Can anyone who has driven both cars to be able to compare back to back how they were give some input on the ride comfort difference and handling difference?

I am interested in 3 variants actually:
1. Stock
2. VR-X (so, lowered suspension, rear swaybar, but only 215/60/16 tires)
3. GTVi (VR-X suspension + 17" rims)

The gtv I drove was the kj series 2, which I assume is what your referring too, at the time I had a ke verada and when you've had a normal verada anythings stiffer.

But as far as I know the vrx and gtv were pretty similar, never been in a vrx but the gtv I drive was pretty fricken awesome around corners, was responsive and held the line at speed.

What was the ride comfort like in the GTVi compared to your KE?
And what mileage did each car have?

You wont notice a difference unless suspension is worn. Such small differences

FWIW i owned my KH from new and drove the KL AWD from 25k mark and notice that the KL feels more "boaty", i.e. softer and slightly more lateral roll feel.
AFAIK same suspension, although KL has sway bar, so i dk why it feels slightly different. Maybe weight difference is the reason. I sometimes think stiffer suspension would make a big difference in the AWD.

Well you cant compare comfort in a 2003 to a 1996, for a start it had leather seats, was only on 96, 000 ks and my ke was 178, 000 ks, so newer all round, the comfort was just the best car ive ever sat in, and I been in a few

ideally i have a TF Altera and a TJ VR-X
while they arent the cars you list they are similar.

when it comes to body roll there is one corner which i take at normal speed in my Altera and i can feel the body roll.when i take the VR-X in the same speed in the same corner it is flatter(vrx has factory lowered springs and a stock rear swaybar.tf has none of these).

also with the tyre sizes i went from 205/65/15 stock wheels to 235/45/17 GTV Wheels on the altera.ideally i noticed you feel the bumps a tiny bit(now and then) otherwise the ride comfort is fine.i have 225/50/17's from factory on the vrx and comfort is better.

Can anyone who has driven both cars to be able to compare back to back how they were give some input on the ride comfort difference and handling difference?

2. VR-X (so, lowered suspension, rear swaybar, but only 215/60/16 tires)
3. GTVi (VR-X suspension + 17" rims)
This is not an accurate comparison to make as tyres can make a huge difference to ride comfort. I firmly believe that you could get a set of 215/60/16 tyres that rode firmer than a set of 225/50/17 tyres. The only way for this comparison to be accurate, in my opinion, is to have exactly the same tyres in the two nominated sizes.

All things being equal, the 17s would ride marginally firmer, but whether it is an issue is highly subjective.

Also, most VR-Xs had 17" rims in the same size as the GTVi.

I have KL GTVi. For a Verada, I wouldn't call it 'cushy' at all... quite firm really. The leather seats aren't 'plush' either - quite firm and I'm disappointed with the lateral support (ie. there is none). I've driven a TL Exec sedan a few years ago, hard to compare though as they weren't side by side. I remember the TL being far superior to my dad's TJ wagon in handling as it was. I'd suspect the GTVI/VRX suspension (which are the same) to improve slightly but not significantly. I'm not even sure how different the suspension between Verada & lower spec models is in the first place? Like Red Valdez said, I think more comes down to tyres than anything else.

I can compare the GTVi suspension to BA XR6 - the BA is firmer in my opinion and the seats are far better.

Also, TL & TJ VR-X / GTVi had 17 inch rims.... (AWD model had only 16 inch)

Couple of new car articles on the GTV/GTVi:

http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&A=1781

http://news.drive.com.au/drive/new-car-reviews/veradas-good-vibes-20100824-13n3h.html

http://www.autoweb.com.au/cms/A_1919/title_New-Car-Test-Mitsubishi-KL-Verada-GTVi/article.html

Differences would be minor, you can feel the sportiness in the VR-X compared to a base model. they are pretty cheap at the moment id go for the vr-x !

I have a TW VRX and it seems great. It would handle better than Xi verada's I guess

The difference between my GTV (Better stock options than GTVi but identical for ride) before I put the coilovers on and a VR-X should be negligible except that, as an earlier commenter mentioned, the seats have absolutely horrible support for that application, you will fall out of them in the corners if you go at the limit. The GTV has the best looking seats (In my opinion, your mileage may vary) but despite being the best spec third gen next to maybe the Xi, probably the worst actual seat comfort out of the entire lineup. They offer the less supportive Verada shape which ditches the sporty hold you in padding for a more cushy open shape, but then they stick a very hard wearing South African perforated "sports" leather on.

As for the VR-X and GTV versus stock, as covered, there is a noticeable difference but it's not massive.

I've driven a TL VR-X AWD and a KW GTVi AWD and found the ride of the GTVi to be more floaty than the VR-X. The VR-X seemed to be more stiffer. I have no idea why they'd be so different as I thought both models would have the same suspension setup..

But that's my experience with them anyway.

I have no idea why they'd be so different as I thought both models would have the same suspension setup..

They do. Could it be that you were more floaty and not the car, because of the missing bolstering? You would have definitely had a lot less support.

Tire pressure and suspension condition would have a huge impact too