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Comments
The Galant did however, outscore the Duratec V6 Taurus/Sable, Hyundai XG, Kia Optima, Sebring/Stratus V6 and 4, Grand Prix, V6 powered Suzuki Verona, among others.
The critical acclaim of this car is pretty consistent- its a good but undistinguished entry, which I felt as well (I posted regarding my test drive in early Dec.)
~alpha
I'll agree to portknoxxa when he bought his new '04 GTS Galant - you should always consider the power of your engine & torque, as "well" mentioned before here in our site, plus the warranty you can get (10 yrs.-100K)plus safety controls, the style & reasonable price of the car. As to mid-size sedans, GTS Galant is still one of the best - you should first try to test drive a new one before making such negative comments on this car!!! as I have mentioned before, FEEL THE DIFFERENCE & WAKE UP & DRIVE first a new Mitsu Galant- (GTS in particular)& VVRRROOOMMMM!!!!!!
The best the Camry can offer is 225hp@5600 and 240ft-lbs@3600. The more mainstream V6 Camry is going to be 210@5800 and 220@4400.
The Galant certainly needs issues such as folding rear seat addressed. It's a great car and I'm honestly more enthused to sell it than I was the Honda's. Mitsubishi has made major advances. They just need the world to catch on and the residuals and ratings to catch up to where the cars actually are.
I've driven it, I'm not an armchair critic. Problems such as lack of side curtains, marginal fuel economy, and poor resale value are more troubling than the admittedly blantant oversight of a non-folding rear seat.
But if I were a salesman, I'd be excited about selling a product that actually sold, not one that struggles along at a pace of <5000/month, and has received far from critical acclaim. The Road Test by Motor Trend is the only overwhelmingly positive one I have read. Edmunds.com, Car and Driver, James Healy of USA Today, and Consumer Reports articles can be referenced to back my claims.
With respect to the output debate, the Galant 4s and V6 trail the Accord and Camry 4s and V6s from 1-4 MPG, depending on the comparison, something to consider. Interesting that the Camry SE V6 (and rumor has it... all Camrys as of 05) produces but 5 hp and 10 lb. ft. less than the Galant V6, which has a HALF LITER advantage in size. The 2.4L MIVEC is also nowhere near as smooth or quiet as competing 4s, Toyota's imparticularly (Honda is quiet but just a touch rough at idle.)
~alpha
Strengths:
- Good exterior looks, except for the grill
- Good interior
- Plenty of torque
- Good ride
- Great warranty
Relatively insignificant shotcomings:
- no fold down rear seats
- no side curtain air bags
- no access to navigation
Significant shortcomings:
- small trunk opening & load
- poor rear visibility
- poor resale value
- less fuel efficient engine
The new Galant did well in the offset impact. The structure held up very well. Only one possible leg injury kept it from reaching "best pick" status. Good job Mitsu!
~alpha
I saw a darkish gray one with a redish pin stripe and it looked quite nice. Looked in at the interior and the dash looked very retro and cool, much better than the bland Camry dash but not as cool as the Accords.
Showed my wife the Accord, as I'm planting the seed in her mind, as I hope this will be her next car in 2006. She sees cars as appliances to get one from point A to B, whereas cars are my passion. I figure if I start early enough, she will learn to like the Accord and we'll have it in the garage!
The Sandman :-)
As to "noleasegalant"'s comment, I respect your critics on Mitsu Galants BUT, it's still rated as one of the best 10 cars in this category (Midsize) - No. 06 BUT still doing their best to improve & add some features maybe on their next line of production........As to torque & engine, I personally 100% agree w/ Houstonseller's - GTS beats the rest topic (see previous messages) - you still need to test drive the "real" thing here before critizing the Mitsu Galant ---- "Wake Up baby and Feel the DIFFERENCE"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VVVVVVVVVVRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOMMMMM!!
I purchased a DOVE PEARL GTS about 2 weeks ago for $23,900 It is my first new car... I tell you, I am so happy with this car...
PROS:
fine detailed lines.
great stereo/cd player.
steering wheel radio controls.
white dash cluster
huge trunk...
roomy interior
excellent pick-up and braking...
I can go on and on.....
CONS: not that many but....here they are.
Needs the fold down seats-preferred.
Gas tank cover is manually opened..
doors are not leather ....
shift knob could be desinged better....
radio intergrated with heating control panels....
incase you wanted to replace the radio you can't...
I love this car... hope to have it for over 10 yrs....
anybody have pictures of their GTS?
I am willing to share..
please email me at ashgajjar@hotmail.com
I wanted the titanium color but I fell in love with the dove pearl...
car is well worth the money..
How my message helps..
thanks,
ASH
As to the GTS vs D's build quality. I have found nothing wrong with the GTS (the Toyota speedometer is off by 3 miles per hour at 60mph)
as delivered. I also find the seats more comfortable than the D's and the heated seats are much better in coverage. The GTS is not as quiet and rides stiffer but handles soooo much better. We live in the Boston area and have property in Vermont which is a 4 hour ride away. We have not had a chance to make this trip yet but I am looking forward to it already. In the D's I was always happy to get their. to me the mark of a really good car is one that you can drive 4 to 6 hours and when you get to your destination you look for a reason to get back in and drive some more.
nolease, you appear to have a definite dislike of Mitsubishi and your posts give the impression of an agenda to denegrate Mitsu. Perhaps that's not the case but that's what I see when I read any of your postings.
My .02
As I have mentioned before on my previous messages: FEEL THE DIFFERENCE / WAKE UP & DRIVE!!!!!!!!!! VVVVVRRRRROOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!
I'm just really curious why you feel the need to continually slam the company's cars. I had a poor excuse of a car from Suzuki. I traded it in and never looked back. I don't keep going in the forums and tell other Aerio owners how crappy their cars are. Mitsubishi builds a quality car whether you believe it or not. You can't judge their cars as a whole based on your 1 bad experience. I've owned 3, one with very high mileage and they all proved reliable. Though my current Diamante hasn't been perfect, the issues I have had were minor (other then the rotors). I still would buy another Mitsu product in a heartbeat. Toyota builds nice cars, but they are by no means perfect and the company is often arrogant about problems and slow to admit it and fix it.
Some of you might not care because you keep your cars for a couple of years, so the long-term PROVEN reliability, the dealership network and the future of the company are not as important.
For many, including myself who likes to keep his cars for 10+ years, those things are very important and I’d say it shows in the sales figures The GTS needs to get down to sub-20K to sway people like me into buying it and increase the sales volume significantly.
I will then go to the local Carmax and take one of the Galants off their hands (though they managed to sell two GTS and one DE trim in the past two months - yay!)
As far as proven reliability, Mitsubishi has been selling cars in this country for quite some time, almost as long as Honda and Toyota. Their reliability record was excellent until the mid-90s hit, at which time they slumped a little but have since gone back up. I'm not quite sure how much more proof you need that they are capable of building a reliable car. Their reliability record and uniqueness is what keeps me coming back to them over and over.
Mitsu did the same bizzare thing in their commercials. Whats the justification?
~alpha
'03 Galant GTS w/40000 miles
VS '03 Camry XLS w/40000 miles --- Which car is worth more?????????????????????????????
I bet Mistu won't advertise THIS on seewhathappens.com!!!
I'll grant you that the 90's weren't kind to Mitsubishi and vice versa. That has changed in the last few years. I'll also agree that a 2-3 yr old Mitsu isn't the car to sell or trade. That is because the resale value is still fighting it's way back up from the 90's cars that rightfully reduced it. The fine print is that cars aren't meant to be traded every 2-3 yrs anyway.
Your posts make me think of a guy who was married once to a real you know what. He divorces her and marries a much nicer girl but his prior bad experience clouds everything and he can't enjoy his new wife or life due to being so consumed by his prior situation.
- A couple of minor recalls.
- Front brakes redone under warranty at 22K.
- Trim piece caught by a car wash: not Mitsu's fault.
- Front brake job at 60K; rear at 67K.
- A set of tires .. I don't recall the mileage but prob. in the 50s.
- 2 taillight bulbs, 1 headlight bulb.
Still on the original muffler, hoses, etc. Belts replaced at 60K. Wipers replaced every 15K. Trans flushed every 30K.
And the only real non-wear things I've had to pay for are why the car's at the dealer right now:
- A leaking head gasket. Minor enough that leakage wasn't even making it off the engine block (no spot in the garage).
- A flaky oil pressure sensor (the oil light would flicker on rare occasions).
- A blown center speaker (more my fault than Mitsu and just 1 of the 7).
The gasket ain't cheap once labor is factored in; the oil sensor is cheap. The speaker .. I considered aftermarket but if the factory one last another 5 years that's plenty for me.
Considering I've done nothing but the recommended maintenance over 5 years of ownership, and that I haven't had a payment for 3 of those 5 years, I'm not complaining and am quite satisfied with my car. The head gasket issue I wasn't expecting, but a single significant repair in 5 years of ownership is trivial. And it's not nearly as significant as, say, the trans blowing out, which happened every 38K on the Mazda that the Mitsu replaced.
Now, regarding the 04s, I wouldn't buy one because, unlike another poster, I require a trunk pass-through. That single, relatively minor feature is a deal-killer for me. I also prefer the classier looks of the 99-03 years vs. the sportier appearnace of the 04s. And as a personal preference, every new car I buy has to get better mileage than what it replaces, so my next car has to beat the 19/27 my Galant was speced with. BTW, in mixed driving I still average 23-25MPG and averaged 26.5 on a recent 400 mile trip, which included a moderate bit of stop-n-go traffic.
Mazda...young and fun.
Honda...known for nice interiors, good resale value, and reliability.
Toyota...they are bland cars but Toyota fans swear by Toyota.
Nissan...quirky and sporty.
Mitsu...where is the target demographic at?
Chrysler hurt Mitsu with the Eclipse. The Dodge Neon engine put in 95-99 Eclipse's ruined Mitsu's reputation like the Ford Tranny put in 94-97 Mazda 626's ruined Mazda's reputation. I think Mazda has gotten their reputation back. I don't think Mitsu has recovered from their mid 90's blunder's yet.
I think the thing that are killing Mitsu's resale value is yeah the mid 90's reliability problems with the Galant and Eclipse but also very low demand of for Mitsu's now. Also factory rebates kill resale value as well.
Also I have seen NoseGalant's post: The main problem with 99-03 Galant's was the brakes.
Oil pressure switch: replaced.
New center speaker: ordered; should come in next week.
It practically runs like it's brand new.
I'd say the general public cares for the new Galant as much as they did for the old one (almost nill) and it shows 'cause the price was jacked up so much.
Yes, there's some new technology here, the V6 engine is outdated though should be extremely dependable but people don't care 'cause it's a Mitsu and a Galant on top of that - that's the legacy that was created and it will take years to change it if ever.
I agree that the demographic targeting is non-existent. Racer boys, overall, buy more exciting and better performing cars and family people don't care about dodging trash on the highway. So much money spent on nothing - truly sad :-(
$19,999 here we come...
~alpha