Mitsubishi Galant - Eighth Generation

Eighth Generation

The eighth-generation 1996 model continued the 1992 design themes but a station wagon (known in Japan as the Mitsubishi Legnum) was added while the liftback was removed from lineup. This model won the 1996–97 Car of the Year Japan award. Despite being superseded in the US from 2003, it remained on sale in other countries until 2006. In Japan, the Legnum was sold only at a specific retail chain called Car Plaza.

This model was also produced in Barcelona, Venezuela, at the only Mitsubishi plant in Latin America. At the beginning, the Galant was marketed in that country under the MX and MF names in 1997 and 1998 (Featuring a manual or INVECS-II semi-automatic transmission respectively), then kept the Galant name until the end of its production in 2006. Although the equipment options were limited, the VR-4 appearance package was offered in that market.

The American market Galant, introduced on July 7, 1998, graduated to the US Environmental Protection Agency's mid-size class. The front suspension switched from double-wishbones to struts, though the rear was upgraded with a stabilizer bar standard on all but the base DE model. ES, LS and GTZ models were offered with a 195 hp (145 kW) V6 engine, the 6G72 3.0 L, mated to a standard 4-speed conventional auto. Another difference from Asian and European models was lack of ABS, which was only installed on 3.0 L model.

Mitsubishi opted to further develop the technology in its range-topping VR-4, which was now powered by an enlarged 2.5 L V6 twin turbo. The car featured either a conventional 5-speed manual or INVECS-II transmission. Some models were also fitted with the same advanced active yaw control (AYC) as the Lancer Evolution, to give it greater agility than would be expected of such a large vehicle. Finally, as with the rest of the range, the VR-4 could now be had either as a Galant sedan or as a Legnum station wagon.

In some Asian markets Mitsubishi offered a 2.0 L MIVEC version of the 6A12a high revving naturally aspirated V6 race engine with a sports ECU engine management module, badged as the "Galant 2.0A", or alternately as the VR-M. This engine was also found on Mitsubishi's mid size sports car FTO-GPX. Output was placed at 200 hp (150 kW) and 147 lb·ft (199 N·m) of torque. The larger 2.5 L 6A13 was more common in the rest of the world.

In 1998 the company introduced the Mitsubishi Aspire. Externally identical to the regular Galant, the new model name denoted the newly-introduced gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines.

Safety

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash test ratings for 2001 Galant without side airbags:

• Frontal Driver:
• Frontal Passenger:
• Side Driver:
• Side Rear Passenger:
• Rollover: Not Rated

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash test ratings for 1999–2002 Galant with side airbags:

• Frontal Driver:
• Frontal Passenger:
• Side Driver:
• Side Rear Passenger:
• Rollover: Not Rated

• 2002–2003 Mitsubishi Galant (US)

• Station wagon (Europe)