Mitsubishi Galant test drive since 2008 sedan

Goodbye America

Even 20 years ago, none of us could even dream that eminent automakers would not only import new cars of cars into our country, but also adapt them to Russian conditions.
 
And today, this process resembles social media under the motto who will make more changes to the design of the finished serial car, originally designed for the sake of consumer tastes of a particular market. It is a pity that the wishes of Russian motorists are not initially laid down in calculations ...
 
But enough lyrics. Until now, most of the novelties fell from the Russians from Europeans, hence our popular love for German cars - they are accustomed to their standards. In the last couple of years, many new models have come to us, developed, for example, for the domestic markets of Korea, Turkey, Romania and even Iran. But finally, typical Americans began to remake under us. Among these ninth generation Mitsubishi Galant, for which Europeans will have to go to Russia, because they are not for sale, and the states will be away.
 
This business class sedan was originally intended for the American market, and therefore endowed with the character of the Yankees, and even for one and a half years of the design of designers on 308 improvements could not save Galant from generic features and the properties of the car. This applies to the exterior, and the interior, and, of course, the characteristics of the engine and the chassis of the novelty. The only exception to this list is the transmission of the car. After all, a clear, and most importantly, rather quick gearbox, Galant is not at all like its overseas brothers and leaves the best impressions. The InVeCS-II Sports Mode sequential adaptive machine manages to always choose the desired gear based on the driver’s driving style. No, to say that he has completely absent failures, but they are not critical. In addition, the box is equipped with a rather correct manual mode, with which the driver can independently control the process of transmitting torque to the drive wheels of the car, in this case the front ones. You can start with both the first and second gear, slow down by the engine, turning on a low step - in general, play speeds as needed.
 
As already noted, so far the only 2.4-liter 16-valve engine of the ninth Mitsubishi Galant also gravitates to the American lifestyle. This mainly applies to the consumed fuel - 92th gasoline! Oddly enough, this pathology ends, because the motor cannot boast of extraordinary power (158 horses). And this despite the fact that it is equipped with electronic control phases of gas distribution and the latest injection system.
 
Actually, the properties of the chassis are typically American. Everything is subordinated to the comfort so that many consumers will openly lack the rigidity of the suspension and it seem that the body does not have time for a sharp wheel (this is the sports quality of the steering of the last Galant clearly from the predecessor). In fact, the suspension settings were changed for Russia. Suffice it to say that the road clearance of the car is increased to 165 mm, and this cannot but affect the smoothness of the move. But the ninth Galant showed excellent handling and high terminal stability, for which the owners of the previous generations of this sedan especially appreciated it.
 
As befits an American, and even more so a business class car, Mitsubishi Galant has a rather large body. And due to pronounced ribs, it seems even more impressive. The overall impression of the design of the machine is quite positive. Although the meticulous Russian motorist will find in some body elements of the novelties the features of the very popular Lancer model we have. And having got inside the ninth Galant, it will only strengthen in its assumptions. A lot of interior details here are borrowed from his younger brother - these are the buttons of turning on the windows and the plastic in the lower part. In addition, small ergonomic miscalculations of the youngest - a shortage of vertical adjustment of the driver's seat and the lack of lateral support at the front seats, also migrated into the spacious salon. But it was the budget of the Galant decoration that disappointed the most. After all, if in the case of Lancer this is justified (after all, the car costs about $ 15,000), then in a business class car that Galant is positioned, such savings slightly cuts the eye. It is clear that such techniques significantly reduce the price of the car, and the Americans for whom it is made do not like to overpay. Our fellow citizens, if they get money for a decent car, prefer to buy more luxury, which they always lacked. Galant developers, of course, did not stint on a leather interior, a good audio system, climate, cruise control and many more bells and whistles, but sacrificed the quality of some elements of the internal decoration. At the same time, the technical filling of the new Mitsubishi Galant is much richer than its shell, and therefore it will still have to fork out for it - the Russian consumer will need over 30,000 American rubles.
 
Text: Andrey Konstantinov
 

A source: Mkobil magazine [11/27/2006]