Tiny Name, Tiny Car
by David Finlay (07 May 08)

It seems appropriate that the car with what must surely be the shortest model name in the history of the motor industry is also one of the smallest on sale in this country. The Mitsubishi i is one of those city cars which comprise a well-defined market segment of their own in Japan, and although these things have never been more than a minority interest in the UK (partly because it's rarely worth the trouble of importing them from halfway across the world) Mitsubishi reckons that demand for this one is far greater over here than the supply situation can cope with.

Part of the definition of Japanese city cars is that they can't have engines larger than 660cc. The i just qualifies, since it has a three-cylinder turbocharged petrol unit of 659cc. This produces a maximum of 57bhp, so it's pretty strong for its size, and although the performance figures don't look terrific the combination of that much power and very little weight make the car quite perky enough in most situations.

The engine and gearbox are in the back, and this gives the i an immediate advantage in town. With the major mechanical components at the other end of the car, the front carries very little weight and the steering is correspondingly fingertip-light; step from the i into any conventional front-wheel drive hatchback and you immediately realise that every turn you make in the latter involves hauling large lumps of metal on to a new course.

The i has none of this feeling, and since it's so short it also has an astonishingly tight turning circle. One result of this is that the i can be whisked through 180 degrees in one go with minimal effort when almost any other car would require a laborious three-point turn.

Manouevring in general is laughably easy, and there's more glass area behind you than in many other city cars, so visibility isn't bad. And since the only gearbox supplied with the car is a four-speed automatic, you don't even have to worry about changing gear. All in all, this is possibly the most user-friendly car you can buy for urban use.

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