Mirages And Blindspots
by David Finlay (04 Apr 05)

The Mirage is the Colt for people who don't want (or can't afford) the turbocharged CZT but wouldn't mind a car that looked just like it. It therefore gets foglights, alloy wheels, red trim and so on, but retains the standard engine - in this case, the 94bhp 1.3-litre four-cylinder petrol unit.

I don't believe the Colt is shown to its best advantage in 1.3 form. As mentioned in our launch report of the three-door version, I'm a big fan of the 1.1. Although the larger engine is disproportionately more powerful, with an extra 20bhp available, it doesn't feel that much stronger, though I'd be prepared to believe that I'm being duped by the wonderful three-cylinder roar of the 1.1 which makes the 1.3's more conventional song seem dull in comparison.

The extra power is enough, however, to highlight one of the Colt's basic problems, which is that its ride quality really isn't good enough. This is an issue even at low speeds, and when you're pressing on at speeds that would leave the 1.1 gasping the lack of suspension control is enough to make the handling very wayward. It's not long before you want to slow down, either because you're concerned about your ability to keep the car on the tarmac or because you are beginning to feel queasy.

As with other models in the range, the 1.3 Mirage scores highly for passenger room and - thanks to the movable rear seat - flexibility. At one stage I had to transport four people, self included, across town, and frankly I didn't think the Colt would be able to do it without howls of pain and indignation from the pair in the rear. But they seemed happy enough, even when I invited them to criticise.

Personally I find the back of a Colt three-door an uncomfortable place to be, since the very stylish but very small rear side windows create a feeling of claustrophobia. They also do major damage to the rearward visibility, which is my excuse for several atrocious attempts to fit this neat and manouevrable little car into enormous and inviting parking spaces (I really couldn't see where I was going, honest).

I'm more concerned still by the view up front, or rather the view to either side of the bonnet. As I've mentioned before, the windscreen pillars are particularly thick, and the driver sits very close to them. The size of the resulting blindspots has to be experienced to be believed.

On one occasion I approached a T junction with the intention of turning right on to a major road. At the same time, a large pickup turned left off that road into my junction. I wasn't aware of its existence until it came out of the right-hand blindspot and became visible through the door window. If it had been out of control I would not have known about it until it hit me.

Unlike many other things - for example engine power, trim levels, specification and so on - windscreen pillar thickness is not something that can be changed during the production life of a car. You just have to wait until the model is replaced by another one, which won't be happening to the Colt any time soon. Until then, I can only advise Colt owners to double-check what's happening to either side of straight ahead, especially at busy junctions.

Price: £9749
Capacity: 1332cc
Power: 94bhp
0-62mph: 11.0 seconds
Maximum speed: 112mph
Economy: 56.5mpg extra urban, 47.1mpg combined
CO2 emissions: 143g/km
Insurance: Group 5
Towing capacity: 750kg braked
Mitsubishi figures.

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