2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS

The good: The 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS is among the most tech-equipped cars available at its price, offering touch screen navigation, Bluetooth, and a 650-watt audio system with a 30GB hard drive.

The bad: Lots of guy-racer styling add-ons aren't backed up with much actual performance. Torque steer mars the otherwise entertaining front-drive handling.

The bottom line: While the new Lancer GTS boasts amenities not seen on other cars in its class, a powerful engine isn't one of them. But if rally car looks, nice tech options, and a booming stereo are more your speed, this Mitsubishi is an excellent choice.

The Mitsubishi Lancer has been around in various forms since 1973 and is all new for the 2008 model year. Past success in the high-profile world of international rallying generated strong sales of previous Lancers, and the new version's looks play on that heritage.

The massive rear wing, alloy wheels, and aggressive snout on the new Lancer will be familiar to fans of the World Rally Championship (or fans of a few video games) as cues from the Lancer Evolution series of all-wheel-drive, rally-inspired road cars. The Evo X version of this latest Lancer should be available soon, but in the meantime the more sedate Lancers DE, ES, and GTS lead the way into the market. We found the new Lancer's appearance generally pleasing (the vestigial rear wing notwithstanding) and, mostly thanks to the buff front intakes, it won't easily be mistaken for a mere econobox. The simple, classic, 10-spoke 18-inch alloys also looked the part on our GTS.

But the Lancer looks faster than it is. Where this car really shines is in its cabin tech. Our test car was a well-optioned GTS, the top trim level, but fitted with the standard five-speed manual transmission rather than the optional CVT. It was further kitted out with the three main option packages, including the juicy 650-watt stereo, satellite radio, moonroof, hard drive-based navigation with digital music server capability, Bluetooth phone integration, and the "FAST Key" keyless entry and starting system.

With all this good tech, a stiff chassis providing enjoyable handling traits and a price just into the low-$20,000 range, the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS proves that a budget car can have as many or more cabin gadgets than an expensive luxury cruiser.

Test the tech: Save music, play music, find music

To try out some of the features of the combination navigation and music server system, we decided to crank some digital tunes from the onboard 30GB hard drive while also letting it direct us to some live tunes down the coast.

The General Store in San Gregorio, about an hour's drive down Highway 1 from San Francisco, has been serving drinks and an impressive array of other goods to travelers since 1889, and now includes live music on the weekends among its varied wares. A friend's birthday festivities included taking in some bluegrass at the General Store on a Saturday afternoon, which we decided was the perfect trip to test the Lancer's tech.

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