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The Illinois-made Mitsubishi Galant has been in need of a redo for at least a few years, but it won't be getting one--it's one of a handful of vehicles due to be discontinued after the 2012 model year.
The Galant's been on the market in its current form since 2004, when it was last redesigned. In some ways, it resembles the last-generation Nissan Altima, and when it was introduced it appeared contemporary. The sheetmetal still looks handsome in a generic way, even a little understyled compared to some of the more exuberant designs of the now. The interior is just as economical--or more so, since its grainy plastics and stark instrumentation detract from a well-organized set of controls and a good driving position.
Time hasn't been kind to the Galant's performance. A V-6 edition used to share the 265-hp engine found in the Eclipse, but it was discontinued in 2010. Now there's just a four-cylinder model with an outdated four-speed automatic. With just 160 horsepower, the Galant's a rental-car special in all dynamic ways. Acceptable acceleration meets steering that's just firm enough, but the resilient ride quality also means the Galant's suspension bounds and crashes over bumps, At 20/27 mpg, fuel economy is respectable, but just about any mid-size family sedan will eclipse those numbers--and will eclipse the Galant in driving feel.
The Galant's drab, commercial-grade interior has good interior space. All passengers have good leg and head room. The rear seat doesn't fold down to extend the utility of the trunk, though, which means the Galant's as useful as most hybrid sedans.
Anti-lock brakes, dual-stage front airbags, front seat-mounted side-impact airbags, and side front and rear curtain airbags are all now standard on the Galant, as is stability control. The Galant hasn't been crash-tested under the new regimens devised by the NHTSA and the IIHS, and it won't be either, given its impending retirement.
Standard equipment on the Galant ES includes cruise control, air conditioning, keyless entry, and a 140-watt, six-speaker sound system. The SE adds automatic climate control, a power driver seat, heated front seats, hands-free Bluetooth, and a Rockford Fosgate audio system, as well as larger alloy wheels, a spoiler, and fog lamps. The SE also gains the navigation system and rearview camera integrated in its audio system.For more on this family sedan, take a look at our most recent full review of the Mitsubishi Galant.
SE has navigation, BluetoothResilient ride qualityGood passenger spaceOutdated powertrainPoor driving dynamicsGas mileage lags competitorsNo recent safety scores
Mitsubishi may not be known as an EV innovator here in the States, but the brand has a history of dabbling in small, electrically powered cars back in Japan. In 2009, the automaker rolled out the electrified version of its i micro car, called the i-MiEV, in its home market. A year later, the i-MiEV made it to Europe. Now, it's finally our turn, and Mitsubishi has simplified the name and blown up the car's proportions to suit American tastes. But even with the changes, is the U.S. ready for a small, underpowered, and range-limited EV? No matter which side of the fence you're on regarding the future of transportation, electric cars are here -- and it's our job to test them. So test the Mitsubishi i we did. With regards to how the i looks on the outside and feels on the inside, among the MT staffers there were more than a few comparisons to a golf cart. With the i's bubbly, cartoonish exterior design and bare-bones interior (even in our range-topping SE model), it's easy to see how one might liken the car to something less than road-worthy. Even the doors, at first, seemed like a parody of ones you might find on some other cars - so light, I felt like Superman when opening them from the outside.A simplified instrument cluster and center console present the driver with the bare minimum of controls. A digital display at the center of the gauges does a good enough job of relaying the car's speed, and the battery life meter looks much more like a conventional fuel gauge than the one in the Nissan Leaf, referred to by some as the "guessometer." The three modes provided by the gear selector, "D," "Eco," and "B," are each intended to optimize driving performance for a given situation. "Eco" mode was fine in the city, where it best preserves battery range. But when I needed adequate acceleration, I had to shift it into "D" if I wanted to go anywhere with any sort of urgency. "B" mode was the hardest to get used to, as it turned the i into a Disneyland Autopia car, where letting off the accelerator slowed the car down significantly. Unlike the theme park car, in this case it's the motor that's doing the braking, capturing the energy and charging the battery. This feature was useful when coasting down long grades, but perhaps a bit too jerky to use comfortably in everyday driving.The pint-sized EV completed our figure-eight test in 30.2 seconds at an average 0.51 g. The Leaf and Volt didn't fare that much better, both posting times of 28.4 seconds at 0.57 g and 0.59 g, respectively. Lateral acceleration for the i was also in line with its EV contemporaries, at 0.71 g, compared to the Leaf's 0.79 g and the Volt's 0.78 g. Still, handling is where the Mitsubishi received the lowest marks from staffers. Testing director Kim Reynolds called it "tippy," and also noted "some rear-end instability under braking." Regarding the i's handling ability, associate editor Scott Evans said, "I thought I knew understeer. Now I know understeer."According to Mitsubishi's PR reps, 11,000 i-MiEVs have already been sold abroad. While that could be a good indication that the i will achieve similar numbers in the U.S., the car likely didn't have to fight the same uphill battle it's faced with here in Europe and Japan, regions that have had tiny, A-Segment cars running around for years. Mitsubishi has pushed the boundaries of electric vehicles in the past, and it's certainly done the same with the i. The question is, has it pushed those boundaries a little too far for U.S. audiences? Perhaps the answer lies in associate editor Scott Evans' assessment of the i: "It works, but is that enough?" Time will tell.Rear engine, RWD, 4-pass, 4-door hatchback 
With most cars that come into our fleet, several features receive attention. With others, one particular element becomes the focus of just about everyone on staff. The Mitsubishi Outlander GT falls firmly into the latter category, with most of our year's worth of notes on the crossover focused on the shortcomings of the Rockford Fosgate-sourced infotainment system. A sampling: "The Outlander's iPod integration leaves much to be desired.""iPod integration is shameful. USB connection is erratic and unreliable.""No rotary knobs at all. Does Mitsu really expect the user to push the Up/Down toggle, oh, 147 times to browse sat-radio channels?"
"The dial works, everyone knows it, and because you can grip it makes it easier to deal with while driving (oh, yeah, driving...oops). Ditch the buttons." "The touchscreen nav/audio interface needs to be purged and junked."It's been a long time since the interface of a long-termer's infotainment system drew so much ire from our merry band of drivers.Sure, the lack of a knob is annoying, but there were some positives about the system. First, it allows you to enter a destination with the car in motion. Second, I liked the way it showed traffic, using large color arrows in addition to the usual color-coded lines, though photography editor Julia LaPalme felt it was a visual mess.
Once they got past these shortcomings, most staffers had a positively uneventful experience with the aggressively styled seven-seat crossover, though it's not certain if the third-row seats and their shin-crushing 27.7 inches of legroom were ever used. Multiple props went to its tailgate: "I love its split-folding tailgate, a la the Land Rover LR4. Not only does it make loading big objects a breeze, it also doubles as a baby-changing table," commented editor-at-large Ron Kiino. Praise was also directed at the shifter paddles, with senior editor Jonny Lieberman the most vocal. "Best paddle shifters this side of Maserati," wrote the Loverman. "Big, crafted from magnesium, and mounted to the column; there are a whole lot of carmakers that could learn a thing (or three) from Mitsubishi about proper paddle shifters."Motor Trend Rating: 
