The Sporty Option
by David Finlay (03 Mar 05)

Mitsubishi emphasises that the three-door version of its Colt hatchback should be considered as a separate model from the five-door we already know. Whether or not anyone will actually think in those terms, it's certainly true that the two models don't simply differ by the number of openings on each side.

In fact, the three-door is 60mm shorter and 30mm lower than the five, in an attempt to give this car a more sporty image. Other than the bonnet and the front wings, no body panels are shared between the models.

There are several similarities, of course. The two cars share the same styling concept, described by Mitsubishi as the "One Motion design philosophy". They are built at the same factory in the Netherlands. In each case the rear seats can be positioned to the benefit of either passenger comfort or luggage space. And the interiors both have translucent plastic detailing which Mitsubishi assures us is "acclaimed", though I must admit I haven't yet met anyone who likes it much.

Both cars also share a huge windscreen which allows a splendid view of whatever is directly in front, though its pillars are so wide that the view of anything slightly to one side or the other is compromised. Visbility is reduced still further in the three-door thanks to teardrop-shaped rear side windows. These look great from the outside, but they force the use of massive C-pillars. Any manoeuvre which involves reversing therefore relies to some extent on guesswork, and this seems a careless piece of design considering that many owners will spend a lot of their time driving in town.

Those small windows also make the rear of the car quite claustrophobic - I'm not sure I'd want to be stuck back there for very long, even with the seats in their rearmost position. In that configuration, luggage space is a very modest 155 litres, but this improves to 235 litres if you move the seats forward, 455 litres if you fold them and 535 litres if you tumble them forwards.

These figures assume that the car is loaded to the window line; maximum volume increases to 760 litres if you stuff the car up to roof level.

Top of the range is the high-performance CZT, which we'll be dealing with in a separate road test. For the others, there are four levels - Red (and yes, you can only buy this one with red paintwork), Attivo, Equippe and Mirage (this last giving the look of the CZT without either the speed or the running costs). Engine options are 1.1- and 1.3-litre petrol and 1.5-litre turbo diesel.

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