Link to Top Gear Galant Reviews

[Dan_G]

Found this on the Top Gear site......

In one of the road tests they rushed Judge Jules from gig to gig in a Legnum VR4

http://www.topgear.com/jsp/roadtestS...de=C8&rCode=A5

[pezza]

Thats a top article...

18.8 mpg? Hmmm certainly not seen by any CVR4 track day driver

I put in a fiver on my solo legnum test drive and really caned it on 2 1.5 mile stretches of the A40.. and the light came on after about 2 miles? :rolleyes5

Mad!

[Legnum Boy]

:-D :-D :-D

Love the way their mileage drooped from the first review to the next....

...now averaging a bit less than I get between fill ups....

[KiwiTT]

I have re-posted the article here; in case Top Gear removes it from there site.

TopGear - Review - Mitsubishi - Galant VR4 estate

Long Term Test Results

March 2001

Let's play that word association game, shall we? I'll say 'estate car' and you'll say... what exactly? 'Load carrier, practical, Volvo, sensible, no-nonsense'. And probably a lot more along the same lines too.

What you probably wouldn't come up with, however, even if you went on for a few minutes, would be words like 'spoiler, air-dam, twin-turbo, rally-bred, sporty, responsive' and so on.

Yes, as Star Trek's Spock would most probably have said, when describing the Mitsubishi Galant VR4: ?It's an estate car, Jim, but not as we know it.?

There have been high performance estate cars before, of course - like the Audi RS2 or Volvo T5R, for instance - but none of them have shouted the message quite as loudly as this remarkable Mitsubishi, with its fat wheels, spoilers all round and, best of all, those dark tinted side windows.

We've had ours on long-term test for little more than a month and already it's become something of a cult car in the office. As one member of staff said about it: ?It makes me feel like I've got some tough mates.? Er, quite.

It looks like an accessory from Snatch or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Mitsubishis and it goes like one as well. Compared with the bog-standard front-wheel-drive Galant V6 estate, there's a hundred-odd more horse-power, lowered suspension, bigger wheels with fatter tyres and more besides. Even a strut brace under the bonnet. Underneath that dressed up exterior is an intercooled, twin-turbo version of the 2.5-litre V6 giving out 276bhp, a five-speed automatic gearbox with a Switchtronic-style sequential shifting option and four-wheel drive incorporating Active Yaw Control to limit wheelspin.

Which brings us neatly onto the rallying connection. The four-wheel-drive system is similar to that found in the Evo VI and in fact the whole car was created by Mitsubishi's high- performance Ralliart division.

It's rained pretty much every day since we've had the car, which has given us every opportunity to be glad of the added security that comes with four-wheel-drive traction - and the odd chance to play at being Tommi Makinen's service car, such is its entertaining handling - but has consequently given us few real opportunities to try out the 276 horses under the bonnet.

What little chance we have had, though, has made us long for sunnier days and longer trips. The V6 engine is a flyer - it revs sweetly, has effortless grunt, barely any turbo-lag and fine flexibility. Mitsubishi claims a top speed of 150mph and 6.4 seconds from 0 to 62mph, but they're probably being conservative. In our limited experience, they're not being quite so conservative about the likely mpg - the official combined figure is 21.5mpg and we're currently averaging just 19.6mpg. Also, the fuel gauge needle plummets at the sort of alarming rate that will have you keeping an eye out for filling stations every 250 miles or so, which might spoil those long- distance blasts somewhat.

The gearbox is plenty clever enough to cope with rain or shine. You get the usual choice of 'Normal' or 'Sport' shift patterns and it can 'learn' the driving characteristics of the user - storing shift patterns in its memory and adjusting gearchange points accordingly. Flip the gearstick across to the left and you get push-pull semi-manual shifting instead.

Unfortunately, now's the moment to start tempering all this enthusiasm with a few 'buts'. We're not going to start quibbling about the looks of the car, nor about its price tag of £32,995. If you don't want to be noticed, spend the same on a Mercedes E-class estate or an Audi A6 Avant quattro. Just don't expect to go so fast.

No, our quibbles with the Galant are almost entirely about the interior. We like the Recaro seats which are both comfy and suitably grippy round the corners for something that is claiming family ties with an Evo VI.

We're less keen on the interior trim which isn't really up to the sort of class you'd expect in a thirty-two grand motor, but what we really do not like is the Pioneer stereo system. It's one of those ghastly fiddly things covered in microdot-sized switches with meaningless acronymic markings.

Now, at a time when plod seems to feel able to prosecute someone for taking a swig of water whilst waiting at a red traffic light, wouldn't it make sense to have a stereo you could switch from Radio 4 to Radio 3 with a swift and decisive stab of a digit rather than with repeated peering and prodding?

But worse even than this is the CD autochanger. It's under the front passenger seat and - unless we've missed some secret switch, which we almost certainly haven't - the only way to change the cartridge is by lying flat-out along the floor and sticking one's face under the seat to find it. Daft.

But enough of all this quibbling. The Galant VR4 is one great machine and I'm heading off in it now to get some serious respect, man

May 2001

With spoilers, wings, smoked glass, four-wheel drive, turbos plural and 276bhp, this Galant VR4 is not the sort of estate your vicar drives. But this is something we can live with, happily. We can also live with its comfort, space, taut chassis, steering, grip and acceleration. Despite the rear centre-seat two-point lap belt, we can stomach the dated interior. Same for the #184.16 spent on the lost rear luggage blind and the #139.35 (both plus VAT) for the rear light lens crunched during a three-point turn by a careless lamp-post, but we're beginning to tire of the silly Pioneer stereo, now on the verge of replacement and, also, we said it required fill-ups every 270 miles or so, but mpg has dipped to 16.8 over the past 2,362 miles and it's now averaging just 170 miles between fill-ups. Then there's the ever present whiff of petrol. More tea, vicar?

June 2001

This is rapidly becoming my favourite long-termer. It's the coolest, most aggressive estate car I've ever seen. Its twin turbos make it go like stink and four-wheel drive gives mega-traction. Jesus, it's even practical, with all that loadspace, and the tinted windows in the back are great for keeping our 10-month-old daughter in the shade when the sun graces us with its presence. Despite a trip to the dealer to get it sorted, the smell of petrol persists, so it'll be going back into dock soon to have its customised filler neck fixed. A man was also entrusted with the task of replacing the fiddly Pioneer stereo with a be-knobbed device, but the car refused the transplant. Maybe a different anaesthetic is required. And on the subject of liquids, the VR4 is still drinking like a basking shark, but its fuel economy figure is inching its way towards the 20mpg mark...

July 2001

First, a correction. In the July issue, we quoted the price for this car as #20,970, quite a steal for a new 276bhp, 150mph 4WD estate. In fact it's #32,995. In recent updates we've had nothing but praise for our VR4, with three exceptions: the stereo, fuel consumption and fuel odour. No surprises for guessing the latter two were connected. Turned out the tank had split near the top, and the result was 16.8mpg. In the 700 miles we've covered with a new tank (#1,056.61, done under warranty), economy has soared to... 21.3mpg. Our other beef was the complex, naff Kenwood stereo which has now been substituted by more than #1,500-worth of VDO satnav/stereo with a 10-CD stacker. Although this looks simpler than the Kenwood, it isn't - we haven't even worked out how to preset the radio yet, let alone enter Monkton Up Wimborne as a destination.

August 2001

After recent problems with a ripped fuel tank, our Galant VR4 blotted its copybook again recently, and it decided to do it at a very inopportune time - while I was on holiday in it. Having crammed myself, the missus, our 11-month-old daughter and the vast amounts of baby paraphernalia necessary for a week in a self-catering cottage in Dorset, we were finally ready to go. On the way through Ringwood, the engine warning light came on with an attendant loss of power and erratic running. Having recurred intermittently throughout the holiday, the problem was diagnosed as merely a faulty connection in the engine management system. It was resolved quickly under warranty, but meant we couldn't use the car as much as we'd planned to on holiday. Let's hope the VR4's teething problems are over now

October 2001

Every man has to have his release, and mine is an annual long weekend in the company of a bunch of drunken reprobates. In between intoxication sessions, we drag ourselves up a variety of mountains. It's all in a good cause (tiger conservation) and all good fun. This year, the Galant was pressed into service as transport and proved ideal for carting a carful, plus camping gear, to Snowdonia. During the trip, the VR4 also acted as a clothes drier and a night club for an evening of musical appreciation. And due to the logistics of the trek, I got to drive the beast back, unladen, on twisty Welsh roads. Excellent

December 2001

Performance cars cost a lot to run. That simple, unequivocal fact is being rammed home by our experience with the Galant. Since the last update, it's had its second service, and while it was in dock we had the juddering front brakes and non-functioning remote locking plipper fixed. The front brake pads needed replacing, bringing the cost of the service to #320.32. On top of that, the front tyres needed replacing, stinging us for a further #352.92. But hey, these are the kind of bills you've got to expect while enjoying a car with 276bhp and four-wheel drive to the full, along with a juicy 18mpg fuel consumption

[KiwiTT]

January 2002

he Mitsubishi has been in the wars recently. On a wet and windy night after a long day at the office, I'd miscalculated a reversing manoeuvre in a supermarket car park. Result: the Galant's offside rear panel suffered two 10p-sized dents just below the rear window. Oops. But help was at hand from mobile dent-fixing company Chips Away, who came along to our car park and returned the bodywork to as-new condition (see article in Buying Running Selling section TG 100).

Sorted. But not for long. In fact, only for around three hours. Because at some point between the Chips Away boys finishing the job and Art Director Marcel taking the car home that night, the car was dented in the same panel. But, unlike my half-hearted effort, someone had done a proper job this time, stoving in the metal just to the rear of the wheelarch. This time it will have to be a full bodyshop job on the insurance. So it'll probably take ages.

Much longer, in fact, than Assistant Ed Froggy took to move house with the aid of the Mitsubishi. Mainly because he was only moving to the house next door, although not even he's lazy enough to use a car to transfer his chattles such a short distance. He used the Galant's capacious boot to take the garbage left by the previous owners to the tip. In the process, a load of green gunk oozed over the impractical beige carpets. Oops. Hope the Galant brings better luck next week

February 2002

The Galant was pressed into serious service over the Christmas period, its capacity coming in handy for carting a mountain of presents to and from the Midlands. On the downside, the dent inflicted in the TG car park last month by an unknown assailant remains unrepaired (maybe the insurance company couldn't decipher my 'artist's impression' of the scene of the incident on the claim form). Another terrible thing is that, now I'm no longer a full-time staff member of this mag, 'my' car has been snaffled by someone else, so I may never feel the rush of its twin-turbo power burst again. Ah well, it was lots of fun while it lasted

March 2002

First thing, thank goodness, is that mpg has risen from a miserable 14.1 last month to a more respectable 19.4. Realising how bad it was, we immediately sniffed for leaking fuel on the off-chance our VR4 had suffered its second split fuel tank. But we sniffed in vain and can only put that 14.1 figure down to a prolonged period of painfully slow, rush-hour commuting. As this is written, the dent to the offside rear is at last being sorted, as is some oik's wavey signature right along the nearside doors and wings. The front alloys haven't weathered well, but at least it still runs like a train. Or should I say the 'proverbial' train?

April 2002

Our evil black beast has finally disappeared back into the night and there's a sizeable bunch of devil's disciples here who are mighty sad to see it go. It's worked its black magic on us for a year and 20,000 miles now - and we're hooked. Just get behind the wheel and the horns start to grow out of your head. It's not just the power, though 276 horses aren't to be sneezed at, nor the Evo VI derived four-wheel-drive system, it's the sheer aggressiveness of the beast. The twin turbos deliver thump-in-the-back response and the auto 'box is so fast shifting that you never need use the semi-automatic mode and you certainly won't mourn the absence of a manual system. You soon forget about Christian charity and goodwill to all motorists.

The Galant has regularly been snaffled by those of us with a weekend visit to B&Q, the local tip or even a house move in mind. And it's been up to Snowdonia ferrying a team of charity walkers about. But it's been happiest at night - like the night we ferried top DJ Judge Jules on a high-speed dash between his gigs.

But if the Galant has done its sinning, it's also been sinned against. An anonymous bash in a rear quarter panel and some moronic keying on the side cost us #790 to fix. It's been pretty reliable, fortunately, with brake pads, tyres and an errant remote locking 'plipper' the only extras over routine servicing. There were also problems with a faulty connection in the engine management system. Oh, and a split fuel tank which was replaced early on after we reported worrying aromas in the cabin. Fuel consumption then leapt from a diabolical 14mpg to a still demonic 19.4mpg. Sinful? Probably, but nothing some time in that motoring confessional box, an M25 traffic queue, won't sort

[Polabear]

An absolutely spanking article, and a true representation of what the mighty VR4 is capable of.... especially as I had to show an errant scooby the error of his ways this evening..... :nono: you can not do that to a vr4...lesser cars yes...vr4 no.

[SGHOM]

especially as I had to show an errant scooby the error of his ways this evening..... :nono: you can not do that to a vr4...lesser cars yes...vr4 no.

Nice one Sean !! :-b
with the horses [ nos ] under my bonnet now, I'm searching out bigger fish !! :rolleyes5

any 911's wanna play ?? :-D :-D

[KiwiTT]

...any 911's wanna play ?? :-D :-D

i.e. 911 Turbo's - Right ?

[NevGroom]

I remember a few years back Top Gear Mag doing its "Top 5" in every class - In the "Luxury Performance" sector, The M5 came out No1 and the VR4 a very close 2nd with the recommendation being "if you can't afford an M5 get one of these".

Nev

[KiwiTT]

..."if you can't afford an M5 get one of these".

Nearly Perfect

They may cost the same to service, but the BMW has such a higher start price. The money you save at purchase can be used for servicing and you still come out ahead.

Sill an apt comparison. The "Q" Car, etc. etc.