Mitsubishi Galant

Rented from National Car Rental which lets you pick your own car. Having never driven a Mitsubishi Galant, I thought it would be a good choice. I had kind of been hoping to get a Volvo but didn't see one....until I tossed my luggage in the trunk of the Gallant, a Volvo was dropped off right next to me.

I thought of switching but thought that would be too obvious. When I pulled up to the check out and happened to turn on the fan, there was a rather loud noise. I considered turning around and changing vehicles but I didn't.

I should have.

The fan noise was very irritating and probably adversely affected my opinion. I know it shouldn't because it most likely is not Mitsubishi's fault but you can't avoid the psychological impact.

On the good side the Galant is very fun to drive. It has lots of power. But best of all it feels like an all-wheel drive vehicle. It really "sticks" to the road with its wide tires and low profile. Whether starting from a stop or accelerating onto highway speed, there is no delay or hesitation and no abrupt down shifting.

The interior of the model I had was not very eye turning. Knobs and controls were easy to use and understand but boring. I thought Galant's were known for their bells and whistles. This one didn't have any.

The engine is tuned to be very muscular sounding. One of my co-workers even mad a comment when starting the Galant. I liked the sound, however, the radio did not have the auto-adjust feature that many vehicles have that raises the volumn as your speed increases. I had to constantly adjust the radio volumn to hear at highway speed then turn the volumn down on side streets.

The side mirrors are a good size and the fact that they are square really improves visibility. But they are not retractable. The stem attachments are rigid. I think all cars should have flappable side mirrors. You see way too many vehicles with their side mirrors dangling or snapped off because they don't collapse.

Overall I would recommend this vehicle with more optional equipment. FYI - good luck finding Mitisubishi's auto car website. Not at all intuitive and once I found it....BORING!