Scientists can't classify it as an element, but soil is one of the few substances on this planet we simply cannot live without. Foliage and food sources spring from it, our modern world is built atop of it, and arguably, it provides the basis for one of the most entertaining forms of motorsport ever created: rallying.

I haven't driven a Mitsubishi Lancer in quite a while and, because the Lancer Evolution lacks seat-height adjustment, I was prepared to be a bit uncomfortable behind the wheel when I signed out the GTS for the night. Fortunately for shorter people like me, this less-focused-but-still-sporty Lancer model comes with the full array of seat adjusters. In fact, overall this entire package is far more enjoyable as a daily driver than the high-strung Evo.

With the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport making its U.S. debut at New York, Mitsubishi has a crossover it can offer starting at less than $20,000. At a length of 169.1 inches, the Outlander Sport is more of a Lancer-alternative than a true compact crossover along the lines of class leaders like the Honda CR-V and Ford Escape.

I know this sounds like the petulant whine of a performance junkie, but why do Mitsubishi's high-performance Lancers (Ralliart/Evo) get supremely advanced, powerful four-cylinders while the Outlander is stuck with this asthmatic 3.0-liter V-6? Step on the gas, and you hear it furiously pumping air, but don't get a commensurate push in the back.

Hope you like that Lancer nose, because it's here to stay. It's already spread to the Outlander and the Europe-only Colt and now it's spread to the new Outlander Sport compact crossover that premiered today in Geneva as the European-spec ASX.

The Ralliart is a car that cuts about 25 percent from the Evo's price while only losing about 5 percent of the fun. There's still plenty of power from the boosted four-cylinder and the six-speed dual-clutch transmission is a pro at rev-matching downshifts. With a light dusting of snow on the ground, the Sportback Ralliart happily slides its rear around corners at the direction of your right foot, but the all-wheel drive is always ready to pull things back into line.

Every once in a while, a car comes along that you just know will be a future classic by the sole virtue of how rare it is. Enter the Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart, whose name is so long we'll run out of ink if we continue to use it. So, in the interest of saving precious natural resources, we'll call it the LaSpRa.

In a market crowded with bland competence, we're happy that there's still a car so determinedly different and, frankly, as flawed as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. When the compact fireball first hit our shores six years ago, we delighted in the way it applied cutting-edge drivetrain technology to deliver visceral driving dynamics. Despite its many shortcomings - ride quality, noise, refinement - we named it our 2004 Automobile of the Year.

Another Evo, another shocking price tag. At $41,710, I don't know what kind of buyer would spring for this no-options MR Touring model. Sure, it's loaded with features, but some of them, such as the automatic rain-sensing windshield wipers, are just silly. I can only imagine that Mitsubishi is shooting itself in the foot by making the Evolution packaging so strange. Instead of the three-trim setup currently offered, Mitsubishi should mimic the Subaru Impreza WRX STI strategy by offering just one trim level.

Months in Fleet: 10
Mileage to Date: 25,000

Months in Fleet: Nine
Mileage to Date: 23,420

Mileage to Date: 19,356
Months in Fleet: Eight

Months in Fleet: Seven
Approximate mileage: 17,600