The New Baby Carriage
On Friday we went down to Des Moines Mitsubishi and traded in my 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse GTS on a 2007 Mitsubishi Galant Ralliart. Since we found out about the upcoming baby, we’ve known that we would need to be looking at a new vehicle, because although the Eclipse was still in great condition and only had 52,000 miles on it, the backseat is so small and hard to get into that toting a kid around in it and getting him/her in and out on a regular basis would be an effort steeped in profanity. The last time we tried to carry a child in a carseat, we had to put him into the seat through the raised hatchback. It was just not meant to be a family car.
So, on Tuesday after our lovely biometrics appointment with the USCIS (formerly the INS), we headed to the “Auto Mile” in Des Moines to see what was available. We first checked out the Mazda dealership, because I had looked at Mazda 3s and 6s online and rather liked how they looked. The problem, we discovered, is that Mazdas are a Japanese-designed/built car and are sized for the Japanese people, who are shorter of stature. I felt very much like I had been shoved into a too-small shoe.
We had noticed the Mitsubishi dealership on our way, so we decided to stop there and take a look at what they had. My wife was immediately impressed with a black and very tricked-out Outlander (their mid-range SUV), so we took a gander at that first. We test-drove it but there was something very, very wrong with the accelerator where it would delay greatly before actually applying power, which was a no-no for safety reasons. We then toyed around in an Endeavor, Mitsu’s full-size SUV, of which they had a nice used model. It was a lot better to drive and handled nicely, but I’ve never been terribly fond of SUVs for safety reasons and so forth, so I wasn’t very impressed.
Lastly, we started looking at the Galants and happened across this ‘07 Ralliart edition with only 5k miles on it, all put on by their service manager. We took that for a spin and both of us really loved it, so it was a matter of debating amongst ourselves and then having the guy run the numbers for us while we took the car to do some shopping and chat. The numbers turned out in a very favorable way (our payment actually went down by $12/month) and insurance was $1 more a month, so we said to go for it. We couldn’t wait to take it that day as we were in a rush, so we went down on Friday, signed our life and old car away, and brought her home.
Out With the Old
I wasn’t very happy about getting rid of the Eclipse — she was my first new car and what a great car to own — almost perfect in every way. Fun, fast, powerful, cornered like it was on rails, and a stick shift, something I’ve longed after for years. However, I know that this was the right decision at this time, as I’d soon be cursing the Eclipse’s lack of ease of use with our child. Also, my wife isn’t very handy with driving a stick and driving in city traffic, nor did she fit very well in the Eclipse with her short legs, so this is a better fit for all three of us.
I do hope the Eclipse goes to a good owner, as she’s a good vehicle and I wish her well; she certainly was a faithful machine for me for years. We were both pretty sentimental about giving her up, but there was no way to afford both.
In With the New
Here are some pictures of the new Galant Ralliart. The Ralliart trim of this car is their top-of-the-line trim, incorporating a bigger engine, better suspension, nicer rims and tires, and better interior features, both cosmetic and functional. Ralliart is the rally racing division of Mitsubishi and so the style harkens back to the days when Mitsu actually did a lot of rally racing. In short, it’s a sport version of a family car, which fulfills both the “fatherly” and “who’s your daddy” side of my psyche.
Front, Side, and Rear Exterior Views:
Front and Rear Seating Views:
Driver’s Side Viewpoint, Instrument Panel Gauges, Console Cluster, and Shifter:
A view of the 3.8L, 258hp V6 engine and compartment, a side view of the same, and a closeup on the intake of the engine, which is horrifically complex and which I hope to replace in the nearer future with something much more conducive to air flow and sound instead of this convoluted mess:
The Details (for those of you who want all the nitty-gritty):
- 6G75 Engine, 3.8L Single Overhead Cam V6 with 24-valve Multiport Fuel Injection and MIVEC Variable Timing, 10.5:1 compression ratio, pumping out a maximum of 258 HP @ 5750rpm and 258 lb/ft torque @ 4500 rpm; cast iron block, aluminum heads
- Sportronic™ 5-speed Automatic Transmission with Overdrive
- Exterior: Ultra Red Pearl
- Interior: Black Cloth & Leather
- Dual-Stage Front Air Bags, Seat-mounted Side Air Bags, and Front & Rear Curtain Air Bags
- Daytime Running Lamps
- Engine Immobilizer
- Tire Pressure Monitoring System
- Front slotted (11.7″) and Rear solid (11.4″) disc brakes with 4-sensor/4-channel ABS and Electronic Braking Distribution
- Traction control
- 22mm Front strut tower bar; 21mm rear stabilizer bar
- Sport-tuned suspension; Independent MacPherson Struts in front, Low-mount multi-link in rear
- Front & Rear Stabilizer Bars
- Automatic climate control
- Cruise Control
- 360W Rockford Fosgate Acoustic Soundsystem with 8 speakers, 6-disc in-dash CD/MP3 Player, and Sirius Satellite Radio enabled with 6-month service
- Sport-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls
- Power windows with 30-second reserve
- Color LCD Center Audio, Compass, Temperature, Time, Calendar, Fuel Economy Display
- 8-way power driver’s seat with lumbar
- Aluminum brake and gas pedals
- Heated front seats and side mirrors
- Power sunroof
- Rear spoiler with LED brakelight
- 235/45 R18 94V all-season tires on 18″ 8JJ 7-spoke alloy wheels
- 18 city and 27 highway gas mileage
- 10-year, 100,000 mile Powertrain Warranty
- 5-year, 60,000 mile New Vehicle Limited Warranty
- 3-year, 36,000 mile Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty
- 5-year, Unlimited mile Roadside Assistance
- A link to the YouTube video of the 2006 unveiling of the 2007 model.
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