Mitsubishi Colt (2009-) Review

On the road

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Mitsubishi is used to producing high performance cars with decent handling, so it's fair to expect supreme road-holding capabilities from the Colt. For the most part it delivers, but it's still not as adept at dealing with corners as, say, the Ford Fiesta and Suzuki Swift.

Enter bends with gusto and you'll find the steering is slow to respond. The chassis offers enough grip to inspire confidence to get you through without too much drama, but expect some understeer. This is a problem in wet conditions, where you'll often find yourself turning the wheel, only to watch the nose continue to point straight ahead.

The gearchange is slick, although notchy when changing up to third and fifth, and the brakes are positive, dependable and offer reassuring levels of stopping power. The steering itself feels heavy and a little vague.

We tested the 1.3-litre CZ2, which moves along swiftly and smoothy, despite taking an eternity to get 6,500 maximum revs. It's not bad on the motorway: you'll find yourself pottering along at 70mph with the rev counter at 3,000rpm and it's all pretty relaxed - we've no complaints here.

The stats tell a similar story: the 74bhp 1.1-litre petrol engine gets you from 0-60mph in a reasonable 13.2 seconds, the 94bhp 1.3-litre in 11.1 seconds and the 147bhp 1.5-litre Ralliart in 7.6 seconds.