Studying the Galant Ralliart Form

[Variance]

Studying the Galant Ralliart Form

The Mitsubishi Galant is a car that is all but forgotten in the midsize sedan marketplace. It is rarely (if at all) mentioned in the same breath as the Camry, Altima and Accord. Mitsubishi seeks to remedy this with the arrival of the 2007 Galant Ralliart, its most direct competition being the Nissan Altima SE-R and Subaru Legacy GT Spec.B. See if the Galant with the soul of an Eclipse can impress Edmunds' testers.

Read "Mitsubishi crosses the Galant and the Eclipse GT" @ Edmunds

[Flybrian]

The Ralliart's look is just aggressive enough to be interesting, but the overly large fender for the tire clearance and single exhaust pipe are pure sabotage. (Photo by Josh Jacquot)

This is a bad styling trait common to lots of cars these days, notably the Camry, Accord, Avalon, and Passat. Make even 17" wheels look dinky.

[regfootball]

the Galant was a finalist of 3 last year when i bought. I passed because at the time the deal wasn't there, and partially because I knew this Ralliart was on the horizon. But I expected it to have a stick. nonetheless, the 5 speed auto with manual shift is a good move too. Yes, the interior lacks polish, but even in LS v6 form, this is one of the rare mid-large sedans you will enjoy driving day in and out. i had an LS for a loaner and it was fun. Its got lots of room. The LS handled well and had great power. The Ralliart is an upgrade in both areas so I can only imagine its that much more pleasing of a car.

"It's got the power, the looks and most of the handling needed to do battle. All that's really lacking is the killer instinct, the fine edge that separates the warrior from the rear echelon."

The Accord and Camlee snobs won't (and probably shouldn't) shop for this car, because their quest for the perfect Asian appliance car will make them scoff at the Galant's shortcomings. They won't understand a car like this with a less than sterile interior and such. But anyone else shopping the mid size entries ought to at least drive one. If you can live with the interior, this is a great car with a nice warranty. I would bet though with the new Camlee and Altima for 07, that really pushes this car further away from market in anyone's mind.

what bothers me about this version is that it lacks the visual sizzle of the concept car.

Edited May 23, 2006 by regfootball

[Cory Wolfe]

About the only thing I like about this car, stylistically, are the the headlights and taillights.

[Satty]

Too bad Mitsu probably wont be around in the US by the time the warranty is up. Is it a good car? Probably, there really aren't any bad cars on sale any more. Are there better cars? Definately, if you want better family transportation, any number of companies will be happy to show you something with a better reliability track record. If you want something sporty, Nissan and Honda can show you something with a big V6 and a stick, and Pontiac can show you a Grand Prix with a fat V8, as long as your kiddies dont mind the cramped headroom and low bench in back, why bother with the Mitsu? If this car doesn't sell well in the states (which it wont) its because there are better offerings that trade the super warranty for other advantages over the Mitsu.

[sciguy_0504]

I think a sport version of the car should make more HP than the V6 of a regular competitor's version. Overall, I would rather have a regular Galant.

Reg, are you sure you couldn't get a deal on them?

[regfootball]

I think a sport version of the car should make more HP than the V6 of a regular competitor's version.  Overall, I would rather have a regular Galant.

Reg, are you sure you couldn't get a deal on them?

nah, and that was even trading the diamante, it was beginning of the model year.

the new Galant has scored quite well reliability wise.

[Satty]

the new Galant has scored quite well reliability wise.

Then they need to advertise the hell out of it. Mitsu isn't a blip in the market because they pop up in buyer's minds right behind Subaru, long after Chevy, Ford, Toyota, Dodge or Honda. Even Hyundai is starting to get into the mind of the mainstream buyer. That happens one of two ways. Either the company has such an established record (like the domestics) that if you ask them where they will start their new car search, they'll bark out Chevy or Ford before you finish the question, basically they've been conditioned to think of a company that they've heard about their entire lives from parents, grandparents, great grandparents, whoever. The other way is to be like Hyundai and advertise the hell out of you cars, bang the low prices, improving reliability and loads of equipmet into the minds of buyers. Mitsu has been in this country 3 years longer than I have been alive, so that long standing track record isn't there, plus a lot of the cars they have peddled over the years have been pretty $h!ty. So that leaves annoying the buyers until they actually consider the product. I haven't seen a Mitsu ad on tv in who knows how long, the only ones I hear on the radio are the ones for the dealership that will sell you a Raider and give you a Galant free, not the best marketing tool. Plus they have the same 5 Raiders up front that they had when the promotion started.

[regfootball]

all i know is the bendover and galant have both done extremely well reliability wise, between what I've read on CR, and numerous forums aside from C/G. Comments like 'no problems'. Unlike the new CAM lee with its problematic tranny.