Mitsubishi -- headquartered in Japan but with an American production plant in Illinois and design studios and technical center in California -- puts five different cars in the North American market for 2005 plus three sport-utility vehicles. The Lancer Evolution, a street-legal version of Mitsubishi's rally racer, leads this fleet with the new Evo VIII MR edition packing a larger turbo-charger and six-speed manual shifter.

Mitsubishi's mid-size sedan series scored a glitzy new design in 2004 with a larger five-seat cabin and stronger powertrains pumping more usable torque. These issues continue into the 2005 line but with seat-mounted side air bags as standard equipment on all versions -- from the DX price leader and a mass-market ES to the luxury-laced LS and top-of-the-line GTS. Cabin decor varies from trim to trim, beginning with a treatment in black for DX but adding metallic silver highlights for the ES. The top-end GTS gets fine leather upholstery.

Mitsubishi puts muscle aboard from four-cylinder and V6 powertrains. A base four displaces 2.4 liters and rocks with 160 hp. A 3.8-liter V6 makes 230 hp and works with a Sportronic automatic. The Galant DE has the four-cylinder plant and a four-speed automatic transaxle with disc brakes, while the Galant ES upgrades with anti-lock brake system (ABS). The Galant LS V6 uses a Sportronic automatic with traction control system (TCS), while the GTS V6 earns sporty suspension tweaking plus projector headlamps up front.

Conformed as a sporty notchback sedan for the compact class, the Lancer looks forceful with wheels pinned at corners to balance the stance. Body parts extend only briefly over front and back edges in the manner of racers as the two-step face and windshield tip backward to suggest swift movement. Mitsubishi casts Lancer in three editions this year including the Ralliart issue with additional power. Two trims pull from a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that nets 120 hp and connects to a five-speed manual or optional four-speed automatic.

The Lancer ES is the base issue, with the Lancer O-Z Rally wearing sporty body additions inspired by rally racers. The Lancer Ralliart draws on the Lancer Evolution for styling cues and also carries more hardware, such as a taut-tuned suspension, sport bucket seats and larger disc brakes, and it gets more power points too -- 162 hp -- from the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine of the Outlander. A new package dubbed Sun & Sound for the OZ and Ralliart adds a power glass sunroof, 315-watt Infinity audio system and seat-mounted side air bags. (CONTINUE...)