After the impossible?

[Antharro]

Hello all.

I may be in the market for a new(er!) car soon, and I'm considering a Galant. After doing a bit of research, I am apparently looking for quite a rare specification. What does the forum think?

- Galant Estate V6-24
- Black
- Manual
- Elegance trim

Also, Parkers guide says 30mpg for the manual. I know the Parkers guide MPG figures are a bit optimistic, so what's realistic for the V6-24 manual estate? (My 2l V6 FTO manual returns 29-30mpg if I'm driving nicely...)

Thanks,
Dave

[WildCards]

30mpg average isn't unreasonable I shouldn't think, but I suppose it depends on what your average driving is like, if you sit on M & A roads i'd expect to see greater than 30 TBH.

You may not find a black one, but the rest should be doable easy enough. I'm off to scour the internet...

[elnevio]

/welcome3

Doesn't look that unreasonable a request! 30+mpg is certainly achievable driving nicely. Would expect an average nearer to 25+. Leaden-footed driving will get you nearer the teens. I used to average around 22mpg in my V6 manual.

They make a lovely noise too! :)

[Antharro]

Thanks for the replies! Interesting the forum thinks my post count started at zero - I posted on here well over a year ago asking about economy on a Legnum VR4, but I guess that was far back enough that the post's been canned.

25mpg is what I was thinking of, which is a bit on the low side for my liking. I used to have a CRX that got nearly 40mpg, sold that and got the FTO (27-31mpg) and a '91 Accord for work (25-32mpg). I wonder if an LPG conversion would work on a V6 Galant...

I've spent a couple of days now (not all day!) browsing AutoTrader, eBay and Pistonheads trying to find a matching car but haven't had any luck at all! Plenty of saloons, but the estates seem to be either the 2.0l or VR4, and the very few V6-24s that pop up aren't elegance trim level...

I understand the engine is related to the V6 unit in the FTO which makes an awesome noise, especially with a stainless exhaust and MIVEC!

-D.

[Scanny]

you should get 30MPG easy. i havent noticed much difference between my 3 8Gs. they are excellant cruisers but when you want the power it is there. the V6 revs like its been waiting for you to stop fannying around and have some fun plus it is far more practical than a galant in terms of load area and access. plus they are extraordinarily reliable. not one of my 8Gs broke down once in 5 years of driving them.
i have to second the comments on the sound of the V6 too. it is refined (i would prefer to hear the engine myself) but they do make a nice noise when you floor it and they make the most peculiar noise when you change gear at high revs. its like rrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRR....ARF....rrrrrrr

i love this car so much its delayed my enthusiasm to get the final upgrade to VR4

/Welcome

[elnevio]

No real relation on the V6 front - the one in the Galant is the 2.5 6A13, whereas the FTO is the 2.0 6A12. There is an ultra-rare MIVEC 8G Galant called the VR-M, but it was Hong Kong/Malaysia only (possibly slightly wrong countries there!) and also used the 6A12.


Was your first post from about January/February last year? We had hosting issues about then and lost a number of threads/posts from a specific week. Can't think of any other reason why the post would have been removed.

[steelie600]

Hello all.

I may be in the market for a new(er!) car soon, and I'm considering a Galant. After doing a bit of research, I am apparently looking for quite a rare specification. What does the forum think?

- Galant Estate V6-24
- Black
- Manual
- Elegance trim

Also, Parkers guide says 30mpg for the manual. I know the Parkers guide MPG figures are a bit optimistic, so what's realistic for the V6-24 manual estate? (My 2l V6 FTO manual returns 29-30mpg if I'm driving nicely...)

Thanks,
Dave

Would you beleive there is one up my driveway!!

[Beastlee]

I know of one for sale in your spec, only problem is it's just down the road from me...

[Nick Mann]

Can't fault your choice really!

I've had two manual V6 estates, both averaged around 26-27 mpg, with 33 perfectly possible at quickish motorway cruise. High 30's was achieved once on a Welsh holiday - lots of miles on open A roads stuck in a mile long queue behind a caravan doing 50 mph!!

[Antharro]

Wow, lots of replies. You lot are a friendly bunch - I've had absolutely no replies on the FTOOC! CRX-UK came back with some interesting ideas; Volvo 850 T5, Audi A4 2.5TDi Quattro...

If getting 30mpg is definitely achievable, then that does put the Galant firmly back on my list. I've had another look around Autotrader / eBay / Pistonheads but I'm still not seeing anything that matches my list in my first post.

At the moment though that's not a huge problem as I need to get my FTO sorted out and sold before I can do anything else!

I am assuming that the 2.5 V6 isn't a MIVEC engine, so it's V6 roar all the way up to the limiter!

I did a quick Google search for Galant reviews and one thing that came back was they have quite a lot of road noise until about 80mph when they get quieter. A couple of people had noted this so I'm wondering if there's any real truth in it, or if they were just expecting more than was reasonable.

@elnevio - It could well have been back around then. I honestly don't remember, but that timescale seems correct. It wasn't anything important, just an enquiry about VR4 fuel economy (or lack of!).

[Scanny]

the door seals arent up to much but i wouldnt call the road noise excessive in any way. it will depend more on choice of tyre combined with road surface than anything else although there is some wind noise too. your best bet is probably to go for a run with a local member and see for yourself. most of the members are happy to show off their cars, especially as a demonstrator for a potential galant/legnum owner so you probably will get an offer
im sure one of the more informed members will correct me if i am wrong but the sport trim was changed to the elegance badge in which case the cabin is a superb place to be. my seats are fantastic in terms of comfort and support. height adjustable, lumber support and side support. i had hoped to swap my leather interior from the GDI but fortunately they wouldnt fit. i saw fortunately because these are far more suited to the power and handling of the V6.
i havent been in a modern audi but they suffer the same problem as volvo. when you look at it you see the badge and nothing else. its a volvo/audi! you never get bored of looking at a galant or leggie because you very rarely see another one. you cant beat them for exclusivity and you can see people looking and wondering what the hell it is

[Nick Mann]

The Galant is noisier than some, but not so that I find it irritating. If that is the biggest thing the reviews found to say bad, then there isn't much wrong with it!

[Scanny]

i have just been out and listened to the road noise. i was only local so only went up to 40 but the only noise i could hear from the car was tyre/road noise. i couldnt hear the engine at all when cruising. for around the £2k mark, you are not going to find a better post 2000 car. these are incredibly good value for money, the V6 especially! internally the noises you come across are normally self inflicted ie loose items or a little plastic cover that i have just fixed. the rattle has been driving me nuts for weeks but it turned out to be the cover at the front of the passenger seat frame. it sounds like the same noise as i had in the GDI but i never correctly identified the source and assumed it was coming from behind the dashboard. the only noise i have now is the coins in the ashtray

[Beastlee]

I was cruising at 80 earlier and even with my new exhaust it was like I was gliding :)

[sonicsoundzdj]

iv got the elegance trim. its a good choice,Get the leather and other nice stuff. wack some rims and lower it and it looks alot better as well :)

[Antharro]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I won't need to worry much about road noise then. (No pun intended!)

Turns out I need to spend rather a lot of money on my FTO, which is totally ruling out buying anything else at the moment...

- Shocks and springs
- Dogbones
- Top mounts
- A/C overhaul
- Spot of welding

...and my Accord needs an exhaust.

But I shall be back once I've saved up my pennies!

Thanks,
Dave

[Scanny]

with regards to fuel consumption:
we had a club day out on saturday in the highlands. i clocked up 240 miles and it cost me around £30 which i was impressed with considering the terrain i faced after leaving the motorway at perth. perth to braemar is a long and twisty road and much of it is uphill, not to mention the convoy drive with the rest of the group which, as you would expect, was a bit more spirited than the trip to and from the meet. on local journeys the fuel gauge can be a little depressing but no more than any other car under those conditions. taking it on longer journeys is a different story though