2009 Mitsubishi Galant Review

2009 Mitsubishi Galant Review Hi, I'm Mike Hanley with Cars.com and I'm here with the Mitsubishi Galant. Now the Galant is the automakers midsize Sedan offering that competes against models like the Honda Accord and Chevy Malibu and this is the 2009 model that has received some mild updates and changes. The Galant is available on four trim levels. There's a base ES, a sport, sport V6 and the RalliArt you see here. Well, some of the changes I mentioned before include a new hood and changes to the grille but the overall shape for the car remains much the same. Now the RalliArt has some additional differences like different headlights and a sport suspension and 18-inch alloy wheels. The back of the Galant features some changes to though they are pretty mild. There are new taillights, a new trunk lid and then a new bumper design. The Galant is available with four cylinder of V6 power and there are actually two versions of those 3.8 liter V6. There's a 230 horsepower version that goes in sport V6 models or in the RalliArt that you see here. It makes 258 horsepower. The engine feels strong in city traffic and when accelerating from highway speeds, but fuel economy for it is one of its downside. It gets 16/25 city highway. Inside the Galant the RalliArt trim level feature some styling differences that sets it apart from other trims like these leather seats here, aluminum pedals and black wood grain trim on the dashboard. This model has the optional navigation system which still it looks like it should be able to motor up and down from the dash. It’s actually a fixed unit with the 7 inch screen and some of the graphics out of them looked a bit rudimentary formatting navigation system as well. With models like the Acura and the Camry offering larger and larger back seats, the Galant rear seats seems a little smaller in comparison with not as much room for your legs to roam, still decently size but just at tad smaller. The Galant does not have a folding backseat like many of its competitors, but it does have a passthrough to the trunk so if you have longer items you want to carry that need to extend the cabin you can do that. The trunk is self measures 13.3 cubic feet and it has a fairly large opening for loading luggage into it. The only issue is that the DVD player for the navigation system hangs down under the trunk and could get in the way of some items. On the whole, the Galant holds up well of the competition in terms of the driving experience it offers. But it falls a little short when it comes to interior refinement and previously mentioned backseat space. Mitsubishi is bigger concern though should be driving awareness to their model, because it likely is on the radar for many import minded shoppers. For additional information on this car or any other go to Cars.com in our blog KickingTires.