2006 Mitsubishi Galant GTS Review

2006 Mitsubishi Galant GTS

THE AUTO PAGE
By
JOHN HEILIG

SPECIFICATIONS
MODEL: Mitsubishi Galant GTS
ENGINE: 3.8-liter V6
HORSEPOWER/TORQUE: 230 hp @ 5250 rpm/250 lb.-ft. @ 4000 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 4-speed automatic with manual shift
WHEELBASE: 108.3 in.
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT: 190.6 x 72.4 x 57.9 in.
TIRES: 215/55VR17
CARGO VOLUME: 13.3 cu. ft.
ECONOMY: 19 mpg city/27 mpg highway/26mpg test
PRICE: $26,499 (base, add $595 delivery charge)

Mitsubishi redesigned the Galant a few years back and the redesign only serves to make an attractive car more attractive, in all senses of the word.

Galant is a mid-size car that competes with the Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry. Price-wise, it's in the same ballpark as the V6-powered versions of the others. But it's 3.8-liter V6 is rated at 230 hp, while the Camry's 3.3-literV6 is rated at 210 hp. This isn't going to make a big difference in normal driving, but it might if you have a critical need for power when you enter a highway from an entry ramp.

I liked the power band on the Galant. While the engine was good, it was often as buzzy as a four-cylinder mill. One thing you expect from sixes is relative quiet, and we didn't get it with the Galant. Galant's power is translated to the front wheels through a 4-speed automatic transmission. No manual gearbox is offered. I found a slight lag when the transmission downshifted. In the GTS version we tested, the automatic has a manual mode. Push the gear lever to the right to engage the "manual" side of the gate, then push up to upshift, down to downshift. The transmission lag can be overcome by judicious use of the manual.

I like the styling redo. One of the details I especially liked were "eyebrows" over the taillights. These serve to reduce the amount of road grime build-up on the taillights to a certain degree, but this can also be done with periodical wiping when you add gas. No matter what, I thought it was a nice detail.

The Galant's design is clean. It doesn't try to make the Galant look like anything other than what it's supposed to look like - a good mid-size sedan.

The instrument panel included a "navigation screen" display; event though there wasn't a navigation system. But the display did give info such as the compass heading, a clock, radio settings, outside temperature, and fuel economy. Not only was the display informative, it was well designed to be easy to look at.

The main instruments included a 270-degree speedometer and 90-degree smaller tach. They were black on "engine turned" aluminum that had blue backlighting at night. Red pointers showed the readings.

Seats were leather-faced with good side support. Since we tended to give the Galant a good ride on hilly, winding roads, we needed the side support. There was also a leather steering wheel cover. The wheel had audio controls on the back with volume on the right and station or mode selection on the left.

Our tester had power everything, which is standard with the GTS model.

Rear seat legroom and foot room was very good. It isn't often that one notices rear footroom, since you normally just shove your feet under the seat. But in the case of the Galant, footroom is noticed. In the rear there's a fold-down armrest that includes two cupholders.

The trunk is listed at 13.3 cubic feet. More critically, there's enough room for two golf bags. A huge air cleaner dominates the under-hood. However, the oil dipstick and filler are clearly labeled and easy to find, as is the windshield washer fluid filler.

The Mitsubishi Galant is a nice package, as it always has been. While our tester was the top-of-the-line GTS trim package, Galant pricing begins at $18,999 (plus delivery) for the DE with a 160 hp 2.4-liter inline four.