To its rivals' collective credit, the Galant may fall a little short in the area of dependability. While Japanese, its J. D. Power and Associates Initial Quality (IQS) and
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| The one area that the Galant falls short in is dependability, placing 29th out of 37 brands on J. D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study. On the flip side it scores extremely well in crash tests. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Vehicle Dependability (VDS) studies place the brand mid-pack, ranking 26th out of 37 nameplates in the former and 29th out of 37 brands in the latter. To Mitsu's credit, it finished higher than 32nd and 33rd ranked Nissan and Mazda, and 36th placed Volkswagen in the IQS, but one behind Ford, and a fair ways in arrears of Honda and Toyota. It's also important to note that the J. D. Power's VDS is for three year old cars, which doesn't factor in recent improvements in quality.
And the Galant is miles beyond anything previously offered by the Japanese automaker. Just the same, my press car wasn't
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| The optional Infinity Titanium audio system incorporates a 270-watt amp and eight impressive speakers. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
without fault. Its 6-disc CD changer managed to eat my new-to-me (actually a replacement) Soul Coughing CD, although if I hadn't attempted to shove a second disc on top of the first one that was already in the number 1 position I'm sure it would have worked as it was designed too. Does that qualify me for a Darwin award? I went under the hood to kill the master fuse, click it back into place and hopefully "reboot" the system, but to no avail. Incidentally, the fuse box is conveniently located under the hood, enclosed in a black plastic box for protection. Once fixed by shoving one of my business cards into the slot and wiggling it around, the CD player was spouting off the miscellaneous ramblings of Soul Coughing's "Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago" and "Sugar Free Jazz" - yeah, more of that ultimately cool music that will never make it to commercial radio. By the way, the optional Infinity Titanium audio system also incorporates a 270-watt amp and eight impressive speakers.
Like most in the category the Galant includes standard power windows, door locks and sideview mirrors, auto off headlights and an anti-theft engine immobilizer. My LS featured a one-touch power glass sunroof, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, leather seating surfaces, heated front seats, automatic climate control, an overhead console, a color LCD information screen, cruise control and remote keyless entry.
