2004 Mitsubishi Diamante

Review

Looking Good is Easy in this Car

Mitsubishi revealed the new 2004 Diamante, with its comprehensive nose job at last years New York International Auto Show, almost exactly a year ago today.

While most that go under the plastic surgeons knife do so to undergo a transformation from less than ideal to downright sexy, the Diamante was already a looker. The new car, however, aligns with the Mitsubishi familys new design language, with all models highlighted by a distinctive bisected grille. The Diamantes long nose is less aggressive than its stable mates though, coming across like a refined, upscale luxury car.

Thats a good thing as it is intended for wooing entry-luxury buyers who might otherwise opt for a Nissan Maxima or Toyota Avalon. While these two comparisons are almost diametrically opposed in their target market, the first focused on sport-oriented sedan owners and the latter attempting to harness an older, luxury buyer, the Diamante does a pretty good job of straddling the middle ground. Those wanting a little more pepper in their gazpacho can order a sporty VR-X version while the "hold the salt" crowd can make do with the stylish LS.

While Im not too worried about the effects of spicy food, my test car came in LS trim just the same. I longed for the VR-X that was parked in the back lot of the dealership, with its racy rear decklid spoiler, white analog gauges framed in a two-toned sport steering wheel, and bolstered buckets featuring the models "VR-X" designation embroidered into the seatbacks, but alas my week was to be tamer in comparison.

The LS is classy, with chrome adorning the door handles and side moldings, window surrounds and marker lights. The rear lights, rear license plate surround, and emblems are done in brightwork too, back and front, with the latter flanked with two chrome embellished grille openings. Overall its one refined looking package.

On the inside the Diamante is laid out in a more conventional manner than the Japanese brands latest offerings. The comfortable, supportive seats are leather clad, one of many standard features, complimented with crinkled leather on the door panels. The "environmentally friendly" woodgrain is fairly authentic, with higher quality tactility than the majority of domestic brands and some imports. Its red tone and fine grain mimic mahogany, giving the cabin a unique appearance when compared to more common walnut.

The center stack is the first of only a few of my gripes. Oh, the Mitsubishi/Infinity audio system is good, dont get me wrong. It boasts 270-watts after all. But the way it integrates into the console comes across looking aftermarket, not up to the level of the majority of its competitors. Just underneath is an open compartment identical in size and shape to the audio head unit overhead. It looks designed to hold CDs but they tend to slide out while accelerating, leaving a gaping hole that seems as if it should be filled with another stereo component. Please Mitsubishi, fill it up with something. Even a lid would do.

Now that were talking audio, the steering wheel controls are in an awkward position at the bottom of the wheel and out of reach. Ironically I found it easier to reach over to the audio head unit and make adjustments from there.

Also, while I really like the frameless doors, reminding me of my Moms old 1969 Pontiac Parisienne coupe, closing the front passengers required me to power the side window down an inch and then up to reseal it against wind. Without doing this it sounded as if the door was left ajar. This problem is probably just an anomaly specific to this car. Id have to test more than one to be sure.

Of course Im quibbling about little things in a car that overall is better than average. It offers a reasonable amount of interior room front and back, plus a fairly large trunk at 14.2 cubic feet.

Ironically its toughest competitor comes from within Mitsubishis own showroom. Say what? Truly, the superb Galant, in top trim, might just be a better car than the Diamante. It doesnt seem any smaller than the Diamante, on the inside anyway, while its interior is at least as well executed. Whats more it offers more power in 3.8-L V6 form than the Diamantes 3.5-L V6, at 230 hp compared to 205 in EX and LS guise, and 250 lb-ft of torque compared to 231. The top-line VR-X sports slightly more power at 210, while torque is enhanced to 240 lb-ft. That said its a sportier sounding dual-overhead cam powerplant that revs nicely, delivering more refined power than the SOHC Galant V6. Both send power to the front wheels via a Sportronic 4-speed automatic transmission with manual mode. Both cars handle well too, so I suppose its a toss-up. Really the cars are probably too similar for Mitsubishis good, what could be costly to the brands bottom line. As a customer though, you get to choose between the two which is a good place to be.

Im not going to go into to much detail regarding the Diamantes features as I covered them in a previous review, but suffice it to say the LS I drove came with most everything needed and more.

In the end the Diamante is a stylish, upscale car for a decent entry price, $24,999 in base ES trim. The LS that I tested starts and ends at $27,619, as there are no options. That makes it more competitive than most of its Japanese rivals, and worthy of taking a look if youre in the market.