Ice Colt caught in the

Mitsubishi Colt 1.3 ClearTec Motion Plus

There are supposed to be people who imagine the life of auto journalists as constantly traveling through the area, dining in fine restaurants and spending the night in luxury hostels. And what's more, you're always and only on the move in the sportiest automobiles in the world and at the expense of industry.

And sometimes, but only sometimes it is.

The appointment for the Mitsubishi Colt Certainly was not previously filed under the chapter “exciting test car”. This is how motivated “The Test Drivers” made their way to the reception of the little Japanese.

But: After only 10 km in the little white Colt it was clear that this is the one driving Test candidate of the year 2012, the test car that has the greatest potential for surprises.

If you have one Porsche Panamera Diesel drives, then you expect a certain sovereignty. When you drive a Nissan 370Z along the entertaining country roads in the Spessart, you expect a certain sportiness.

What do you expect when you are out and about in a Mitsubishi Colt for a few days?
Equipment frustration and compromises in driving comfort, for example. Based on the former SMART advertising slogan: "Reduced to the maximum." The Mitsubishi Colt had an easy task in the test environment, it just had to get us from A to B completely freed from any claim to driving comfort, quality and luxury.

Dry from A to B - Not only did the Cleartec-Mini do that flawlessly, no - it surprised every driver in the process. And that is purely positive.

Because the Mitsubishi Colt is actually the first real “people’s car” that we have driven in a long time. The price list starts with an unbeatable price of under €10.000 and thus Mitsubishi achieves something that only cheap brands in Europe can do. A car for the people, without compromises and under the magical €10.000 limit.

The test car hadAs is customary with the press vehicles, of course the full program on board. With the small Mitsubishi this means, for example:

Instead of the base engine 1.1l with 75 hp, the 95 hp 1.3 liter 4 cylinder was tested. He appeared in the surcharge-free current fashion color “white” and with tinted window panes in the second row. The model we drive is called the “Colt Motion Plus” and for me it is an absolute price breaker.

The friendly Mitsubishi dealer is charging €12.790 for this current promotional model, making it a real “people’s car” in the Polo class. And because inner size isn't everything, this special model with heated seats, cruise control, MP3 radio and electric exterior mirrors is sent into the race for buyers' favor.

Mini van or maxi small car?

Just between us, heated seats weren't the biggest surprise - but cruise control with steering wheel operation and a sound system with MP3 function and steering wheel remote control - that's unusual in this price range and was completely unexpected.

The driving performance was also completely unexpected. Of course you can't expect any heroic deeds from a 1.3 liter engine, but the 95PS engine with its cute cubic capacity works bravely across all speed ranges. If you let the tachometer needle wander past the 1 in gears 3 to 4.000, you will experience an angry little engine that wants to accelerate with vigor. The “hero of the combustion work”, who has taken his place under the front hood and drives the front wheels, is slowed down only by the relatively long gear ratio of gears 4 and 5 to stop on the right pedal, because the display of the speedometer rewards so much patience with the message of a top speed of 185 km / h.

Mitsubishi also offers a turbo version of the Colt, then 150 hp are called to work. That also explained why the chassis feels so grown up. It doesn't rumble over bumps, but despite winter tires it remains neutral for a long time until it slips harmlessly over the front wheels understeering towards the edge of the curve. The chassis offers a pleasing compromise of firm springs and comfortable dampers - but the 95 PS variant could do with a stronger stabilizer on the front axle, which would probably minimize the inclination of the body in brisk curves.

With its 95 hp, the Colt is exempt from the claim to be a sports car, and so the compromise on the chassis is considered successful.

Due to its body length of 3 meters 88, the Colt remains a car with which one can easily find a parking space in cities. The Colt is 10 cm wider than it is high, which at first glance looks exactly the other way around. One has the impression that the Mitsubishi Colt is a van that is still in its infancy. Especially from the rear and in the sidelines, it promises an unusually large interior. The interior can also keep the promise of enough space awakened from the outside. For a car with a 2 meter 50 wheelbase, the little Colt offers enough space for 2 lucky ones in the first row and 2 less lucky ones in the second row.
Seats with seat surfaces that are too short are typical for this vehicle class, but the standard seat height adjustment for the driver is unusual.

The side windows and the rear window are unusually steep for a modern car, but on the one hand help to prevent the interior from heating up due to the sun's rays and on the other hand with a perfect overview when parking. The smallest series from the Japanese brand Mitsubishi does not need a parking beeper.

Of course the interior is made of cheap plastics. But really more quality and haptic luxury is only available in the region from twice the cost price. In the class of “around 10.000 € new cars” there is no competitor who is better equipped in the interior or rolls into the sales area with finer plastics.

And so the Mitsubishi Colt achieved one thing above all else during the test: bringing spoiled car testers back to the ground of everyday individual traffic and proving that you don't need leather seats to be happy and that a small four-cylinder is sufficient in the city.

Luxury looks different. But also poverty.

Got Ice Colt, I'd say!