Driving is the best part of the new, 2008 Mitsubishi Evolution and marks perhaps its most welcome advancement from the old Evo IX. No doubt some true-blues will bemoan the filing off of that model's sharp edges, but for anybody for whom wearing a kidney belt is no longer a rite of passage, the X's refinements are most welcome. And not merely in the ride and handling, but in the major, and eye-opening, upgrading of the electronics.

Turbo lag, long the bane of smallish four-cylinder powerplants, has been almost completely banished to the memory banks. In fact, drivers who've come of licensing age in the past 10 or 15 years may not even identify that subtle surge in power as the engine speed climbs as anything more than the engine coming on cam, or more discreetly, as the movement between phases of variable cams. Yes, it's there, and readily felt in the seat of the pants, but it's more linear than ever, and there's no moment of instability in the steering wheel. A good part of this is likely credited to the Evo's next-generation all-wheel-drive management system, but even so, the absence of that unsettling, light switch-like leap in power is much appreciated.

The GSR's five-speed manual handles the power well. Almost too well, as its beefiness occasionally surfaces in a slight clunk between gears, especially when moving through third gear on the way up or down. But gear engagement is solid and throws are short enough. The clutch feels a little light for the power, but it manages engagement with reasonable confidence. Brake and accelerator placement could be closer for optimal heel-and-toe downshifts, but they're close enough.

The TC-SST, for Twin-Clutch Sportonic Shift Transmission, as the MR's electronically managed six-speed manual is nomenclatured, is nothing short of marvelous. It offers three modes, Normal, Sport and S-Sport (likely for Super Sport), and each is unique and superbly configured. In Normal, shifts resemble those in a regular automatic transmission, smooth and quiet. They can be managed with the throttle, although they're better left alone. Sport is a significant step up, in both feel and engine speed. Shifts are felt more, occur at higher engine speeds and are more easily controlled by the throttle; accelerate hard, then lift for a moment to allow the upshift, then repeat. For the hardcore, and emphasis on hard, there's the S-Sport. Shifts are sharp and immediate but not brutal, although they can jerk the neck of the unsuspecting. When the car is slowing, the process reverses in all three modes, and with the same feel, although the slickly executed double-clutched downshifts occur at lower speeds and are more suppressed in Normal and Sport than in S-Sport.

Drivers who want to row their own have the use of either the console shift lever, which offers a up-for-downshift/back-for-upshift manual shift gate to the proper, driver's side of the automatic gate, or the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. With either, the execution of the shifts matches in quality and sureness the shifts in full-auto mode. This gearbox is such a delight, in fact, BMW would be hard put to find a better model as that carmaker begins to move from its archaic single-clutch manu-matic to a state-of-the-art double clutch system. (As a bonus for the street racer crowd, the TC-SST also has an undocumented launch control. It works in much the same was as with a full automatic. Stand hard on the braked pedal, depress the accelerator about halfway to load up the drivetrain, then sidestep the brake pedal. There's the briefest chirp before the electronics of the stability control system snub any tire spin, and it's time to hang on.)

Where both trim levels of the new Evo shine is in the filing down of the rough edges in the ride. Small potholes and freeway expansion joints no longer jar teeth fillings loose. Yet the Evo still tracks flat and true around corners, responding to steering inputs promptly and with precision, to which the cross brace between the front suspension towers no doubt contributes more than a little. Also contributing is the next evolution of the Evo's all-wheel drive system, which incorporates active yaw control and the electronic stability system to distribute power incrementally in real-time to all four wheels as needed. On long straights, the front tires seem to have less of a mind of their own; despite the aggressive tread on the high performance Yokohamas, they no longer stray first this way, then that, as if they were working under several degrees of negative camber. Squat and dive, on acceleration and braking, are well damped. Brakes scrub off speed time after time with little or no fade.

Against the most probable competitor, the Subaru Impreza WRX STI, the Evo doesn't give up much. It's a couple hundred pounds heavier, but it's slightly higher torque rating (300 lb.-ft. versus 290 lb.-ft.) makes up for some of that in outright acceleration. Fuel economy numbers are within a single mile per gallon, or so close it's how somebody drives the car that makes any differences matter. In handling, and despite the claimed lower center of gravity the boxer engine gives the WRX, the Evo feels more solidly planted when pushed on twisting roads. And the X's marked improvements in ride quality bring it at least even with the WRX, if not a step or two ahead.

We tested the GSR and MR at Firebird International Raceway outside Phoenix and found both versions had merits with no clear winners. Shifting manually can be fun, but leaving them in the automatic modes offered the most consistency and speed. These are smart cars that are easy and forgiving to drive flat out on slow and fast circuits. We drove the cars hard on Firebird's West Circuit and on a second-gear autocross course. The hot setup on the autocross seemed to be the MR, with its SST in the Auto mode, set to Tarmac, with the stability control turned off. But we liked both versions. We loved the sophistication of the MR, but also the more traditional manual GSR.

These cars are really fun to drive. Drivers climbed out of them laughing and smiling.

© 2008 NewCarTestDrive.com