Full Review: Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart - Mixed Bag

By John Slavin
Freelance Contributing Writer
31 August 2010

Mitsubishi’s Baby Hot Hatch
After a week with Mitsubishi’s baby hot hatch, I’m slightly less confused than I was in my first impressions blog. It took a little while to get used to the Colt, it’s quite tall, with a high driving position that’s somewhat contrary to its taut, firm ride and turbocharged engine.

But inside, the tall body gives a feeling of spaciousness, and there’s loads of cubby holes and cup-holders, so practicality is good. The materials aren’t exactly luxurious, in fact, they’re the exact opposite, but they’re put together well enough. The price for such a spacious, practical cabin is a small boot, but it’s OK for a small shopping trip and the seats are easily folded.

These are all factors that come as a priority to the type of person who’d buy a regular Colt, but they’re a bit moot to the Ralliart buyer. Indeed, ‘Ralliart’ means a lot to Mitsubishi connoisseurs, some of the very best rally machines of all time wore the badge, and the heritage attached to it means that slapping it on a Colt without first making sure it’s worthy could be a risky move…

The Colt Ralliart, though, manages to get away with it. Just. It certainly has flaws; the high driving position doesn’t inspire confidence, the steering is too heavy, and while corners can be taken at astonishing speeds it somehow doesn’t feel as exciting or involving as you might expect.

But there’s a trump card that I can’t overlook, and that’s the engine. The 1.5-litre MIVEC is absolutely brilliant. The turbocharger crams intercooled air into the engine in the most addictive way, and it sound fabulous too. It’s not ridiculous or over the top, just meaningful. I often found myself rolling down the windows at lights just to listen to the engine burble away and the turbocharger whoosh, much to the confusion of passing pedestrians. Cram your foot down and 0-60mph takes a very small amount of time; 7.4 seconds, and that’s hardly surprising because peak power is 147bhp. Lots for a car this small.


Peak Power is 147bhp. Lots for a car this small.


As a matter of fact, I don’t think at this price, there’s much that comes close. The 3dr tested comes in at £12,849, which is similar to a Twingo Renaultsport, but the Renault is less powerful and has less space. There’s also the absolutely brilliant Fiat Panda 100HP to consider, which is comes in at just over £11,000, but has a mere 99bhp, and no forced induction.

So there you have it, Mitsubishi’s Colt Ralliart is flawed but capable. But if you can cope with the quirks, you’ll definitely enjoy the engine, which is by far and away my favourite in a car at this sort of price…


Comments (9)

good article

01 September 2010 19:55 | Custom T-Shirts
Hey john, nice post. Thanks for sharing it with us. Keep on posting great post.

02 September 2010 10:14 | American Motorhomes
This is really a cute car. Hope it can be released soon in our area so that I can pimp it and everything. I also hope that my spare vehicle diagnostic equipment is compatible with it. I want to make this as my project car. =)

06 September 2010 11:57 | ferril
A real masterpiece, and the offered price it becomes a best buy...


http://www.makeandmodel.co.uk/blog/152/Aston-Martin-HQ-Gaydon-Warks-Pay-Attention-007

08 September 2010 13:21 | Mark Thomas
A real masterpiece, and the offered price it becomes a best buy...



08 September 2010 13:22 | Mark Thomas
I like this car, I hope I can drive one of this. I think this is a very secure car and I believe that the door lock actuator will be more ok than those of hondas.

05 October 2010 05:36 | tina
Really a cool car. If I got enough money. I sure get one. hahaha.
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21 October 2010 12:23 | Car claim
Cool Car Mitsubishi is a coolest brand in the car world. Mitsubishi cars are as cool as Lamborghini Gallardo cars. Really too good car.


17 January 2011 10:49 | james
Pretty good post. I hope you create more in the future.

11 March 2011 05:09 | automotive updates

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