2007 Mitsubishi Galant Review

Big Galant Gets Some Rally Bred Excitement

What comes to mind when you think of Ralliart? If you think of anything at all, most likely itll be the image of a Mitsubishi Pajero cresting over a Saharan sand dune in Algeria or skimming the down a deserted Senegalese beach. Perhaps itll be the vision of that same rally-tuned Pajero rolling over the finish ramp in Dakar to receive yet another Paris-Dakar victory? Or maybe youll think of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution crashing through the water crossings of Argentina, tearing through fearsome mountain passes in Corsica, or flying through the air over massive Jyvaskylan jumps in Finland. Anyway you think, Ralliart is a force to be reckoned with in the rally world.

So when Mitsubishi wanted to inject some new excitement into the 2007 Galant, creating a Ralliart edition seemed the logical conclusion. Despite being part of the U.S. auto market for quite some time, its cars arent quite as popular as those of its Japanese rivals. So, to make a bigger splash in the sedan market Japans oldest carmaker has replaced the Galant GTS with the Galant Ralliart at the top end of the range. Dont get me wrong, the GTS is still available, but no longer the end all to be all in the Galant lineup.

In the early 90s, Mitsubishi sold the Galant VR-4 everywhere but North America. The VR-4, like the Eclipse of the same era, was equipped with the Lancer Evolution 2.0L turbo AWD powertrain. While the Galant was a large car, the performance was admirable and the VR-4 was even used by Ralliart for the World Rally Championship. The high cost of the VR-4 makes it less than ideal for profitability or large-volume sales, so its replacement needed to be easier to produce on the automakers regular Galant line and use less expensive, more readily available components; i.e. a V6 with front-wheel drive. While a crying shame to some, the loss of the hyper four-cylinder to a big V6 results in a more tractable package for the general car buying public.

Im not a big fan of the styling of the base Galant. The oversized headlights have a square-eyed, none-blinking stare, that seem void of style while the rest of the cars overall shape appears dry and domestic looking. However, people who enjoy the look of a Camry, Accord or Malibu may find the entry-level Galant refreshing. The Ralliart version, however, is much more aggressive and therefore more stylish than the DE, ES or even the GTS. Along with the standard badges required with special edition cars, the Ralliart has a sportier mesh grille, projector style headlights and thicker side moldings. Not a lot of difference, but it does make the car look much better, and a black example in particular gives a menacing look in the rear view mirror. Large 18-inch aluminum wheels, also seen on the Eclipse GT, fill the wheel wells of the Galant Ralliart, wrapped with 235/45 R18 Goodyear Eagles - tires that struggled on the Eclipse.

Mitsubishi has made a good attempt at creating a stylish interior with the Galant which unfortunately seems to have been dictated by cost, and very much like the exterior, has a very distinctive domestic feel to it. Materials used are a little cheap, and the buttons and controls seemed to click rather than engage. Layout is clear and simple, as is the operation of the navigation system. The seats are particularly good, wrapped in black leather with red perforation holes. All the basic adjustments are there, with seatback adjustments being manual while the lower cushion is electrically adjustable on the drivers side. Good bolstering and comfort kept me gripped in place even if the tires werent.

The center dash is filled with an easy to use DVD-navigation and information system featuring a full-size map taking up the entire 7-inch touch screen. Just below sits a 360-watt Rockford-Fosgate premium stereo system with AM/FM/6CD/MP3 plus a digital signal processor that pumped out great quality sound to eight speakers spread through out the cabin. Like other Mitsubishis, this system is all I could ever want in a stereo system. Although, Ive been known to enjoy a good engine note much more than the radio, something the Galant also produces liberally.

While the style of the Galant left a distinctly American taste in my mouth - for a car built in Illinois that should come as no surprise - the road manners were distinctly Japanese. The sport suspension gives a nice firm ride and soaks up all road imperfections while at the same time keeping everything comfortable and in check. The brakes are well tuned for the cars weight, and allow for deep braking into hard corners when the need is there. The only problem I have with its handling, which I have with all large-engine, front-wheel drive cars, is the weight balance of the vehicle. This is where a tendency to understeer rears its ugly head. Turn-in is crisp but will fall into understeer soon after, and any attempt to override this characteristic is quickly put to death by the electronic driver aids that demand absolute obedience. The rear of the car does feel a little detached while cornering, and while Mitsubishi has incorporated a 0.8 inch (21 mm) diameter rear sway bar to compensate, the layout and chassis are not optimal for tight corners. But then one must remember that this is a Galant and not an Evolution IX, and will not likely be tearing through Corsican mountain passes at brake neck speed anytime soon.

One thing it does well is eat up a winding highway. The big Galant may not be the most nimble of cars in really tight S curves, but is more at home charging around long high-speed corners. If you want to go auto crossing buy the Lancer Ralliart, but if you want to take the family and a weekends worth of luggage traveling, and want to enjoy getting there, the Galant Ralliart will do nicely.
 
The Ralliart comes equipped with the 3.8L MIVEC V6 also used in the Eclipse GT, producing 258 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. Acceleration is quite surprising for such a car and will even compete with the Eclipse due to both cars weighing in at 3,748 pounds due to the Eclipse and Galant sharing the same general architecture; not a bad curb weight for a large sedan.

While the engine is shared with the Eclipse GT, Mitsubishi seems to have forgotten a rather important part of the performance equation; a 6-speed manual gearbox. The powers that be thought that a 5-speed automatic with Sportronic manual-mode would do. Why would a Ralliart model not have a manual transmission? Even as an option if need be? Not to mention, a limited slip differential would greatly help the problem of so much power being thrown to the front wheels.

I found the gearbox the single biggest disappointment with the Ralliart. In automatic mode the car is left feeling sluggish, and less responsive than I would have liked. In the Sportronic shift mode, I was better able to control the engines performance, which requires high revs to extract all the power. Whats more, the position of the shifter is awkward to get at while driving, and is placed to far away from the steering wheel to be used quickly and comfortably. If Mitsubishi had to use an automatic, I would have at least liked to see them install steering wheel paddle shifters. Of course, to this end pricing is key to Mitsubishis sales strategy and therefore some of these goodies have been left out of the picture, at least for the time being.

The top-line Galant starts at a respectable $26,624, while in comparison the entire 2007 Galant range has only increased slightly in price from last year with a DE now going for $19,526, the ES now starting at $20,124,  the SE and LS now gone, and the GTS starting at $24,624, all despite a mid-cycle styling upgrade that freshens each new Galant across the range.

A ten-year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty is also the best your going to find, as is its five-year, 60,000 mile comprehensive coverage; no doubt Mitsubishi is very confident in its reliability as it continues to use this as a major selling point for all its vehicles. Millions of Mitsubishi customers throughout the world have long depended on the brand for reliable transportation, however most of the cars sold on other continents are made in Japan, Australia or some other, older plant. Most of the U.S. lineup is manufactured domestically, so it will be interesting to see if our North American Mitsubishis hold to the same high standard.

In this very competitive category, the Mitsubishi offers a great deal in terms of bang for the buck, especially when you consider that the Ralliart is priced cheaper than a base V6-powered Accord or Altima. But as with all things, you get what you pay for. In terms of the cars interior and exterior I felt it was void of style and had a less than optimal feel to it. However, in terms of performance and handling the car holds a top position in a segment that focuses more on spaciousness, reliability, safety and mundane A to B daily driving. I would also like to see Mitsubishi honor the Ralliart name better by offering a manual gearbox and a Limited Slip Differential.