2004 Mitsubishi Galant LS Road Test

But lets go back for a minute. Even before turning over the key it's easy to notice the attention given to quality details that separate this car from so many others, even

The steering wheel is wonderfully comfortable, ideal for the proper 9 o'clock, 3 o'clock hand positioning. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

top-tier premium sedans. For instance, the door handles, the first interface between man/woman and machine, feel solid with no unecessary wiggles. You might think this should be the case for all new cars in the Galant's price range, which should be true. But grab hold of a Jaguar XJ door handle some time and you'll quickly agree that not all such details are equal in autodom. Like the handles, the doors themselves shut with an authoritative thunk, front and rear. Only the trunk left a ring in the air when shut firmly, and that only because it isn't finished on the inside.

And the controls feel so good to the touch too. The steering wheel is wonderfully comfortable, ideal for the proper 9 o'clock, 3 o'clock hand positioning, and featuring modestly hidden audio controls at the rear of each spoke. I find flicking my fore- and middle finger much more natural than pulling my hand up and off the wheel slightly to manipulate stereo controls with my thumbs. While these components seem to come directly from the DaimlerChrysler parts bin, it was a smart decision for Mitsubishi to make use of them.

It will be smarter for DaimlerChrysler to take advantage of its relationship with Mitsubishi in remaking its next-generation Sebring, however, as the Galant is well beyond its domestic competitor in just about every aspect except the number of heated seat presets - Sebring has six while the Galant only two. The Sebring/Galant connection is the worst kept secret in autodom, although it is rumored that the Sebring will sport an updated version of the Galants overall architecture.

Such cooperation with DaimlerChrysler, and others, doesn't hurt Mitsubishi, of course, but allows it to build more parts and therefore reduce its cost per item significantly. This lets the automaker give us, its customers, a great deal more for our money. In theory, optimizing a car's architecture, or "platform" as the term used to be called when cars were built on ladder-type frames, by using it to

Chrysler is wise in wanting to use an updated version of the Galant architecture for its next-generation Sebring. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

produce two or more vehicles is smart. GM does so with its Pontiac Grand Prix and Buick Allure (LaCrosse), both using the most of the same underpinnings albeit with very different results (nod to Buick on this one). Chrysler's new LX cars include the 300, Magnum and the recently announced Charger sedan, each loosely derived from Mercedes-Benz E-Class architecture, while Ford manages to pull the Five Hundred, Freestyle and Mercury Montego out of a Volvo S80/XC90 hat. Nissan makes great use of its Altima architecture, using it to underpin the Maxima sedan, Murano SUV, Quest minivan and dearly departed Infiniti I35, while Toyota gets great use out of its Camry, spawning the Avalon, Highlander, Lexus ES 330, RX 330 and upcoming RX 400h. Mitsubishi does much the same, developing the extremely nimble Endeavor SUV off of the Galant, or was it the other way around?