Vehicle: 2005 Mitsubishi Galant GTS
Price as tested: CDN$33098

Performance: There are 2 engines available in Galant. An adequate 160hp 2.4L 16-valver or the one in our loaded GTS tester, the 3.8L 24-valver V6 which also standard in Endeavour SUV. 230 ponies and 250 lb/ft of torque provide competitive performance in this segment. With excellent throttle response and class-rivalling refinement. Its also surprisingly willing to rev through the redline. The biggest pet peeve has to be its Sportronic 4-speed automatic tranny. While its a decent 4-speed unit with acceptable work ethics. 4 gears simply fell behind its competitors given many of them have 5 gears. So upcoming new 06 competitor even has 6-speed available.

Handling: Given Galant is based on Mitsubishi’s excellent platform share with Endeavour and upcoming new Eclipse, the level of stiffness and solidty have proven to be among the best in the industry. It completely lacks of groans and rattles, also flex-free when pushed. The steering provides the same highly regarded dynamic traits as Endeavour. Its sharp, repsonsive, swift and provide plenty of feedback through the meaty 3-spoke leather steering wheel. The sports suspension also absorbs bumps and expansion joints decently thanks to excellent damping. On the other hand, it still has that safe understeer that is typical of family sedan. The body rolls are well-controlled.

Brakes: With 4-wheel discs and standard ABS, Galant’s brake pedal is a very capable one. The electonic braking force distribution also works well during hard braking.

Interior: The white instrumentation gauges standard in our uplevel GTS are clear and analog. The seats are comfortable with decent support. Extra nod has to give to Mitsubishi engineers by designing 5 large knobs for stereo and effective automatic climate control. Unfortunately, the interior is surrounded with hard and brittle plastics that is completely unacceptable in a car costing over 30 grand. The glovebox and center console have hollow sound that feel really cheaply made.

In terms of cargo space, the high liftover matched with instrusive trunk hinges have created a chaos when you need to load up the cargos. To make the cargo space looks worse, Galant doesn’t even have fold-down rear seats.

Conclusion: Galant could well be a class beater if it comes standard with 5-speed automatic and proper interior materials on the loaded GTS model, or standard side curtain airbags in base model. That’s a pity because its a car that has such an excellent potential thanks to its excellent powerplant and chassis.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2005 MITSUBISHI GALANT GTS
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Performance: 4/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 4.5/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4.5/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 3.5/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 3/5
Value-for-money: 2/5

Overall rating: 3.5/5