Mitsubishi Colt (04 on) - Review

Four engines are available in the Colt, three petrols and one diesel unit. The entry-level model is the 1.1-litre with 75bhp but unless you're only going to be sticking to town driving it's best avoided and 0-62mhp takes a leisurely 13.4 seconds. The 95bhp 1.3-litre and 109bhp 1.5-litre units are a better choice, the latter is certainly the one to go for if you regularly undertake motorway trips and 0-62mph takes 10 seconds, while economy is still a respectable 46mpg. The sole diesel is a punchy 1.5-litre DI-D which although only has 95bhp provides decent pulling power. It's a little noisy, especially on start-up or at high revs, but provides a very similar 0-62mph time as the 1.5-litre petrol while averaging 59mpg.

The Colt is designed for city driving so the steering is light, making parking and tight manoeuvres simple. At higher speeds it weights up and the Mitsubishi handles surprisingly well, turning into corners with decent of front end grip. The suspension is quite soft which results in some bodyroll, but the trade off is a comfortable ride over rough surfaces - although it can bounce over bigger bumps. A short and snappy gearshift from the five-speed manual gearbox makes exploiting the Colt's reasonable power enjoyable while it's comfortable on the motorway too.