Nice, Very Nice

"Nice, very nice," I mumble to myself as I head to work in Mitsubishi’s executive sedan. After pretty much conceding this market to Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and Mazda in the last couple of years as Mitsubishi only had the aging 5th generation Galant (in "GT-A" spec) in stock against the latest Accord, Camry, Cefiro, and Mazda6, the company is back in the game with this sleek cruise ship. And boy does it make a statement; if size equals stature, then the "240M" has a leg up over the competition.

With a length of 1,885 millimeters and width of 1,840, it occupies the most real estate among the competition, and that largesse translates into PLENTY of cabin space. The backseat is marginally more accommodating than the average sofa, except it’s more comfortable. How many sofas have a wide armrest and come wrapped in truly plush, black leather upholstery that also happens to breathe rather well in summer heat? If you like to ride, the backseat is a place of honor in this car.

Oh, you’d rather drive? True to tradition, Mitsubishi made sure that the cockpit is a proper environment for the serious business of driving. The front seats are almost as wide as a La-Z-Boy and have almost as much lateral support, but perhaps you should know that this is coming from a 145-pound car-geek with a 31-inch waistline. In redesigning the Galant (whose main market is the US) Mitsubishi wanted the car to appeal to an older buyer than with the previous generation. Like, say, the 40-somethings and up who’ve done good in the corporate world and want a pampering ride that rewards all those years of hard work without giving up the pleasure of spirited driving.

To that end, all the tools for a satisfying drive are there: proper ergonomics, good sightlines, tight suspension and steering that gives this pseudo-land yacht the nimble feel of a Lancer, good climate control and a superb stereo so you’ll be comfortable playing trap-me-if-you-can with the good people of the North Luzon Expressway highway patrol. Well, almost all the tools. As is inevitable with almost all new models, the Galant has also gained some weight, some of it in sheetmetal, but most of it in Noise-Vibration-Harshness (NVH) dampening materials.

The result is that even though the 2.4-liter SOHC motor (shared with the Grandis MVP) puts out a respectable power figure of 162 PS, there’s simply too much car for it to pull around at bahn-burning speeds. Below 100kph, the motor’s ample torque brings the car along with authority, but hit the open road and things get a little too busy down in the engine room past 130. We nudged it all the way up to 170, but the engine took its time getting there and… well, who’s in the mood to burn more fuel these days? Incidentally, mixed city and highway driving resulted in 6 kilometers to a liter of fuel economy. By the way, keep your right foot planted and all the noise you’ll ever hear is a muted rumble emanating from the other side of the firewall. Vibration is almost non-existent, and the body is so solid that the only clue you’re rolling over bad pavement is the dull sound of the suspension bits knocking around down there.

As with the Grandis and the Lancer MX, the standard transmission is an automatic with a sequential manual override so you can play with the 4 gears. The shift action feels nice, but it’s best to just keep it in "D" and feather the throttle while toodling around in the city; let the engine’s torque pull you along smoothly and in a stately manner, kind of.

Now for the looks. When this car was first unveiled to the media, initial reactions were a bit lukewarm. Safe, organic curves, a sleek roofline, but nothing really distinctive to set it apart… or so, it seemed. Now that we’ve gotten used to it (our test unit was a black one), we have to admit that the look grows on you. And get this: 5 out of 5 friends and neighbors absolutely loved the styling and wanted to have their picture taken beside it. Although not one of them could identify just what exactly they liked about it, the consensus is that it has an understatedly sporty appeal, like it seemed to project an image of success and confidence. No wonder I felt like I’d arrived behind the wheel of this car, but then again, I still had to bring it back to the good people of Mitsubishi. The car also passed the "right-of-way" test, too. That is, pull out into traffic, merge into another lane, take your time counting your change at a toll plaza, and 90% of the time other motorists will let what they think is a millionaire get his way in this car.

All in all, the Galant 240M is an extremely likeable car, whether you’re in the backseat or in the left-front. It’s muy comfortable, decently quick, loaded with all the bells and whistles you’d expect for this class (HID headlamps, Optitron gauges, foglamps, ABS...), and now has more cachet than any of its predecessors. On a trip back to Manila from Subic, I had to make a hard choice between driving the car or sampling the backseat. I opted for the latter, and within minutes lying back in chauffeur-driven style, I could only think of one thing about the ride: "Nice, very nice." And then I drifted off to sleep.

The Good: Solid, QUIET body; remarkably nimble handling demeanor; a truly capacious and comfortable cabin; fully loaded with all the good stuff.

The Bad: Engine output short of scintillating; uninspiring tire traction.

The Verdict: It’s all grown up now, but also a more complete package than ever.