DRIVE REVIEW: THERE'S no good reason why the joys of this Mitsubishi should have been such a surprise.

It's over 10 years since I drove my first Galant and decided that this was the Japanese BMW. Honda might qualify, but Mitsubishi wins because of its relative rarity. The marque has also twice been voted the most reliable car in Britain.

You might almost call it the Japanese Merc, except that Mitsubishi had and still has more style.

And this Galant estate has style in spades.

It starts with the sleek, purposeful but glamorous appearance in a way that Volvo, King of Estates, still has not managed to match but its winning ways go far beyond that.

With its impressive looks and impressive abilities, the Galant has always had more appeal than its small brother, the mis-named Carisma, and even the earlier Lancer.

But the real reason for constant delight in this Galant was the underlying sense of hidden power, from a 2.5-litre V6 engine which is always ready to whisk you away at the slightest touch of the accelerator pedal.

This is presumably why my test car is known as the Galant Sport, the latest in the collection which brings the current range to 10 a rather extensive list for a marque which, after all, doesn't sell in massive numbers in the UK.

The Sport is even available in estate-car form, showing yet again that these one-time workaday variants for plumbers and painters have now become stylish to own, under the current description of 'lifestyle estates' which makes them not only more acceptable but also more desirable.

This Galant estate is certainly desirable, without losing any of its practicalities. Compared with the saloon, it has a two-inch longer overhang at the rear for load carrying, and inside there's more headroom a smidgin more in the front, rising to two extra inches in the rear.

If statistics really mean anything to you, you may raise an eyebrow to learn that the saloon's boot capacity (470 litres) beats the estate by 50 litres, until you let the rear seats down, which gives you up to 1,400 litres.

Such practicality is combined with a hint of glamour from the secretive dark-tinted windows surrounding the rear compartment (from the driver's door backwards).

This continues the racy looks of the 12-spoke alloy wheels, the low suspension, and the grille area set at a purposeful angle.

Mitsubishi talk about the car's 'shark-style' nose. The words 'bullet-like' kept coming into my mind, and certainly the ready performance is always ready to shoot you on your way.

The Galant, in either saloon or estate form, gives you a choice of five engines which refuse to limit the Galant's target market to just one sector.

The entry 2.0 Equippe, at £15,995, competes with cars in the Mondeo range, but the higher-spec 2.5 V6 Galant aims at a superior level.

In between, you find the 2.0 Sport, and the 2.4 GDI uses the maker's direct injection technology.

I drove the bigger-engined 2.5-litre V6 Sport, which produces 161bhp, and in the saloon takes 8.2 seconds to hit 62mph, and goes on to 140mph.

My test car was automatic (the gearstick gets a chrome surround), though in sports mode you can manually change gear without the need for a clutch.

Even so, the auto reduces those performance figures to 9.9 seconds 0-62mph, and a maximum of 127mph. It's still impressive, and the constant feel was of a car with lots of power in reserve and an eagerness for the freedom of the open road.

The Sport is fitted with sports seats, and a leather trimmed steering wheel and gearknob.

ABS braking is standard on all models, along with driver and passenger airbags.

The Sport also gives you side-impact airbags, and three rear seat belts.

Fact File

Mitsubishi Galant 2.5 Sport estate

Body: 15ft 4in by 5ft 9in five-door five-seat sporty estate.

Power train: 2498cc 6-cylinder 24-valve 161bhp engine driving front wheels through auto gearbox.

Performance: 0-62mph in 9.9 seconds, top speed 127 mph.

MPG: urban 20, extra urban 37, combined 28. Tank: 14 gallons

Price: £21,145.

Insurance: Group 15.

Servicing: Major 54,000 miles, minor 9,000 miles.

Warranty: 3 years unlimited mileage, 6 years anti-rust

Your local dealer: Millmead Mitsubishi, Lower Bristol Road, Bath BA2 3DR. Telephone: (01225) 324900.