Spirit
02-09-2003, 10:38 PM
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Road test
Mitsubishi - Galant VR-4
[September 01 2000]
First, an apology. Approximately four years ago, I penned a Minitest on a Mitsubishi Galant estate wherein I pondered the reasons - if, indeed, there were any - why anyone might choose a Galant in preference to any number of other similarly-priced and well-equipped estates.
Soon after that piece was done'n'dusted, I noticed another Galant on the road and the penny dropped. One reason, and this may well be the only one you need, is that it's actually a very handsome car - better looking than all its Japanese, and arguably, almost all its European rivals. Quite why I didn't notice that before committing pen to paper last time I can't explain, but there you go.
Now I'm not declaring that this Ralliart VR-4 version, garnished as it is with exaggerated spoilers, smoked glass, lowered suspension, flared wheel-arches, side sills and rear wing is necessarily to everyone's taste, but it's a tad more enticing than your average Nissan, that's for sure.
So why the fancy dress? Because under the bonnet there's a twin-turbo 2.5-litre 24v V6 lump with 276bhp, that's why. You'll also find a viscous-coupled centre-diff four-wheel-drive system INSERT INTO post VALUES (not dissimilar to the one used on the Evo VI rally cars); low profile tyres, bigger brake discs, Active Yaw Control, a strengthened bodyshell and - wait for it - an under-bonnet strut brace. There aren't many estates around which can match the substantial grunt of this 152mph, £28,995 VR-4. Yes, there's Audi's amazing new 380bhp all-wheel-drive RS4, but that costs £46,500. There's Mercedes' rear-wheel-drive 306bhp AMG C43, but that costs even more, at just over £49,000. Then there are some more Audis, a Volvo, a Saab and even a VW but they're all down on power INSERT INTO post VALUES (by as much as 83bhp) and for the most part they're also more expensive.
So, the VR-4 is something of a looker and a performer too, but not at the expense of executive comforts - for your cash you get leather, full climate control, a CD-multichanger and Mitsubishi's latest INVECS-II Sports Mode five-speed tiptronic-style transmission.
So what's the catch? Well, the VR-4 comes with an unecessarily complex, fiddly Pioneer stereo - when will we see an end to such youth-orientated, gizmo-ridden rubbish? The central locking and immobiliser systems require further integration as there are too many fobs and buttons for my liking. It doesn't have as much rear loadspace as a Volvo V70, for example, and the fuel-gauge needle plummets in a way that would suggest that the estimated combined 26.5mpg figure errs firmly on the side of optimism.
Otherwise the VR-4 is comfortable, quiet, well equipped and rides, steers, handles and brakes as you would expect of a £30k exec-utive tool. And let's not forget: it's fast and not everyone's got one, far from it. So, I'd say there's more than a few reasons to buy it.
Road test
Mitsubishi - Galant VR-4
[September 01 2000]
First, an apology. Approximately four years ago, I penned a Minitest on a Mitsubishi Galant estate wherein I pondered the reasons - if, indeed, there were any - why anyone might choose a Galant in preference to any number of other similarly-priced and well-equipped estates.
Soon after that piece was done'n'dusted, I noticed another Galant on the road and the penny dropped. One reason, and this may well be the only one you need, is that it's actually a very handsome car - better looking than all its Japanese, and arguably, almost all its European rivals. Quite why I didn't notice that before committing pen to paper last time I can't explain, but there you go.
Now I'm not declaring that this Ralliart VR-4 version, garnished as it is with exaggerated spoilers, smoked glass, lowered suspension, flared wheel-arches, side sills and rear wing is necessarily to everyone's taste, but it's a tad more enticing than your average Nissan, that's for sure.
So why the fancy dress? Because under the bonnet there's a twin-turbo 2.5-litre 24v V6 lump with 276bhp, that's why. You'll also find a viscous-coupled centre-diff four-wheel-drive system INSERT INTO post VALUES (not dissimilar to the one used on the Evo VI rally cars); low profile tyres, bigger brake discs, Active Yaw Control, a strengthened bodyshell and - wait for it - an under-bonnet strut brace. There aren't many estates around which can match the substantial grunt of this 152mph, £28,995 VR-4. Yes, there's Audi's amazing new 380bhp all-wheel-drive RS4, but that costs £46,500. There's Mercedes' rear-wheel-drive 306bhp AMG C43, but that costs even more, at just over £49,000. Then there are some more Audis, a Volvo, a Saab and even a VW but they're all down on power INSERT INTO post VALUES (by as much as 83bhp) and for the most part they're also more expensive.
So, the VR-4 is something of a looker and a performer too, but not at the expense of executive comforts - for your cash you get leather, full climate control, a CD-multichanger and Mitsubishi's latest INVECS-II Sports Mode five-speed tiptronic-style transmission.
So what's the catch? Well, the VR-4 comes with an unecessarily complex, fiddly Pioneer stereo - when will we see an end to such youth-orientated, gizmo-ridden rubbish? The central locking and immobiliser systems require further integration as there are too many fobs and buttons for my liking. It doesn't have as much rear loadspace as a Volvo V70, for example, and the fuel-gauge needle plummets in a way that would suggest that the estimated combined 26.5mpg figure errs firmly on the side of optimism.
Otherwise the VR-4 is comfortable, quiet, well equipped and rides, steers, handles and brakes as you would expect of a £30k exec-utive tool. And let's not forget: it's fast and not everyone's got one, far from it. So, I'd say there's more than a few reasons to buy it.