Comparison: 2010 Mazdaspeed3 vs 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart vs ... - MotorTrend Magazine
"These cars are pretty amazing out here," I said to MT editor-at-large Arthur St. Antoine, as we filled our hatchbacks with Chevron's premium petrol, both of us grinning from ear to ear, still relishing the comedown off adrenaline. From our starting point to our fuel stop 12 miles down the road, it took us all of 10 minutes. Average speed: 78 mph. That may not sound especially brisk, but on the challenging curves of our secret Sport/Utility of the Year test loop in the Santa Ynez Valley, that's a hasty clip. Every autumn when we drive the year's field of SUVs around this loop, it generally takes our skilled editors about 40 minutes to complete one lap. Crunch the arithmetic -- average speed: 60 mph. As we quickly learned after 12 short miles, sport/utilities, even the nimbler crossovers, are no match for real performance cars -- and sporty, turbocharged ones at that. It's simply that we'd only ever driven bulkier and slower SUVs around the circuit, so finally getting to savor attack mode in cars able to blast from 0 to 60 in under five seconds, laterally accelerate at 0. 90 g, and erase 60 in 102 feet was... Then there's the utility factor, in which the Mitsu tops all others in cargo capacity with the rear seat down-46. Source: www.motortrend.com
