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A Square With New Angles
Mitsubishi 2004 Galant Sedan

SAN FRANCISCO

Mitsubishi Motors chose the W hotel here as the launch site for its 2004 Galant sedan.

It was an odd choice.

The W is an insufferably hip, “whatever, whenever” place wedded to the notion that the world is eternally 29 years old, single and affluent.

But the new Galant, like all the Galants before it, going back to the first one sold in 1969, is a family sedan. It is built to carry kit, kin and luggage, and do it all for a reasonable price.

The 2004 version is more attractive, larger and more powerful than earlier Galants, but it remains unmistakably a family hauler.

That is both its strength and its weakness.

The Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and moribund Ford Taurus are also family sedans. With the happy exception of the Altima, they are flat-out boring.

The Camry, Accord and Taurus fail to take seriously what Angus MacKenzie, the editor of Britain’s Car magazine, wrote in the current edition (Issue 493) of his journal: “The car business is becoming more and more like the fashion business: fickle, image driven, and cyclical.”

It is that pursuit of image that brought Mitsubishi here to the fashionista inn, where the residents of the moment paid little attention to the sparkling assemblage of ES and LS V-6 Galants in their midst.

If the Mitsubishi people were disappointed by that cool reception, they didn’t show it. In interviews and casual conversation, they held firmly to the belief that it is no longer enough to have another front-wheel-drive sedan that runs or handles as well as a Camry or an Accord, or that rivals them in reliability and value for dollar.

The new Galant must have an edge, a tilt, a certain gotta-have-it funk that sets it apart from the others, the Mitsubishi executives said.

In that regard, they’ve achieved success. The 2004 Galant aces the Camry and Accord in exterior styling. It represents a deliberate attempt to break away from traditional slab-sided or bubble-bodied family carriages.

The 2004 Galant’s sloped nose is sassy; its high waistline, arching somewhat at the C-pillar, which frames the rear window, is brassy. But the Galant still has a way to go before it matches or exceeds the sassier, brassier exterior styling of the Altima.

The 2004 Galant’s interior is spot-on, easily trumping that of the Camry and Accord and, for that matter, surpassing the cheap-feel interiors of the base and mid-level Altimas. The Galant’s dash panel is a case in point. The top of the panel is covered with a textured, rich-feel, soft-touch vinyl. The center console resembles a high-class, expensive home entertainment system. Seats are wide and comfortable. It feels first class in there.

As have all of its chief competitors, Mitsubishi has improved the body rigidity of its mid-size family car, thereby greatly enhancing the Galant’s overall handling and, particularly, its behavior in curves. I drove both the 2.4-liter, four-cylinder, 160-horsepower ES and the 3.8-liter, V-6, 230-horsepower LS and found them highly competent on straight runs and surprisingly agile around the bends.

But I don’t consider either one of the tested Galants as being hip, W-hotel-type cars. Instead, they are decent, very-pleasant-to-drive, overall-enjoyable family fare — more on the order of a good Holiday Inn or Best Western resort.

Nuts & Bolts

Concern: Mitsubishi’s youth-kick marketing emphasis does a disservice to the new Galant. This car isn’t likely to make the cover of People magazine or be used in an MTV video. It’s a family car, a good one, for adults. It shouldn’t be sold as something it isn’t — a motorized sizzler that will set twentysomething hearts ablaze.

Praise: An excellent rework of what wa already a good family car.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Commendably good in both the four-cylinder ES and LS V-6. Even though the Galant’s body has grown larger, there was no discernible body wobble at high speeds or in corners. Credit a new suspension system employing MacPherson struts up front and a low-mounted, independent multi-link suspension with coil springs in the rear.

Head-turning quotient: Improved looks, but still a low wow factor.

Body style/layout: All 2004 Galants — base DE, popularly equipped ES and LS, and sport-lux GTS — are front-engine, front-wheel-drive four-door sedans.

Engines/transmission: The DE and ES get the 160-horsepower (157 foot-pounds of torque), 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine. The LS and GTS get the 230-horsepower (250 foot-pounds) V-6. Both engines are linked to four-speed automatic transmissions. But the LS and GTS get the Sportronic model, which can be operated manually.

Capacities: Seats five people. Cargo capacity is 13.3 cubic feet. Fuel capacity is 17.7 gallons. Regular unleaded for the DE and ES; premium for the LS and GTS.

Mileage: Estimated 23 miles per gallon in the city and 30 mpg on the highway for the DE and ES. Estimated 19 mpg city/27 highway for the ES.

Safety: Dual-stage front air bags (all models), optional side bags (ES, LS), standard side bags on the GTS.

Price: The new Galant goes on sale in October. Base prices will range from $18,000 to $24,700, depending on model and equipment chosen.

Correction: The horsepower for the 2004 Nissan Quest 3.5 SE is 240. Correct torque is 242 foot-pounds. Those numbers were misstated in last week’s column.