Faults:

Absolutely nothing.

General Comments:

Comfort and pace. Surprise economy. Lovely noise and poise. You can say I like it a lot.

Faults:

- Throttle body needed cleaning straight after purchase, because the car was stalling

- Once went into 'limp' mode.

- Started burning oil around 89000 miles.

- Rear wheel bearings changed at 85000 miles.

- Rust started forming on the rear wheel arches.

- Lower suspension arm was changed at 86000 miles.

- Upper suspension arm changed at the same time with the lower arm.

- One front spring was broken and was changed.

- Both tracking rods were changed almost immediately after I purchased the car.

- The car died from cam belt failure, which damaged the engine, although a change was not due yet. If you get this car, I strongly recommend changing the cam belt much earlier than the manufacturer says.

General Comments:

I liked the performance of the GDI engine, but it is costly to run, since you always have to use premium unleaded petrol. Otherwise the engine and throttle body can get clogged, and the car won't start. When I bought the car it had this problem. Mitsubishi cleaned the throttle body, and since then I have only used premium unleaded, since the cost of de-coking (i.e. cleaning) the engine would be in the area of £600 I was told.

The semi-auto Tiptronic gearbox is surprisingly smooth, and you get about 95% of the performance of a manual I would say. The 'manual' mode however is not really useful, since the computer still limits the speed where you can change gear.

Another strong point is the smashing looks of the car. Mine had the original Mitsubishi 17 inch alloys wheels, which are really beautiful.

The worst thing about the car is the road noise. I had the older model Galant before this, and believing this one would be better in all respects, I was disappointed... The noise is very intrusive, and from 60 miles onwards, you could barely listen to the music. Another thing that annoyed me was the accelerator pedal, which was very soft, and I had to put in conscious effort to hold my leg up during long journeys.

Comfort was good but not great. The level of equipment was very good, as expected from a Galant. The road handling was certainly improved comparing to the previous generation Galant.

Faults:

Nothing in 12k miles.

General Comments:

A comfortable car with good seats, happy to sit all day at high motorway speeds. Engine noise is well insulated, although there is a little tire roar.

Performance is the happy side of adequate, but no sports car and heavy body means 30mpg. Quite entertaining to drive for a big car, and feels nimble and grippy in the corners.

Saloon body not as practical for large loads as estate would be.

A handsome brute, and not a BMW or 4x4 so you still get let out into traffic. Rear quarter visibility could be better, can be difficult to manoeuvre in tight spaces and to parallel park. Large turning circle.

The cabin is a comfortable place to be, but the quality is mediocre with an odd mix of cheap plastics and nice chunky switches. Don't think it'll fall apart, but doesn't really feel like a quality product on the inside. Stereo speakers are not particularly good.

All in all happy with it, particularly given the price paid. It is a lot of car for the money (lots of toys - cruise control, sun roof, air conditioning, fog lights), and is a pleasant place to be for everyday driving.

Faults:

Absolutely nothing.

General Comments:

My third Galant. I had spent a fortune on a nearly new Honda Civic for my wife in 2004 as a family car - what a mistake - we both disliked the Honda immensely and deiced to get a Galant estate costing less than half as much with lower miles! The car is superb (as expected). Build quality is second to none, performance is strong, comfort is excellent and the space is immense. These cars offer superb second hand value. If you are going to get one then bide your time - wait for a car that has been looked after - it will last for ever and never cause you any trouble. Utterly dependable.