Mitsubishi Colt ClearTec (2009-) Review

Overview

• Next: Reliability and Quality

Mitsubishi has climbed aboard the 'green' bandwagon with its ClearTec range and the Colt hatchback is the first model from the Japanese car maker to receive the technology. The rest of Mitsubishi's model ranges (except the L200 and Shogun) will feature ClearTec variants within the next three years.

The modifications to the Colt that help improve fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions include low rolling resistance tyres, improved gear ratios and a high-efficiency alternator that only recharges the car's battery when it needs to, reducing the amount of energy the car uses.

This Colt's main fuel-saving feature, though, is its Auto Stop & Go (ASG). This stop/start system switches off the car's engine when stationary at traffic lights and automatically restarts it again when the driver depresses the clutch to pull off.

Stop/start is nothing new - BMW, Smart and Land Rover are well ahead - and that shows with Mitsubishi's system. Its self-monitoring system means that the clutch pedal is just one of seven different elements that determine whether the engine keeps running when the car is at rest.

We discovered, for example, that if the air conditioning unit is on and the car isn't at the desired temperature, the Stop & Go system doesn't allow the engine to switch off because the air con system needs more energy from the engine to keep working.

Like the rest of the Colt range, the ClearTec receives the new 'jet fighter' front-end styling and, despite being a green model, still comes with 15" alloy wheels - good news for those who want to save the planet and maintain a little bit of street cred.

Prices for the Colt ClearTec range from £9,599 to £10,099. So can this clean, green eco-machine compete with the diesel superminis that have been tweaked to emit lower levels of CO2? Read on to find out.