Galant (EA1, EA2, EA3, EA4, EA5, EA7, EA8, EC1, EC4, EC5, EC7)
The eighth-generation 1996 model continued the 1992's design themes but a five-door station wagon (known in Japan as the Legnum, derives from the Latin word regnum, meaning regal power or rank) was added while the five-door liftback was dropped. This model won the 1996–97 Car of the Year Japan award for the second time. Despite being superseded in the US and Europe from 2003, it remained on sale in other countries until 2006.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", while the Galant remained exclusive to Galant Shop locations. The Japanese market model was the first mass-produced car to use a gasoline direct injection engine, when a GDI version of the 4G93 inline-four engine was introduced.
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 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 7 July 1998, graduated to the US Environmental Protection Agency's mid-size class. The front suspension design switched from multi-link to struts, though the rear was upgraded with a stabilizer bar standard on all but the base DE model. The ES, LS and GTZ models were offered with a 195 hp (145 kW) V6 engine, the 6G72 3.0 L, mated to a standard four-speed conventional automatic. Another difference between Asian and European models was the lack of ABS, which was only installed on 3.0 L models. It received a facelift for the 2002 model year.
In August 1998, Mitsubishi introduced the Aspire as the successor of Eterna. Externally identical to the facelifted Galant at the same time of introduction.
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 features either a conventional five-speed manual or INVECS-II transmission. Some variants (all of the pre-facelift model and Type-S for the facelift model) 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.
The MIVEC version of the 6A12 was drop down from the Japanese market model, but some Asian markets were offer this engine with the trim levels called "VX-R" or "VR-M". The larger 2.5 L 6A13 was more common in the rest of the world.
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