dimi_108
Leaving Skid Marks
A few of these reviews are courtesy of fellow members of our club and Club VR-4. So props go out to them for sharing these with us 
Please include any reviews, literature and videos that you come across.
Enjoy.
Best Motoring Test
Road Test by Jeremy Clarkson
1999 Review "The Galant Warrior"
Galant Warrior
Mr Accelerator Pedal, say hello to Mr Floor. And then say good bye to everyone else. Phwooaar! But this thing is fast. It just goes to show, take a good but fairly ordinary Japanese executive saloon, add four-wheel drive and 280bhp, and it's time to have fun, to leave all worries behind. Well, if you can't quite leave them all behind, you can at least outrun them for a little while anyway.
The four-wheel driven, overly-muscled beast in question is one of Mitsubishi's latest additions to the Galant range, none other than the stonking VR-4. It takes the place of the tuneful but not altogether terrifying VR-M as the fastest horse in the Galant stable. Together with the VR-4, two more variant of this worthy saloon bow into the market. 140bhp 1.8 litre and 165bhp 2.4 litre four-cylinder versions are now available, both with Mitsubishi's award-winning Gasoline Direct Injection engines, which promise to be parsimonious at the pumps, and less offensive to the atmosphere than a man with a bad stomach and a steady diet of beans.
But it's the VR-4 that interests me now, not the Earth-loving versions. I've been driving it for only a couple of minutes, and it's turning out to be a real stealth bomber, surprising people everywhere with the frightening turn of speed with which it rockets away from traffic lights. Once, I blast off from the lights, and the baffled observer in the car behind tries to move in for a closer look. The VR-4 has obviously peaked his curiosity, or piqued his ego, or both. But he hasn't a chance of catching up with the VR-4. He does eventually, but only because there is a speed limit, and I'm keeping to it.
This is a car in the mould of the original BMW M5 - there is shattering performance in a package roomy enough for five people and their luggage, but little to advertise the fact. On the Galant, the biggest giveaway is the modest boot-mounted wing. There are other caution signs of the car's potential, but these are restricted to subtle 'VR-4' badges, an exhaust pipe that looks like a tennis ball launcher, and silver Mitsubishi diamonds, instead of the usual red ones.
If a boy racer successfully spots one and is mad or irresponsible enough to challenge it, he'd better make sure that his car is capable of 0-100kph in 6.8 seconds. Mind you, the performance in a VR-4 is available at the simple extension of a right ankle (and perhaps a bit of left foot braking to enable the car to be launched at full throttle off the brakes). There's no frantic search for the right moment to drop the clutch, nothing for your left hand to do but grip the wheel, and no need to calculate the best point for an upshift. Press the loud pedal, and away you go.
Though perhaps ultimately trickier to use, a manual gearbox would allow the keen driver more direct access to the engine's deep reservoir of torque of course, but the VR-4 has the next best thing in the form of a five-speed auto with a Tiptronic-style gate for manual shifting. Most of the time you can leave the autobox to its own devices, though, because it's eager enough to drop a gear or two when necessary, and sensitive enough to decide what constitutes necessity.
The old VR-M had a similar 'box, but only with four ratios. As for other equipment, though, the VR-4 seems to be a step back. Some of the feel-good gizmos from the VR-M are conspicuous by their absence in the VR-4, such as the Lexus-style fluorescent gauges, the rather nifty glass sunroof, and the powered driver's chair. I guess you're paying for the wonderful engine, as well as the four-wheel drive.
Sure enough, if the in-cabin specs look skimpy, what lurks under the bonnet is impressive enough to compensate. The heart of the VR-4 is a lovely quad-cam 24 valve 2.5-litre V6 (in normally aspirated form, this XX4GD engine powered the Galant VR). A pair of intercooled turbochargers is the ace in the Mitsubishi's hand, making all that horsepower possible.
It's a sweet application, too, like most modern turbo jobs. Turbo lag? There's none of it, and you're simply fooled into thinking that there must be a well-tuned 4-litre V8 under the Galant's bonnet. After all, the way the engine produces its horsepower is similar to that of a large engine, with a substantial torque peak of 363Nm at just 4000rpm. Surprisingly, the engine turns rather raucous and ragged once it approaches the redline, however, which is uncharacteristic of the V6s in other Mitsubishis.
Putting the power down cleanly is a four-wheel drive system that splits the torque 50:50 between the front and rear axles in normal driving, and then varying the ratio according to whichever end of the car needs it most.
Behind the wheel however, the drive feels a little rear-biased, which better suits sporty driving anyway. There's more traction than even the engine can defeat, and if you manage to get wheelspin in the Galant, it probably means you're on top of an oily patch. Despite the surplus of traction, however, the Galant is a weighty car on relatively narrow tyres, so you'll never get away with heaving into a corner, yanking the wheel over and expecting the car to turn cleanly. Go in too fast and the car will scrub away the excess speed with understeer.
It's far better to ease the Galant into a corner entry, settle it neatly onto its firmish suspension, and then power out hard on the throttle, allowing the four-wheel drive system to do the work. It pays to remember that four wheel drive doesn't allow you to brake later, it merely lets you get back on the power sooner, and the Galant will remind you of the fact.
Mind you, while the Galant has enough cornering ability to thrill, it ultimately lacks the steering sensitivity to utterly satisfy. Indeed, far from being a bespoke driving tool, it is a family car on steroids. And we all know that steroid abuse can get you into serious trouble, don't we?
The Galant VR-4 has a turn of speed that is highly addictive, so proceed with caution if you buy one. Have too much fun in the car, and before you know it, it'll be Mr Driver, say hello to Mr Policeman. An then say good bye to Mr Licence.
VR-4 Review by High Performance Imports
Please include any reviews, literature and videos that you come across.
Enjoy.
Best Motoring Test
Road Test by Jeremy Clarkson
1999 Review "The Galant Warrior"
Galant Warrior
Mr Accelerator Pedal, say hello to Mr Floor. And then say good bye to everyone else. Phwooaar! But this thing is fast. It just goes to show, take a good but fairly ordinary Japanese executive saloon, add four-wheel drive and 280bhp, and it's time to have fun, to leave all worries behind. Well, if you can't quite leave them all behind, you can at least outrun them for a little while anyway.
The four-wheel driven, overly-muscled beast in question is one of Mitsubishi's latest additions to the Galant range, none other than the stonking VR-4. It takes the place of the tuneful but not altogether terrifying VR-M as the fastest horse in the Galant stable. Together with the VR-4, two more variant of this worthy saloon bow into the market. 140bhp 1.8 litre and 165bhp 2.4 litre four-cylinder versions are now available, both with Mitsubishi's award-winning Gasoline Direct Injection engines, which promise to be parsimonious at the pumps, and less offensive to the atmosphere than a man with a bad stomach and a steady diet of beans.
But it's the VR-4 that interests me now, not the Earth-loving versions. I've been driving it for only a couple of minutes, and it's turning out to be a real stealth bomber, surprising people everywhere with the frightening turn of speed with which it rockets away from traffic lights. Once, I blast off from the lights, and the baffled observer in the car behind tries to move in for a closer look. The VR-4 has obviously peaked his curiosity, or piqued his ego, or both. But he hasn't a chance of catching up with the VR-4. He does eventually, but only because there is a speed limit, and I'm keeping to it.
This is a car in the mould of the original BMW M5 - there is shattering performance in a package roomy enough for five people and their luggage, but little to advertise the fact. On the Galant, the biggest giveaway is the modest boot-mounted wing. There are other caution signs of the car's potential, but these are restricted to subtle 'VR-4' badges, an exhaust pipe that looks like a tennis ball launcher, and silver Mitsubishi diamonds, instead of the usual red ones.
If a boy racer successfully spots one and is mad or irresponsible enough to challenge it, he'd better make sure that his car is capable of 0-100kph in 6.8 seconds. Mind you, the performance in a VR-4 is available at the simple extension of a right ankle (and perhaps a bit of left foot braking to enable the car to be launched at full throttle off the brakes). There's no frantic search for the right moment to drop the clutch, nothing for your left hand to do but grip the wheel, and no need to calculate the best point for an upshift. Press the loud pedal, and away you go.
Though perhaps ultimately trickier to use, a manual gearbox would allow the keen driver more direct access to the engine's deep reservoir of torque of course, but the VR-4 has the next best thing in the form of a five-speed auto with a Tiptronic-style gate for manual shifting. Most of the time you can leave the autobox to its own devices, though, because it's eager enough to drop a gear or two when necessary, and sensitive enough to decide what constitutes necessity.
The old VR-M had a similar 'box, but only with four ratios. As for other equipment, though, the VR-4 seems to be a step back. Some of the feel-good gizmos from the VR-M are conspicuous by their absence in the VR-4, such as the Lexus-style fluorescent gauges, the rather nifty glass sunroof, and the powered driver's chair. I guess you're paying for the wonderful engine, as well as the four-wheel drive.
Sure enough, if the in-cabin specs look skimpy, what lurks under the bonnet is impressive enough to compensate. The heart of the VR-4 is a lovely quad-cam 24 valve 2.5-litre V6 (in normally aspirated form, this XX4GD engine powered the Galant VR). A pair of intercooled turbochargers is the ace in the Mitsubishi's hand, making all that horsepower possible.
It's a sweet application, too, like most modern turbo jobs. Turbo lag? There's none of it, and you're simply fooled into thinking that there must be a well-tuned 4-litre V8 under the Galant's bonnet. After all, the way the engine produces its horsepower is similar to that of a large engine, with a substantial torque peak of 363Nm at just 4000rpm. Surprisingly, the engine turns rather raucous and ragged once it approaches the redline, however, which is uncharacteristic of the V6s in other Mitsubishis.
Putting the power down cleanly is a four-wheel drive system that splits the torque 50:50 between the front and rear axles in normal driving, and then varying the ratio according to whichever end of the car needs it most.
Behind the wheel however, the drive feels a little rear-biased, which better suits sporty driving anyway. There's more traction than even the engine can defeat, and if you manage to get wheelspin in the Galant, it probably means you're on top of an oily patch. Despite the surplus of traction, however, the Galant is a weighty car on relatively narrow tyres, so you'll never get away with heaving into a corner, yanking the wheel over and expecting the car to turn cleanly. Go in too fast and the car will scrub away the excess speed with understeer.
It's far better to ease the Galant into a corner entry, settle it neatly onto its firmish suspension, and then power out hard on the throttle, allowing the four-wheel drive system to do the work. It pays to remember that four wheel drive doesn't allow you to brake later, it merely lets you get back on the power sooner, and the Galant will remind you of the fact.
Mind you, while the Galant has enough cornering ability to thrill, it ultimately lacks the steering sensitivity to utterly satisfy. Indeed, far from being a bespoke driving tool, it is a family car on steroids. And we all know that steroid abuse can get you into serious trouble, don't we?
The Galant VR-4 has a turn of speed that is highly addictive, so proceed with caution if you buy one. Have too much fun in the car, and before you know it, it'll be Mr Driver, say hello to Mr Policeman. An then say good bye to Mr Licence.
VR-4 Review by High Performance Imports
