Test drive Mitsubishi Galant 1997 - 2004 sedan

Gallant

Mitsubishi has always been seriously approached by the unity of the corporate identity style, so in the fall of 1995, when the new Lancer debuted, one could imagine what the new Mitsubishi Galant would look like. Expectations met in September 1996.

Mitsubishi Galant is the flagship of the company's family of companies delivering to European markets. A young -haired family left a car with a body of hatchback, giving way to the station wagon. The role of hatchback is now played by the Carisma model, which is collected in Holland. Having dropped a prestigious body, Galant raised a little in the classroom.

Two bodies combined with six gasoline and one diesel engines give 14 basic configurations, not to mention the options for equipping the salon and coloring. To this you can add a wide selection of wheels and rubber. The flotilla of the new Galant for the year woke Europe and in August 1997 reached Russia. Mitsubishi Galant 2.5 V6 24V became the pioneer of Russian lands.

As the name follows, a V-shaped 6-cylinder engine is installed on the car with a working volume of 2.5 liters (2498 cm cubic meter) with four valves per cylinder. The valves are controlled by the four upper camshafts. The power system is distributed injection. The engine power is 163 hp. (5750 vol./Min.), The moment - 223 Nm (4500 rpm.). This is the most powerful motor in Galant, except for its own turbocharged version. A curious 1.8 liter of the GDI motor - with direct fuel injection - so far is installed only on cars intended for the Japanese market. However, the delivery of the Carisma model with the same engine has already begun to Europe, maybe soon it will reach Russia.

Outwardly, the new Galant is noticeably different from its predecessor. A somewhat boring roundness of the forms gave way to the severity of the lines and the clarity of the mating of surfaces. This cut was beneficial for a car, the main buyers of which, according to the creators, will be business people in equally strict costumes. Something Galant resembles BMW cars, but this similarity is barely perceptible, especially against the background of the proportions of the body and its individual elements, of which the front part with a powerful air intake and a flattened branded Mitsubishi mask with narrow block-framents on the sides.

The entire composition of the front line is performed by healthy aggressiveness, which gives the car a dynamic appearance.

The car interior is made in the same style with the exterior, but somewhat softer, which is understandable - the space for passengers and the driver should not contain sharp corners. The interior is of solidity and quality of manufacture and causes a sense of comfort as soon as you find yourself in the cabin and slam the door behind you. Leather upholstery of seats and door panels goes well with a soft coating of a torpedo and a central console with an insert of material that imitates an expensive tree.

The fit of the seat did not take much time - everything is electrified, only the lumbar support is manually controlled. Electric heating with two modes of operation is not forgotten. It's nice to sit, all controls at hand. The steering column can be moved up and down, the adjustment range is sufficient. The steering wheel with leather casing has a built -in compact airbag, which does not interfere with seeing the devices (tachometer, speedometer and indicators of fuel level and coolant temperature) and control lamps. The dashboard is decorated very strictly.

The gearbox switching lever is located conveniently, its length and the size of the moves are well combined. The clutch pedal is moderately soft and informative. To the left of her, as usual, a platform for the emphasis of the leg was settled. The location of the parking brake lever was unusual - to the left of the gearbox lever. In the work position, it is noticeably raised, but there is a plus in this - when touched, you will not forget to return it to its original position. Such a layout solution made it possible to place a convenient armrest between the backs of the front seats.

To the left of the steering wheel on the torpedo there is a control panel of external mirrors. By the way, the mirrors are equipped with heating. In the center of the torpedo, a clock with digital indication hid in the recess. It was hidden that it would not be easy to determine the time, it would be better to give attention to the control of the car.

On the central console, under two deflectors supplying air to the driver and the front passenger, there are controls of a climate installation with an integrated air conditioner. The scoreboard on liquid crystals reports about her work, which displays all the information about the air temperature, its direction and movement along the car.

Our attention was attracted by a rectangular cover with a gear mechanism located at the bottom of the console. Usually at this place they put a car radio or a CD resort, but we could not find out what was hiding behind it. This turned out later, and we decided to compare whether the level of the rear seats corresponds to the front. The front seat - until it stops back (imitation of the landing of a tall person), and we penetrate the second row. It became clear that it was as convenient to accommodate as on the front seats, there you can only under one condition - those who are lower should sit in front.

The trunk pleased with its capacity and low loading height - convenient. Separately folding backs of the rear seat were also by the way.

We return to the driver's place. Review is quite acceptable in all directions. The front racks of the roof do not seem massive, and there is no need to peep because of them during the turn. We run the engine, and ... nothing has changed in the cabin. The light vibration that accompanied the starter’s work has stopped, and that the motor was launched, you can guess only according to the testimony of the tachometer. All! No sound. When pressing the gas pedal at idle, something begins to listen to something. We move smoothly. This is easy to manage, and you should immediately check the acceleration dynamics. The motor came to life and drove instantly.

There was a sound pleasant to the hearing of tonality, the car rushed forward, pleasing with the effort with which he pressed in the seat. With such acceleration, you can feel quite confident in the city stream, when there is a need to go into a gap or change the lane. Galant is well obeyed by the steering wheel, the characteristics of the amplifier are successfully selected to facilitate maneuvering when parking a car, and with speed of speed, the force on the steering wheel grows proportionally.

The car has almost neutral rotation when moving in normal speed mode, and when trying to quickly pass the turns, it demonstrates the reaction that is familiar to the front -wheel drive machine, which is easy to adjust the steering wheel and gas. The suspension operation corresponds to the car class and combines tangible rigidity with smoothness, which generally provides a comfortable ride. The brakes quickly and effectively respond to the managing actions of the driver, allowing themselves to fully rely on themselves in an extreme situation, and this is long before the ABS.

When moving in increased gears, the engine demonstrates the elasticity of the work, which makes it possible not to twist it, but to keep the momentum in the lower range. This allows you to completely enjoy silence in the cabin and not strain the vocal cords during conversation. This became completely clear when we still figured out the mysterious door on the central console. When pressing it, she turned over, turning into the Kenwood radio control panel, and the salon was filled with sounds from speakers placed in the right places.

The new Mitsubishi Galant 2.5 V6 24V left a pleasant impression. Its creators managed to make a comfortable dynamic car, convenient both in everyday operation and with prolonged movement along high -speed highways - for this it is equipped with a system for maintaining the established speed (cruise control). The car has very pleasant manners, which justifies its gallant name.

Sergey Ivanov
 
 
 

Source: Motor magazine [No. 12/1997]