Car: Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart
Prices: £12,849-£13,394 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 14
Emissions: 161g/km
Performance: 0-60mph 7.4s / Max Speed 131mph
Fuel Consumption: (urban) 32.8mpg / (extra urban) 49.6mpg / (combined) 41.5mpg
Safety: Front, side and curtain airbags, ABS with EBD, M-ASTC.
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height 3810/1695/1520mm
Sport Goodness
Our Rating: No Rating Available
Mitsubishi has spent a decent amount of time recently building cars to compete in the World Rally Championships with a great deal of success including at least one win. This has prompted them to add some of the cool rally inspired bits to their various car lines under branding they call Ralliart. The Ralliart name has been attached to cars in the Lancer and now the Colt line-up.
The Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart comes with a sporty 1.5-litre turbocharged Petrol under the bonnet that produces 147bhp of power. That is a serious about amount of muscle for a light little thing like the Colt. That type of power can take the car from 0-60mph in 7.4seconds with a top speed of 13mph. Now people who have never seen the Colt before might not think those numbers to be all that impressive, but this is a supermini car being discussed that cost less that £14,000. One of the most impressive things though is max power can be had at just 6,000rpm. The Colt Ralliart also gets a torque rating of 210Nm at 3,500rpm.
Mitsubishi has set up the underbody of the Colt Ralliart with a stiffer suspension than the rest of the line-up as well as thicker roll bars. To help give drivers a little more control they have also taken back the threshold for the M-ASTC stability and traction control systems which will allow for a little more slip and slide. Of course at some point the system will kick to help save the overly aggressive driver.
Total measurements on the Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart come in at just 3,870mm in length, 1,550mm in height and 1,695mm in width sat on top of a 2,500mm wheelbase. This combination coupled with the wheels being placed far and wide allows for maximum usable interior space as well. The Colt boasts the best legroom of the class thanks to the seating configurations. It also comes standard with a 40/60 split back seat that allows for more stuff to be carted around when needed. The passenger seat can also be folded forward to help with longer items as well.
The exterior of the Ralliart version of the Colt gets the addition of bigger wheels, side sill extension, privacy glass, a sports exhaust system and a rear spoiler. The inside also gets some sporty touches that include sport seats, aluminum pedals and race inspired gauges. While the car does not scream World Rally Championships it does look a bit more interesting in this guise.
Mitsubishi seems poised to take on the likes of VW and Renault with the Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart. This is a supermini with a pepped up engine package that will make any sports car loving person happy. The added stiffness of the suspension helps the car feel like a real racer and not just a show car.
Mitsubishi has equipped the car with a suspension system that allows for a relatively smooth ride along most normal street surfaces. Take the car into a part of the city that is pockmarked with potholes and there is some jiggling about that occurs. This smooth ride is accomplished with a MacPherson strut system upfront and a low volume torsion beam in the rear.
Overall the Mitsubishi Colt redo is mostly impressive at the simplicity of the changes that were made. Sometimes little tweaks can go a long way.
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