2009 Mitsubishi Galant Ralliart

A Galant effort -- but lacking in style points

Nov 29, 2008

Special to the Star

For 2009, the Mitsubishi Galant has been redesigned to do battle in the very competitive midsize sedan segment. It's sold in three models – as the four-cylinder ES, the V6-powered GT, and my tester, the more powerful V6 Ralliart.

Overall, it's a nice driver, but it seems somewhat confused for its market: the styling is bland in light of its sporty performance, and despite a starting MSRP of $32,998 (compared to $23,998 for the ES and $27,998 for the GT), some of the interior appointments don't feel up to that price tag.

Both the GT and the Ralliart use a 3.8-litre V6, but where the GT makes 230 horsepower, the Ralliart boosts it to 258 ponies. Although the company calls it a "world class sports sedan," there's no stick shift available; instead, the five-speed automatic has a manual shift mode.

The Ralliart's engine is a slightly detuned version of that used in the Eclipse, and it's much better off here; while the Ralliart still exhibits a fair bit of torque steer (the tendency of a front-wheel-drive car to pull to one side on acceleration), it's not as bad as the sharp right-hand turn that the Eclipse makes when you come onto it. In either case, it cements my belief that "world class" really needs to be reserved for rear- or all-wheel-drive.

The smooth throttle delivers linear power, and it's that level transition from dead stop to triple-digit speeds that shows off how good this engine is. It's also quiet up front, but with a nice exhaust burble out the back. The down side is that it requires premium fuel, which will add to its operating costs.

The torque steer aside, handling is pleasantly sharp, but the car's huge turning radius means that nosing into a parking space can take two attempts to line it up. Unique in the Galant lineup, the Ralliart includes a front strut tower bar and rear stabilizer bar for extra rigidity, along with larger front brake discs and ventilated rear discs.

The GT and Ralliart also include traction control, but given the ever-increasing focus on safety in the midsize sedan market, it's odd that electronic stability control is missing, especially since it's standard or available on rivals such as the Camry, Accord, Malibu, Altima and Mazda6. All models have side and curtain airbags, though, and a tire pressure monitoring system.

The Ralliart's facelift includes a streamlined grille, a lower stance and upswept taillights, but I'm not fond of the multi-bulb headlamps – they look like they came from a flea-market customizer.

If anything justifies Ralliart's price, it's the high level of standard interior equipment: automatic climate control, metal pedals, auto-dimming rearview mirror, sunroof, heated leather seats, premium stereo, satellite radio and a DVD-based navigation system.

Fitted into a cheap-looking plastic housing, the navigation system looks as if it rises up out of the dash, but it's fixed in place. It's also the first navigation system I've used that has a male voice. The Designated Passenger quipped that it was a welcome change not to have a woman telling him what to do. All I could think of was the typical male reluctance to stop and ask for directions. In any case, the voice's "Turn LEFT!" was by far the most enthusiastic I've ever heard.

The Ralliart's dash is busy, combining various plastic textures, metallic finishes and black-grained faux wood. The silver climate and stereo controls are easy to use but not to see, as their black writing doesn't provide much contrast. They light up at night, but there needs to be more backlighting, as only the driver's window button is lit. Lock buttons should always be easy to find in the dark. The simple, white-faced gauges are easy to see, though, and no longer suffer from the too-dim evening illumination that used to plague many Mitsubishi models.

The cabin is roomy, both in the front and rear. Oddly, while the front seatbacks are supportive, the cushions are hard and flat. The trunk is 93 cm long, but the rear seats don't fold; instead, there's only a pass-through.

Although it breaks the $30,000 barrier, the Ralliart stacks up favourably against other midsize sedans when outfitted with their top-line engines and full interior features. The V6 Honda Accord with navigation is $36,990, the Toyota Camry XLE is $35,020, and the V6 Nissan Altima with automatic, leather and navigation is $37,698. Mitsubishi's warranty also tops them all, at five years/100,000 km on almost everything, and 10 years/160,000 km on the powertrain.

With still a relatively low profile in Canada, and a growing but limited dealer network, it's those extras that Mitsubishi is counting on to gain a larger piece of the pie.

Toronto Star