Third place was sufficient for Sébastien Loeb (Citroen) to become the first driver to win five world titles, despite a spin on the penultimate stage.
Chris Atkinson (Subaru) claimed fourth.
Per-Gunnar Andersson (Suzuki) climbed two places to take fifth, ahead of team-mate Toni Gardemeister, who also overhauled Stobart driver Matthew Wilson (Ford).
Petter Solberg (Subaru) took the final points' position, despite breaking an exhaust manifold Sunday morning and incurring a 30sec penalty.
Next round
The season closes with the traditional final round in Britain next month. The all-gravel Rally GB is based in Cardiff on 4 - 7 December.
Final positions (championship positions subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA)
1. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 25min 03.0sec 2. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 3hr 25min 34.1sec 3. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen C4 3hr 27min 33.6sec 4. C Atkinson/S Prévot AUS Subaru Impreza 3hr 28min 45.4sec 5. P-G Andersson/J Andersson SWE Suzuki SX4 3hr 30min 15.9sec 6. T Gardemeister/T Tuominen FIN Suzuki SX4 3hr 31min 12.4sec 7. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Focus RS 3hr 32min 08.3sec 8. P Solberg/P Mills NOR Subaru Impreza 3hr 38min 22.9sec 9. F Villagra/J Perez Companc ARG Ford Focus RS 3hr 40min 43.8sec 10 D Sordo/M Marti ESP Citroen C4 3hr 42min 11.5sec
Drivers 1. S Loeb 112pts 2. M Hirvonen 102pts 3. D Sordo 59pts 4. J-M Latvala 50pts 5. C Atkinson 50pts 6. P Solberg 41pts
Manufacturers 1. Citroen Total 175pts 2. BP Ford Abu Dhabi 164pts 3. Subaru 93pts 4. Stobart VK M-Sport Ford 64pts 5. Suzuki 28pts 6. Munchi's Ford 22pts
Stage Times
Stage 21: 1. P Solberg 2min 00.2sec; 2. Hirvonen + 0.4; 3. Andersson + 1.2; 4. H Solberg + 1.9; 5. Loeb + 2.5; 6. Sordo + 2.9; 7. Latvala + 3.3.
Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 23min 32.4sec; 2. Latvala + 18.4; 3. Loeb + 1:17.2; 4. Atkinson + 2:31.1; 5. Wilson + 4:36.5; 6. Gardemeister + 4:41.7.
Stage 22: 1. Hirvonen 8min 13.0sec; 2. Latvala + 1.8; 3. P Solberg + 6.2; 4. Andersson + 7.5; 5. Gardemeister + 11.2; 6. Wilson + 12.1.
Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 31min 45.4sec; 2. Latvala + 20.2; 3. Loeb + 1:09.4; 4. Atkinson + 2:45.6; 5. Wilson + 4:48.6; 6. Gardemeister + 4:52.9.
Stage 23: 1. Latvala 17min 49.5sec; 2. Andersson + 12.3; 3. Hirvonen + 13.8; 4. P Solberg + 26.5; 5. Gardemeister + 33.7; 6. Wilson + 42.7.
Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 49min 48.7sec; 2. Latvala + 6.4; 3. Loeb + 1:42.8; 4. Atkinson + 3:16.7; 5. Gardemeister + 5:12.8; 6. Wilson + 5:17.5.
Stage 24: 1. Latvala 1min 57.3sec; 2. Hirvonen + 0.2; 3. P Solberg + 0.6; 4. Atkinson + 2.0; 5. Loeb + 4.6; 6. Andersson + 5.4.
Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 51min 46.2sec; 2. Latvala + 6.2; 3. Loeb + 1:47.2; 4. Atkinson + 3:18.5; 5. Gardemeister + 5:19.2; 6. Andersson + 5:23.8.
Stage 25: 1. Kim 1min 45.7sec; 2. Atkinson + 0.1; 3. Kitamura + 0.8; 4. Gardemeister + 1.0; 5=. Brynildsen, Taguchi + 1.1; 7. Latvala + 1.4; 16. Hirvonen + 2.7.
Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 53min 34.6sec; 2. Latvala + 4.9; 3. Loeb + 1:47.2; 4. Atkinson + 3:15.9; 5. Gardemeister + 5:17.5; 6. Andersson + 5:23.2.
Stage 26: 1. Hirvonen 2min 08.6sec; 2. P Solberg + 0.9; 3. Latvala + 4.4; 4. Andersson + 4.6; 5. Sordo + 4.8; 6. Atkinson + 5.9.
Overall: 1. Hirvonen 2hr 55min 43.2sec; 2. Latvala + 9.3; 3. Loeb + 1:58.3; 4. Atkinson + 3:21.8; 5. Gardemeister + 5:24.1; 6. Andersson + 5:27.8.
Stage 27: 1. Hirvonen 8min 39.9sec; 2. Andersson + 0.7; 3. P Solberg + 2.6; 4. Latvala + 14.1; 5. Sordo + 15.3; 6. Loeb + 15.5.
Overall: 1. Hirvonen 3hr 04min 23.1sec; 2. Latvala + 23.4; 3. Loeb + 2:13.8; 4. Atkinson + 3:51.8; 5. Andersson + 5:28.5; 6. Gardemeister + 5:48.4.
Stage 28: 1. P Solberg 18min 00.2sec; 2. Andersson + 16.3; 3. Sordo + 16.9; 4. Atkinson + 24.1; 5. Hirvonen + 30.6; 6. Loeb + 41.4; 7. Latvala + 41.5.
Overall: 1. Hirvonen 3hr 22min 53.9sec; 2. Latvala + 34.3; 3. Loeb + 2:24.6; 4. Atkinson + 3:45.3; 5. Andersson + 5:14.2; 6. Gardemeister + 6:10.0.
Stage 28: 1. P Solberg 2min 03.8sec; 2. Sordo + 0.5; 3. Latvala + 2.1; 4. Atkinson + 2.4; 5. Andersson + 4.0; 6. Gardemeister + 4.7; 7. Hirvonen + 5.3.
Overall: 1. Hirvonen 3hr 25min 03.0sec; 2. Latvala + 31.1; 3. Loeb + 2:30.6; 4. Atkinson + 3:42.4; 5. Andersson + 5:12.9; 6. Gardemeister + 6:09.4.