Mitsubishi has seen the writing on the wall. With ever-improving designs from both foreign and domestic manufacturers, the designers at the three-diamond studios have had to get busy improving their bread-and-butter car.

Built to compete with the likes of the Honda Accord, Ford Contour, Toyota Camry, and Nissan Altima, last year's Galant fell short of most of the competition. Not as durable as the Honda, fun-to-drive as the Contour, prestigious as the Camry, nor polished as the Altima, the Galant seemed to be having an identity crisis. Looking at the sales numbers, it appears that Mitsubishi was failing to attract the customers that the other compact car makers were bringing into the fold.

This year, however, things are different. Mitsubishi has addressed most of our main gripes about the interior of the car. The cheap and flimsy center console has been replaced by a redesigned unit that is the proper height for resting one's arm upon. The chintzy dashboard plastic has been upgraded, and additional sound deadening material has been installed to quiet the buzz from the engine compartment.

We're still waiting to see a V6 engine offered in the Galant. At this point, the Nissan Altima is the Galant's only competition that makes do with just a four-cylinder powerplant. And unlike the Nissan, which cranks out 154-horsepower, the 2.4-liter Mitsu powerplant feels overtaxed when combined with an automatic transmission. There are rumors that a V6 will be introduced within the next few years; we hope that they aren't just rumors.

If you are in the market for an around-town car that doesn't look like everything else on the road, the Mitsubishi Galant should make a satisfying choice.