I came across this rather sad looking 1994 Galant behind a friend’s apartment, where it’s remained since I first saw it a few months ago. Being that we’ve been covering the Colt this week, I figured I’d expand the Mitsubishi theme. Even when new, most buyers weren’t as enthusiastic about this car as I seem to be and I wonder exactly what I’d have told a bystander curious as to why I was taking pictures of a twenty-year-old Galant.
Debuting in mid-1993, the seventh-generation Galant replaced its extremely upright predecessor and was sold alongside the new Mirage, with which it shared a resemblance. Now 68 inches wide, it was aimed directly at the heart of the US market, and built in Normal, Illinois with a pair of 2.4 liter engines, it came ready to do battle.
With an aggressive schnoz and a bulge in the hood over the cam cover, it would seem Mitsubishi was hoping to pitch the new Galant as a somewhat sporty alternative, just as Ford and Chrysler did a year later with the Contour and Chrysler JA cars (cloud cars). The GS, the sportiest model of the range–whose twin-cam engine necessitated the 1994-only power bulge–was discontinued in 1995. The LS V6, to be equipped with a 2.5 engine shared with the Chryslers, never came, though Mitsubishi kept promising its introduction with each new model year until about 1997.
After the previous car’s modest sales, the goal of the new model was to offer a very mainstream option to buyers, with characteristic ’90s “organic” styling, a new four-wheel multilink suspension (replacing a rigid axle in the rear), minimal chrome and no turbos, four-wheel steering, adjustable shocks or all-wheel-drive. Nevertheless, the seventh-generation Galant did rather poorly in the US.
My family was one of the few who bought one of these cars, owning a very ’90s dark green Galant ES from 1994 to 1997. After my father sold his money pit of an Audi, we were a one car family for over a year before my parents began searching for a second car. They wanted a carefree family sedan and got the best deal on the Galant. Honda and Toyota dealers were arrogant; the 626, with only a 2.0 118-hp engine, was underpowered and I suppose even the Altima wasn’t being offered for as little in our part of the country. With 141 horses and 148 lb-ft of torque at a low 3,000 rpm, the “Mittsabushy,” as the salesmen called it, was close enough to the gutsy Nissan and more powerful than the other four-cylinder competition.
Then, as now, Mitsubishis were sold by somewhat unprofessional dealers, and we bought our example at Ricart in Columbus, where it was sold the alongside other less-prestigious imports Nissan, Mazda and Hyundai. We didn’t mind though, since it was one of the sportiest and better looking Japanese imports–at least until the unfortunate 1997 facelift–and absolutely blew the doors off of our ’86 Accord, which was immediately relegated to second car status.
I very rarely saw other Galants, even in those days. It seems likely that they didn’t even sell as well as their Japanese-built predecessor, even though performance was excellent for the money. While quality was not on par with Toyota, Nissan and Honda, the Mitsubishi was certainly more reliable than the Chrysler JA-cars, Hyundai Sonatas and Ford Contours with which it competed, and was equally as safe. Regardless of the price, my dad had a much better impression of his Galant than he did of competing Hondas, and always believed that Mitsubishis were unfairly underrated. I can’t say that I entirely disagree when it comes to their earlier cars, but they only fell further behind soon after our car was built.
Mitsubishi, unlike competitors, found their greatest success in their sporty coupe, but unfortunately even that has changed since the nineties. Especially with regard to its mainstream sedan, Mitsubishi has always played third fiddle to its Japanese rivals in the US, and now has fallen behind Hyundai, to whom I bet they regret selling their technology. Today’s Galant is obviously inferior to other sedans, which hasn’t helped it escape its bad reputation as the one of the most generic Japanese cars.
At twenty years old, a lot of these cars are going to the crusher, but you still see a few around. The 1994-only GS model, on the other hand, is extremely rare and would make for a very satisfying CC find.
That face looks more angry than sad.
A local Indianapolis dealer (who plainly hails from the south) still calls it a “Mitsu-Bishi” on TV. At least I have always presumed that the proper pronunciation is Mitsu Beeshie.
I recall test driving a Galant with Mrs. JPC before we were married, but it may have been the prior generation. I can’t say I really had any particularly positive vibes about it, same with the dealer experience. I have kind of a soft spot for Mitsus, but they have often seemed so invisibly average in recent years.
You’re right, it’s a bit generic, but not unpleasantly so. Looks like the offspring of a one-nighter between a Mazda Millenia and Chevy Malibu, which the Millenia probably still regrets. Your parents’ green one is nice, and would have been borderline sexy with nicer wheels.
The green ES you and your family had is a great example of what Mitsubishi designers were going for: a profile that evoked European small sedans and a price tag that was affordable.
Their pinnacle of achievement was the 8th Generation 1999 – 2001 design (pictured): it mimicked much of a BMW 3 Series: the tail lights were the same shape, the C-pillar was similar, and although it had no BMW twin kidney grills, it had a very handsome and up-scale-looking chromed divided grill.
We saw LOTS of these on the roads in Dallas when they were new. But, sadly, the successive redesigns each went from ‘frumpy’ to ‘ugly’ and it relegated the car to oblivion.
Example: if Hyundai and Kia had kept pumping out the designs they put on the road (clear into 2009), they’d have the same place in the history books as Mitsubishi -ho hum. Instead, they completely changed automotive design language by 2011, with Chrysler 200s mimicking them.
When the Mrs and I were looking to replace our Jimmy with something with better mileage in 2001 we went to a dealer that sold Dodges and Mitsubishis, planning to look at the new Dodge Stratus because the wife liked the way it looked. We drove it, and found it uncomfortable and underwhelming. Then the salesman asked us if we’d look at a 2001 Galant. So we did, not expecting to be impressed, but it was actually a far superior car to the Stratus in every way (not that this was a particularly high bar to clear…..) We actually liked it a lot.
We probably should have bought it. What we did instead was look for a larger car, and bought a year-old Intrepid with a 2.7. If we’d bought the Mitsu we’d probably just now be looking to replace it with something newer, but the obvious happened to the 2.7L Intrepid in 2005, and it was replaced with an equally unreliable minivan.
It is generic except for the grille, but also looks somewhat more youthful than the same year’s Toyota and Honda.
I also like Mitsu. I think even the current models are a little underrated their dealers certainly don’t help. I think their current problems is interiors, they just don;t look as nice or feel as nice as the competition. They also don;t seem to keep up well with want Americans want at the moment.
Amen to that. The interior on the NEW Outlander is circa 2000 Honda plastics. Seriously, another $50 per car in nicer plastics would go a long way.
I used to be very enthusiastic about these cars as a kid when they were still new. I remember one of the popular car magazines test-driving a new ’94 GS (the only model to come equipped with a rear anti-roll bar), and saying that it handled like a sports car. Although the Galant never received the 6G7x, it’s platform mates (The Sebring coupe and Avenger) as well as the cloud cars offered the same 2.5. My best childhood friend’s parents owned a ’95 ES. There’s wasn’t the most reliable, as it started having transmission trouble (it’s loosely based on the Ultradrive, if memory serves) and the 4G64 started burning oil at low mileage. Both are fairly common problems. With that said, I still see quite a few out here on Long Island. I very nearly bought a ’96 S with the 5-speed years ago, but during the test drive it had problems starting, then overheated. I still browse Craigslist from time to time in hopes of finding a clean ’94 GS with the 5-speed in my area. Someday…
Also, these cars had some of the weirdest equipment packaging that I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen quite a few base Galant S models with leather, power sunroof, but with crank windows and no power anything. What’s up with that?
Leather and Sunroofs were added by dealers, most likely, to sell them off.
looks like the Mazda 6s granddad. I liked Mitsu too especially the Montero Sport. I have to say that I look kinda like a bum. Have walked into car many dealerships and am ignored. Last August, I walked into the dealer in Harlem and they would not leave me alone. They really want to sell these new ones but I guess they can’t.
Reminds me of an hilarious story opening Billy Thorpe’s second memoir (Oz 60s/70s rocker).
He likes the car he’s seen in a Bond movie, so he goes to the Aston Martin dealership in Sydney. Being an 18 yo, he is completely ignored. Goes to his manager, gets the cash and goes back. Of course they were all over him. First thing he does is drive the DB6 to Queensland and performs donutage in his old school yard.
The 626 was offered with a 164 hp 2.5L V6, a really sweet number that would rev past 7,000 RPM, and could also be had with a manual transmission. Not sure why you thought you could only get a 2.0L I4 in it.
I’ve owned four manual 626s from this generation…Two with the 2.0 and two with the KL v6. The four cylinders moved the car well enough to make them decent fun to drive (definitely felt like more than the 118hp that their brochures advertised), but the v6 completely transformed the character of the car. 0-60 in the low 7s was nothing to sneeze at back then, and the engine had a very sweet exhaust note.
626 was great unless it was a four cyl auto. The 2.0 5-spd was very torquey and got very good fuel economy for slightly less performance. Also very space efficient. KL motors sounds excellent.
My parents were in the market for 4-cyl only.
The 94-97 2.0 used Ford’s HORRIBLE CD4E transmission which ruined Mazda’s reputation. Even 20 years later, I still hear people ask “Mazdas? Don’t those have bad transmissions?” The 93 still used the old Mazda unit (the v6 kept it throughout the run) which wasn’t all that great either but nowhere near as bad. 5-speed’s pretty much the only way to go on these.
They wanted 4-cyl only and don’t drive stick, so 626 2.0 + auto=slow
I’ve always kinda liked Mitsubishis.
I want to say Puerto Rico is a fairly big market for them. You still see quite a few Mirages and Galants and Monteros, specially. Lancers were a huge hit.
My mom bought a 1994 Expo new though I think it gave her quite a few transmission problems. Cross shopped with the Isuzu Rodeo if I recall correctly. It did survive for a long time until my grandparents inherited the replacement 1998 Sienna in 2004.
My best firend’s family also still has a 1994(?) Mirage that’s rough but still going. Those Mitsubishis do last. We call it the Time Machine and he has fond memories of it.
My uncle had 1996(?) 3000GT that was nice. Those were low to the ground and pulled hard.
I also rode to get tutoring in a 1999(?) Diamanté. Nice interior in those.
My dad had a Nativa (Montero Sport) for a while and I liked it.
Same with the Monteros, in which I had a good amount of passenger time, both auto and manual. That V6 is good and I always liked the center mounted gauges that had a compass, altimeter and inclinometer.
He also looked at the 2004 Diamanté as a possible car at one point. Those looked good.
So now that I think about it, I’ve had extensive experience with Mitsubishis lol. All positive.
Last time I was there, I saw an early 90s Galant (previous generation) and couldn’t help but admire it. Something about the upright square look looked very nice.
A Galant in VR-4 guise would be quite the rocket.
I thought the picture came out better lol.
The Galant was a nice driving point A to point B car but sadly the cars seem to blend in with the scenery and was never noticed in the end. Of course that seems to be the story of Mitsu on the whole in 2014. I give Mitsu 5 more years before they pack up and hop that train that Suzuki and Isuzu rode out of Dodge(aka the USA)
My dad also told me about a Mirage Turbo he had back in the 80s. Apparently the turbo sound was nice and it was quick.
He remembers it fondly.
Despite never having cared much for these cars, it’s still a bit sad to realise they’ve practically vanished. And, unlike Mondeos/Contours, completely forgotten.
Just last week I saw one, and thought to myself how long it’d been since last seeing one before. Couldn’t remember, and the one I saw then was about to disappear, too: it was on a trailer with a bunch of other 15 yr-old cars, headed for export.
These sold well in Chicago in the 90’s/pre recession, but it was due to “blow out” sales. “$199 a month!” “0,0,0!”. Also the “built in Illinois” tag line helped, too.
Lots of plain S models were sold to lessors, and then were dumped into the high credit risk market. The last generation was a true rental queen. And some wonder why Galant is dead?
We rented an 80s Galant once, and it was a disappointing experience. Consumer Reports had raved about the car, saying that it was not just “moderately quiet” but “quiet” and raving about other aspects of the car. The one we rented was NOT particularly quiet, letting an awful lot of road noise and vibration through. Even the cassette player was substandard, generating a lot of flutter in playing tapes that we knew were good. Lots of other stuff was substandard, at least compared to our ’84 Mazda 626.
I have always felt that Mitsubishi has been unfairly underrated as well. My parents wanted to buy a newer car in 1996 but didn’t want to spend a lot. My grandmother was having good luck with her 1992 Camry (Which I still own) and they wanted something similar.
They bought a 1995 Mitsubishi Galant S from Avis for $11,000. I think the car had 20k on it or so. Fairly well equipped for a 1995 base model (PW, PL, CC, AC) and also relatively fun to drive compared to the Toyota. It was white with a dark blue interior. My stepmother drove the car back and forth as a daily driver for 9 years in Denver and I bought it from her in high school. I drove it for another 4 years, finally selling it with 211,000 miles.
I actually also recall that in H.S. when I bought it, another classmate had a ’94 GS. I know because it had the hood scoop. It was metallic red. Much nicer than my plain jane “S”.
It was an extremely reliable car. I am very fanatical about doing fluid changes, preventative maintenance, etc. I changed brakes, belts, and fluids but never any factory components. Amazingly after so many miles and a 4 cylinder engine, the a/c was still effective. It did need some suspension work when I sold it too I guess, but the suspension didn’t really bug me until about 5 months before I sold it. Started every day, endured harsh winters in CO and UT and was used as every other kind of workhorse in between. I moved with it. I tied long ladders to the roof of it to help people with odd projects occasionally, it did teenager duty many many many times and overall proved itself as something I would truly deem “bulletproof”. It did the very duties that the Camry and Accord do but never got any of the big time acclaim.
I think that if this car had a V6 it could have done a lot more to make inroads in the US.
My sister actually has a 2003 Galant V6 right now. It had 62k when she got it in 2011. It was much nicer then than it is now…….thats all for now.
Overbuilt.
Very reliable.
Much better & quicker with the manual transmission.
This was the best Galant, the 1994-97 generation.
Rear seat had less legroom than its major competition.
Mitsubishi was targetting the classic 1992-96 Camry with this generation Galant.
I test drove a manual shift 94 base Galant, it easily climbed a steep hill.
In sharp contrast, the succeeding Galant (1998-2003) was decontented but had lots of front seat shoulder room. This generation Gallant was targetted at the infamous decontented 1997 Camry for which Toyota bragged it had eliminated one thousand parts and reduced the Camry’s price by one thousand dollars.