Just put your feet in the trunk, honey.

It was a dark and stormy night. Rain lashed the windows as we cruised down a local road. Suddenly I heard, "I'm going to hit him."

I glanced up from the videogame in my lap just as this prediction came true. Someone had pulled out in front of our car and the resulting collision caused extensive damage to both his vehicle and ours. Fortunately, there was no damage to the occupants. Wear your seat belts folks, they work. No, I wasn't driving.

So what does this have to do with the 2006 Mitsubishi Galant? The other driver's insurance agency opted to provide a Galant ES for us while our midsized family car is being repaired. We won't be buying one any time soon. They're not horrible, but let's just say they're not on my top 10 list.


Seating

Room for 5, allegedly. Plenty of room in the front seats, but there isn't any place to put my size 8 feet on the floor in the front passenger seat unless I push it WAY back. If I do that there's not enough room for adult sized feet in the back. The problem is that the plastic below the glove compartment slopes down nearly to the floor. If I move the seat all the way forward, I can put my feet underneath, but that's not really comfortable and I don't like sitting that close to the dash.

The back seat has 3 seat belts, but the center position is on a hump. Even my 10 year old would be very unhappy if asked to ride there for anything other than a short trip. Better to limit the ride to 4 and use the drink holder in the fold-down armrest.

The seats aren't miserable when the car isn't moving, although they're not nearly as cushy as my 1997 Honda Accord. Head room, even in the back, is more than adequate for my 6 foot tall middle son, and adjusting the driver's seat to fit my 5'7" husband is a snap.


Controls

The shifter is fine, that's in a console between the front seats. I prefer the traditional headlight/dimmer control sticking out the left side of the steering column and the windshield wiper controls on the right, but intuitive isn't exactly the word I'd use for placement of the other controls. The Cruise Control really isn't comfortable for me at all. They've put it inside and behind the steering wheel on the lower right. My fingers are almost long enough to reach that comfortably. Almost - and my hands are larger than most women's hands. Climate control and audio system controls, unless you've opted for upgrades, are located above the center console in a position which will require you to take your eyes off the road to make any adjustments.


Audio

While the vehicle we're renting doesn't have all the bells and whistles, it did come with a fairly nice audio package - DVD player, MP3 player, speakers all around - and once I figured out how to adjust the bass and the fade, it was more than adequate for our needs. You won't think you're at the symphony, but the sound is clear and static-free.

Interior trim
Our rental came with fabric seats and without the optional heaters I'd have demanded if I were buying the car. There aren't any rough edges and the handles and knobs still look new - probably because the car only has 2000 miles on it. It all looks sturdy, though, not as if parts will fall off in your hands quickly. The one problem with the trim package on this particular model is the "titanium finish accents" which extend into the dash. It's fine on cloudy days, but let the sun come out and you wonder what they were thinking when they came up with that idea.


Exterior
4 exterior doors make for easy access to the back seats, the lines are sleek and as with the interior everything looks and feels solid. There are several exterior color options, any of the others would be fine, but this one is called UV Blue Pearl. I'm not sure, but I think maybe UV stands for Ultra Violent. It's bright. Put your sunglasses on bright. Tires are Yokohama steel belted radials, good for all but the iciest weather here. The mirrors don't fold, a disadvantage for backing out of our garage. There's plenty of room, but we've learned that folding mirrors make distance errors less expensive.


The Ride
The 2.4 L MIVEC engine has plenty of horsepower to move this 4000+ lb car smoothly whether you're pulling away from a stoplight or trying to merge into highway speed traffic. Braking is smooth and efficient for routine driving. We haven't had to make any panic stops in the week we've been driving it, but all but the DE (lowest end) model come with anti-lock brakes. My chief complaint is with the suspension. Even moderately bumpy rides make you wish you were in a different vehicle. Hit a small pothole and you'll think you've left your teeth behind.

The Trunk
We went to the $100 store today (the local warehouse club). Our entire shopping cart disappeared into the cavern with room for a couple of bodies - or maybe my size 8 feet. Definitely more room than either of the cars we're currently driving, but not enough to make me reconsider and buy one.