Topic: Test Drive: 2010 Mitsubishi Galant ES

[Autos_Editor]

Mitsubishi's four-door mid-sized sedan has been around since 2003, but it "flies so far under shopper's radar that it's almost subterranean," says Peter Bleakney.  "It's not a bad car. It's just not a great car," he says.

Read More...

[sailor723]

 Not a badly written article but as for the subject matter.......

[tpl]

At 483 cars a year in that part of the market why even bother to put them on a ship at all.

[Thinking Out Loud]

At 483 cars a year in that part of the market why even bother to put them on a ship at all.

We found that once the new Lancer showed up, Mitsubishi dealers suddenly got a bad case of the 'Hondas' on the showroom floor of arrogance.  Where every other manufacturer offeres some sort of enticement to keep their owners (we had a Lancer Sportback and 'took a chance' on Mitsu back in their dark financial start  in 2003-2004), the lease came up and they offered us zeeeepo, outside of attitude.  Hello, Mazda.

Mitsubishi in Canada is the other also-ran Japanese import (Suzuki the other) here in Canada.  The Gallant is an antique, and with the likes of the new Sonata (or even the just expired version Sonata) compared to this throwback being the real value leader, Mitsubishi better look beyond a (really just a) two-car line up of Outlander and Lancer.

[Jaeger]

Not a badly written article but as for the subject matter.......

Agreed.  This thing makes a beige Camry look like a red Ferrari.  Might be a market for these among private investigators who want to remain low profile to the point of invisibility.  Other than that, why woud anyone really choose this vehicle over the deep field of the competition?

Jaeger

[Thinking Out Loud]

Not a badly written article but as for the subject matter.......

Agreed.  This thing makes a beige Camry look like a red Ferrari.  Might be a market for these among private investigators who want to remain low profile to the point of invisibility.  Other than that, why woud anyone really choose this vehicle over the deep field of the competition?

Jaeger

Yah know your product lacks when you can't even get it launched as a staple of daily-rental fleets....which is pretty much all this vehicle qualifies for.   

[b16vtec]

I went to the Autoshow, and got brochures for the Mitsubishi line-up. The Eclipse and Lancer got glossy, multi-page brochures.  The Galant got a one page placard. 

I'm looking over the Galant "brochure" right now.  The reason they kept it so short was probably because there wasn't much noteworthy to write about.  I mean, when your technical highlights include: 4-speed automatic transmission, cast-iron block engine and SOHC head, I'd keep my brochure short too. In fact, the brochure makes a big deal about Galant's "sporty dark chrome headlight reflectors".  Really? Headlights.  REALLY?!?! If that was all they could think about writing, a longer brochure would have revealed even more inadequacies.

This Galant wouldn't have been competitive in the late 1990's, so I see little reason for them trying to sell it now in 2010.  What happened to the early 1990's Galants?  Remember the ones available with the 2.0 liter DOHC 16V intercooled turbo 4-cylinder, AWD, 4WS and sports suspension?

What is even the point of Mitsubishi?  I wouldn't be surprised if their entire YEAR's sales didn't even match one MONTH's sales of a Nissan or a Mazda, let alone Honda or Toyota.

[conwelpic]

in its segment about the only vehicle the Galant outsells is the KIA Magentis, but after seeing photos of the new 2011 Optima (they say the Magentis name will be dropped), I don't think that's going to happen anymore when that model gets launched in the fall.
Look at the turnaround of the sales of the 2011 Sorento in comparison to the previous model.

[footlong58]

I could never figure out Mitsubishi.  Why would anyone buy one?  Mitsu says they are Japanese, and thats supposed to be a really good thing... But so are Honda, Toyota, and Nissan...

I'd buy a Japanese Mitsu if it was cheaper than the other Japanese cars, but Mitsu is not...

So they advertise they are Japanese, but they aren't any cheaper, and give you no incentive to buy one of their cars over the other Japanese cars...

[Dante]

The only reason I see for this car to exist, along with Endeavor and Eclipse, is to keep the US plant going.  Mitsu Japan has its focus on small vehicles and I don't think a mid-size sedan/SUV will come out anytime soon although they had a concept about 2 years ago. Besides, these dinosaurs are NA market specific models I believe.
Mitsu is a two vehicle line-up manufacturer in Canada, but those two vehicles are doing relatively well here. Interestingly enough, the Outlander outsells the Forester and the Lancer outsells the Impreza. The little Outlander is due to arrive soon which I think it will help.

[Dante]

I could never figure out Mitsubishi.  Why would anyone buy one?  Mitsu says they are Japanese, and thats supposed to be a really good thing... But so are Honda, Toyota, and Nissan...

I'd buy a Japanese Mitsu if it was cheaper than the other Japanese cars, but Mitsu is not...

So they advertise they are Japanese, but they aren't any cheaper, and give you no incentive to buy one of their cars over the other Japanese cars...

I can tell you why I bought my 2007 Outlander: I loved the design, I liked the way it drives, I liked its powertrain, it had all the core features I wanted/needed, very good predicted reliability, cheaper by $4-5K MSRP (and even more OTD) compared to its only real contender at the time (Rav4 Sport V6).

Keep in mind, I was/am not a Mitsu fanboy and never considered Mitsu as a contender for my purchase before this car showed up.

Three years later… I’d still buy the same vehicle.

[Bubba]

The Galant SE (trim available in the US only) doesn't look half bad.  It's still anonymous enough that the Police would likely ignore you on the highway.

[Dante]

Those headlights look awful to me.

[Dan]

The entire car look awful to me

[footlong58]

It doesn't look that bad... But why would anyone buy it?  Is it cheaper than an Accord or Camry?  Do people see it as a bargin like a Hyundai or Kia?  It certainly wouldn't appeal to the buy American crowd,  Malibu and Fusion...

What advantage or edge over the competition does it offer?

[initial_D]

People will buy it, as long as there is 0% Financing over 7+ years, and no checking the Credit history.

I think it looks alright, and is a decent vehicle.

[Winterpeg]

I wouldn't be surprized if Mitsubishi leaves the North American market all together in 5-10 years....if not sooner.   

[Shnak]

It doesn't look that bad... But why would anyone buy it?  Is it cheaper than an Accord or Camry?  Do people see it as a bargin like a Hyundai or Kia?  It certainly wouldn't appeal to the buy American crowd,  Malibu and Fusion...

What advantage or edge over the competition does it offer?

The 10 year warranty, I suppose, but then again, that is more or less voided as most people don't even think Mitsubishi will remain in Canada for all of those 10 years!

[Dante]

Do they even have the 7 years/0% in Canada or ever did? I know they had it in the US for years, but I thought they stopped doing this even there. This is one thing that ruined their reputation and resale value in the US amongst other things.
Since they setup shop fairly recent in Canada (2002-2003 IIRC), I think their reputation is not that bad here as it is in the US (the sales for the new models seem to indicate that, if the product is good, people will buy). Interestingly enough, in Europe and Asia they are doing better. IIRC they are very popular in Rusia too, one of the fast growing markets. In Europe, the Outlander at least, is quite expensive, has even more features and more accessories, something like an upscale car.

I'm with footlong58 wondering why would anyone buy the Galant these days unless its OTD price is heavily discounted.
The only time I could think of buying one of these it would be if the Sebring would be the only other alternative.

[TopGun]

.....
What advantage or edge over the competition does it offer?

You would be amazed at the companies (not including car companies) out there that don't have a good answer to that question.