2007 Mitsubishi Galant Ralliart: First Impressions (video)

• VIDEO PRESENTATION
  

Hotter, better, cheaper

2007 Mitsubishi Galant Ralliart (Photo: Philippe Champoux, Auto123.com)

Montréal, Québec -- The mid-size sedan class is a lucrative and competitive one. With big guns such the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, other automakers can't make mistakes with their similar offerings.

The Mitsubishi Galant is now in its 9th generation. The car started life in 1969 in Japan, and just like its rivals, has grown in size and power ever since. New for the 2004 model year, this latest version is an interesting one, and the company decided it was time for a round of changes for the 2007 version.

First of all, the model range has toned down to three trim levels: the old base DE has been dropped, leaving the ES as the entry-level Galant. For 2007, it gets a manual-mode feature for its 4-speed automatic, a new

2007 Mitsubishi Galant Ralliart (Photo: Philippe Champoux, Auto123.com)

grille, new front and rear bumpers, a new steering wheel and seat cloth as well as side-curtain airbags. Its price is $24,998, which is $700 less than the 2006 model. The $3,000 Diamond Package gets dark-bezel headlamps and different taillights, a rear spoiler and a 360-watt Rockford Acoustics sound system. The Package also includes 16-inch alloy wheels, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, a power glass sunroof, a tire-pressure monitor and an alarm system.

The mid-level LS keeps its 230-horsepower, 3.8-liter V6 for 2007, but adds a 5th gear in its automatic transmission, 17-inch alloy wheels, a rear spoiler as well as the headlamps and taillights of the Diamond Package. The LS is now costs $28,498, or $400 less than the 2006 version.

Finally, the sporty GTS model is replaced by the much-sportier $34,998 Ralliart for 2007, which me and my colleague Amyot Bachand drove for over 200 kilometers on highways and country roads. Mechanically, the Ralliart features a 258-hp version of the V6, the 18-alloy wheels borrowed

2007 Mitsubishi Galant Ralliart (Photo: Philippe Champoux, Auto123.com)

from the Eclipse GT-P with P235/45R18 tires, a sport suspension, and a 21-mm rear stabilizer bar.

On the outside, the car features two-tone bumpers, side skirts, projector-beam headlamps and fog lamps. Inside, the Ralliart gets nice-looking black leather with red perforations and red stitching, a leather-wrapped wheel and shift knob with red stitching, aluminum pedals, a climate-control system, a navigation system as well as the appropriate Ralliart badging.