighbor in college drove one of these. Also in silver. Always thought it looked neat. Too bad about the no manual, especially since you could still get one on the normal Lancer sedan.

Fun fact; this video is often given credit in many a term paper surrounding "what went wrong" with Mitsubishi. Seriously, how did a company with deep pockets and a few cool cars F it up? I guess its like when the Fonz was still trying to be cool in like 1983, beer belly and all.

I don't recall seeing any of these Lancer wagons on the road back then. Rare car in the US?

I love and even adore station wagons version of sedans whatever it was.

I got a Motorweek review car. Peugeot 1989. Still works. Not one hundred per cent sure but all the references concord.

Great. Now I want one. ...I've never seen one, though

This was an underrated and under appreciated compact wagon. I would not want a manual transmission on it, for I prefer a less active style of driving. Manual transmissions are not always fun to drive and they don’t get any better fuel mileage.

Mitsubishi is a pretty good car...

I absolutely love my 'ugly duckling', boring, but solid USDM '09 Mitsubishi Galant, powered by the same 2.4L 4G69 as this Lancer wagon. My Galant has outlived both my neighbor's 2009 Camry and my friend's 2008 Honda Accord -- both also with 2.4L engines with over 100-120K miles. The Camry died due to its 2AZ-FE I4 having defective piston rings/excessive oil consumption/starvation. The Accord's K24 suffered a similar fate. Who would've thunk the underdog Mitsubishi would outlive both of these popular models?!?!?

I've only ever seen one of these around where I used to live a couple months ago.

Is this for sale? I can’t find one of these at all I found a base model but can’t find a Ralliart

Always sorta wanted to have one of these, can never find them anymore though, let alone in good condition

Never saw one of these. I owned a 2010 Lancer Sportback GTS and it was a hatchback. That said I in the ten years I owned it I only saw two others. Very rare car. I have to say that 2004 had a much nicer looking interior than my 2010 Lancer. The interior of my car looked pretty cheap.

No manual was a mistake on these! I've seen guys attempt to turn regular lancers to Evos. Not a pretty sight lol.

I love my ralliart wagon, never going to sell it for anything best daily wagon ever

This car looked old even when it came out😂

4:23 Bace Price? Anyone notice that?

I know my cars but I never knew this was released.

Over 11 sold!

Come to think of it, there were a number of small wagons in the mid-2000s. 🤔

What a truly hideous looking car. I want one.

A proper boxy wagon. Today they take the same car, chop the cargo roofline so severely that it kills cargo room making the back useless in carrying cargo. But hey, it’s to save the insecure feeling of the driver who wants to think he’s driving a sports car when deep inside it’s still a station wagon masquerading as a “hatchback”. 😂😂😂😂

Epic in any color other than white 😅

I think 2004 was truly peak selection for wagons in the U.S. market, you could choose from models by: BMW Audi Mercedes Saab Volvo Subaru Mitsubishi Lexus Volkswagen Mazda Ford Chevrolet Saturn probably more, just off the top of my head..

I've never seen one of these in my life. I've only ever seen the Lancer sedan.

WHY DID THEY NOT MAKE A VIDEO OF THE SEDAN WITH THE 5-SPEED I DON'T UNDERSTAND........ I'm a Honda guy been building them for over 20 years But I have to say I picked up a 2004 Mitsubishi lancer Ralliart 5-speed manual sedan and the 5 speeds what makes this car!!!!!!!!! THE AUTOMATIC IS NOT THE SAME.... This thing is fun I've done full bolt ons on it a true cold air intake 4-1 header full 2.5 inch cat back exhaust ported and polished intake manifold and bigger V6 eclipse throttle body Plan to do a upgraded camshaft next and then go get it Dyno tuned but as of right now this thing is fun and just like my Hondas it's the prices a lot of people at red lights that think it's just your average slow lancer It gets the looks and the power to back it up unlike the OZ rally that's just a looks package you get the front lip rear lip side skirts spoiler lowered suspension bigger wider Wheels bigger brake package strut bar sway bars The evil shifter the Evo gauges and Evo 7 GTA seats!!! I wish I would have had one of these back when they were new

I wonder if anyone has ever done an Evo drivetrain swap on one of these? With steelies and hubcaps, it would be an absolute sleeper. Also, what is a "bace" price?

The good ol days when one had many wagon choices. Today we are down to two or three. The front end on this is not particularly 'good looking'.

I’ve only seen one of these

"Bace" price - they shoulda asked one more question during the interview process when hiring whoever did the opticals.

I've never saw one of these in my life

The first time I saw one of these I wanted one to swap an Evo drive train into. Maybe one day...

Throw a 5 speed in it and I would actively look for one to buy

What a great looking car. Why can't they make sensible stuff like this today?

1:41 - I dunno, OF begs to differ LOL!

These were sold in the US? I've literally never seen one.

Theres a couple of these on Oahu

F's in the chat for Mitsubishi's golden years

This should have been a euro only model and replaced in the US by a Lancer hatch. SUVs have been destroying cars/wagons/minivan segments since the 90’s. Mitsu got too prideful on the popularity of the lancer. Great review though!

Looks like the front and rear were designed by different people.

Boy have times changed. 8 sec 0-60 was considered sporty... Today I'm honestly not sure if you can buy an entry level car that isn't faster than 8 sec lol

Don't think I've ever seen one on the road 🤔

Looks really cool. Still

A 6 speed auto would've been a great option instead of the 4 speed.

Now with Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi this brand is truly dead.

Family!

I want one, too bad they're rare. Should have came in EVO and stick.

❤Mitsubishi

3:08 "Active ride quality" John Davis Translator: "This thing rides stiffer than an oxcart. Over bumps this thing bounces around more than Baywatch boobies. If Pfizer made a little blue pill to firm up saggy springs then this thing downed the whole bottle. It's as unyielding as a drill sergeant, as punishing as twenty years in prison, and I really would rather have a Buick."

I’ve seen more Bugattis in Cleveland Ohio than I have lancer sportbacks lmao

it's so werid seeing the exact same car as my moms....I can only think she has the only one but I know its not true 😂

I missed the days when we could say tranny for transmission and nobody got offended.

Huh, Mitsubishi did the tail lights before Cadillac

I kind of wish Mitsubishi still handling answered cuz it would just be such a welcome relief from the sea of these horrible Toyota toasters i see Everywhere I Go

1997 Ford Aerostar Cargo Van

it looks like a mix of civic si hatch and ford focus wagon lol

I wonder why they only sold this for a single year

"Bace" price !???😢😢

Not keep the repo man at bay😂

Was John wearing black face?

Pep Rally

Mitsubishi 1989

That rear end design is extremely plain

Chevrolet Express Pasenger 2023