ArcaMax

Mitsubishi's Galant Ralliart mid-sized sport sedan has two important things going for it. One. it's a lot more interesting - both to look at and to drive - than several of its "name brand" (Honda and Toyota) equivalents. Two, it's a Mitsubishi, not a Toyota or Honda - which means you've got a decent chance of paying less than sticker price to get one. It does, however, have one equally important thing going against it - it's a Mitsubishi.

As one of the lesser Japanese brands - and a brand that has had its share of problems, financially and otherwise - Mitsubishi's vehicles tend to get lost in the shuffle. Or shied away from entirely. Other than the street-racer Lancer EVO, the rest of Mitsubishi's product line often doesn't get noticed as much as Toyota's or Honda's.

That's too bad, because the Galant's an appealing car - even more so, now that Mitsubishi has raised the ante with the new-for-2007 Ralliart performance upgrade.

The Ralliart package is built around a massaged version of the same 3.8 liter V-6 used in the regular V-6 Gallant - but up-rated to 258 horsepower (courtesy of more aggressive variable valve timing) from the standard car's 230 hp. That makes it more powerful than a Honda Accord V-6 (244 hp) and close to as potent as the class-leading Camry V-6 (268 hp).

Its 0-60 time of about 6.5 seconds makes it one of the quickest cars in its class, too.

Ralliarts also get a sport-calibrated 5-speed automatic transmission, 18-inch wheels with performance tires, clear tail-light lenses, deeper front and rear bumper treatments, heated driver and passenger sport buckets and unique-to-this-model interior trim - including aluminum pedals. Also standard are a powerful 360-watt Rockford Fosgate premium audio system with Sirius satellite radio and a sunroof. GPS is optional.

Sticker for all this is $26,999 - which is less than the features-equivalent versions of the Accord or Camry (or the Nissan Maxima, for that matter). And given Mitsubishi's a lot more motivated to deal than either Honda or Toyota (which continue to enjoy their status as king-of-the-hill import brands), odds are you could drive home a Ralliart for considerably less than sticker.

The warranty's top-notch, too - five years and 60,000 miles for the whole car; ten years and 100,000 miles for the drivetrain. That's almost twice the coverage you'd get from Honda (3/36 basic; 5/60 on the powertrain), Toyota (same as Honda) or Nissan (same).

Though the Ralliart is powerful and accelerates briskly, an hour's seat time reveals that handling is its true calling. The wide-footprint 18-inch rubber delivers excellent grip; the car's suspension (which includes a strut tower brace and Ralliart-specific front and rear anti-roll bars) seems happy when pressed - in an almost BMW-like manner. Though the Gallant is front-wheel-drive, it can carry impressive speed into a corner without getting unsettled. Many FWD cars express their dislike of aggressive cornering (or their designer's lack of confidence in the average driver's ability to take corners aggressively) by understeering the harder they are pushed. The front end plows toward the inside of the curve the harder you drive into a curve.

This is the exact opposite of the rear-drive sport sedan hooligan's tail-out oversteer - which the experienced driver can use to maintain the car's "line" through the turn by keeping on the throttle.

Understeer's a fail-safe; it helps to keep the over-eager but under-skilled out of trouble. But it takes away from the fun of driving like having your date's dad along for prom night.

The Ralliart won't do that to you; the same suspension tuners that developed the rally-winning (and turbocharged/intercooled) EVO slot car are the same ones who dialed in the Ralliart's underthings. You will not be disappointed. If, that is, you give one a try.

As for downsides:

It would have been nice to get a six-speed manual gearbox in the thing - or even have one on the options list. But you can't. The Ralliart's only available with the 5-speed "Sportronic" automatic.

You can still get a stick in the V-6 in the Accord (though not the Camry or the Maxima). Still, it's not a deal-killer as the Ralliart's 3.8 liter V-6 is large and has good torque, which means it works well with the automatic. The shift quality could be firmed up a bit in automatic mode - but you can remedy that by using the manual mode to up and downshift for yourself.

Also, some critics have faulted the Mitsu for not having - or even offering - electronic stability control. (Traction control, ABS and side impact/curtain air bags are, however, included.) This may - or may not - be a major consideration for you. Arguably, stability control is more of a "necessity" on marginal handling vehicles like SUVs - which are inherently more prone to loss of control during abrupt lane change maneuvers and so on. True, you can lose control or get close to losing control in a sport sedan, too - but you generally have to really push it to get to the point where stability control would intercede. Accidents can happen; but drive within reason and the odds are pretty low you'll ever need (and thus miss) having stability control.

And as far as occupant safety/crashworthiness are concerned, the Galant scores top marks - earning best possible rankings from both the NHTSA and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Bottom line - and as with most any car you can name - there are pros and cons to the Galant Ralliart. It objectively offers power/performance as good as (or better than) many of its name-brand Japanese equivalents - but in a more distinctive wrapper with a substantially better warranty. If you can get over any heeby-jeebies you may have about Mitsubishi vehicles (which the generous warranty coverage should allay), it's well worth giving the Ralliart a shot at your business. You might be pleasantly surprised.

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