Undercutting the competition...
Undercutting the competition on cost was clearly the blue oval"s intention, because the basic model costs í‚á£1,500 less than Vauxhall"s Astra VXR and is an astonishing í‚á£2,500 cheaper than the comparable Volkswagen Golf GTI.
The Colt is the first...
The Colt is the first vehicle to come from the Mitsubishi/DaimlerChrysler alliance. Both the Colt and Smart will be built at the NedCar plant in Holland, but it"s clear the Japanese firm"s designers have taken a very different approach to shaping the ideal supermini. For European markets, the Colt has a redesigned front end, which gives the sharp-edged, upright car a purposeful look.
The interior has also been tailored for our tastes, with a simple dashboard and versatile folding/sliding rear seats which rival those found in the similarly shaped Honda Jazz.
Buyers will be able to choose from 1.1, 1.3 and 1.5-litre petrol units, plus a 1.5-litre diesel. Both manual and automatic gearboxes will be available and, thanks to electric power-steering and suspension tuned specifically for use on British roads, company insiders are promising the Colt will deliver a driving experience to match that of the current class leaders.
Joining this five-door model on the Geneva show stand will be the CZ3 concept, a three-door coup탩 version which will go into production towards the end of the year. The car seen here will hit showrooms across Europe in May, but UK buyers will have to wait until 1 September.