Auto Trader Ten Point Test Rating - 73%

The coupe cabriolet version of the new Mitsubishi Colt is a marriage of European styling with Japanese technical nous.

Read on for our full test, or click below to skip to a section.

Looks | Looks Inside | Practicality | Ride and Handling | Performance
Running Costs | Reliability | Safety | Equipment | X-Factor | Rivals

1. Looks
The Colt is a smart-looking car: perhaps a little on the conservative side, but far more tolerable than its attention-seeking rival the Nissan Micra C+C.  The back end is a little bulky with the hood down – put the roof up and it looks very coupe-like. There’s some nice detail too, like the rear light which protrudes from the boot like a small spoiler.
Verdict 7/10

2. Looks inside
The designers are clearly aiming for stylish and funky with the interior but fall a little short, partly down to some cheap components. I thought the handbrake was going to snap off and the fuel filler release was lost in a sea of grey plastic.

The sporty trim on the steering wheel, gear stick and pedals – i.e., the important places – is spot on. Circular controls are very ‘in’ these days and they’re everywhere on the Mitsubishi Colt – on the stereo, air vents and instruments.

If there’s one eyesore in the cockpit of a CZC it’s the tacky instruments panel – one lapse into the cutesy world of the Micra.
Verdict 8/10

3. Practicality
Let’s get the obvious thing out of the way: the rear seats are utterly useless. No matter how ill-behaved your kids are, squeezing them in there would be too cruel. No one should contemplate getting in the back of this car for anything but the briefest trips.

The boot space is almost entirely taken up by the roof when you’ve got the top down. But with the roof up – and, let’s face it, that’s going to be at least 11 months a year in Britain – you’ve got plenty of space to sling your shopping bags.
Verdict 6/10

4. Ride and Handling
With the roof slashed off, Mitsubishi engineers have fitted braces to stop the chassis from flexing. This has generally worked, but has had the unfortunate consequence of making the steering surprisingly heavy. This is a bane when parking – but the small size of the car makes it easier to live with.

The ride is firm but gives a decent amount of grip. At higher speeds, though, it all begins to feel a little vague and unpredictable, and the firmness translates to harshness on some surfaces.
Verdict 7/10

5. Performance
We got our hands on the range-topping £15,999 1.5-litre turbo model. This was pleasantly quiet for cruising around town, and engaging fun when you wound it up a bit. The magic numbers are 3,000 and 4,000 revs – push the engine and you’ll fire through third, fourth and fifth gears in no time. I could have spent all day doing that.

It’ll get you to 62 mph from a standing start in 8.4s and carry you up to 126 mph. With the hood up it’s a surprisingly good motorway cruiser too. Not too much noise and reasonably comfortable.
Verdict 9/10

6. Running Costs
You pay for this kind of fun at the pumps though, but when you practice restraint and its fuel efficiency is quite acceptable. The Colt CZC scores 39.8 MPG on the combined cycle but the 47 litre tank empties quickly on long runs. It puts out 168g of CO2 per kilometre which is only a fraction more than the Micra and needs a service every 12,500 miles.
Verdict 7/10

7. Reliability
I was a bit concerned with the condition of some of the interior kit. Some of the covers around the hood felt a bit flimsy, I managed to knock a plastic cowling off one of the seats with my foot, and of course there was that Lego handbrake.

Clearly the money has been spent on the automatic folding metal roof and they have made a good job of it. It can’t rival the 12 second deployment time of new Mazda MX-5’s hardtop, but in the event of a sudden shower you can get under cover quickly enough.

What was a problem was the wind noise at high speed from what appeared to be an ill-fitting seal on the passenger window.
Verdict 7/10

8. Safety
The Colt comes with the usual array of acronyms that make you feel safe: ABS with electronic brake force distribution, airbags and so on. Good to see anti-trapping windows, too.
Verdict 8/10

9. Equipment
For the premium price you’d expect a lot of bells and whistles and the CZC falls a little short of expectations here. You get manual air conditioning, a neat integrated stereo system which plays MP3s (a nice touch) and steering wheel mounted audio controls. Heated front seats are a bonus for chilly days with the top down.

Security features include keyless entry, an alarm and engine immobiliser. Of course, the biggest feature of all is the roof but even taking that into account you feel a little short-changed.
Verdict 7/10

10. X-Factor
The Colt CZC may be priced to match the Micra C+C, but its Japanese rival is just too plain ugly for many to consider it a contender. But at this price it is dangerously close to the Mazda MX-5 Hardtop which it struggles to compete with.

That aside with rivals from Volkswagen (Eos) and Ford (Focus ST) making it to the party a little late, the CZC straddles two popular markets in the UK – hot hatches and convertibles – and it does both tricks pretty well.
Verdict 7/10

Rivals:
You might want to consider:

Ford Focus CC
Volkswagen Polo GTi
Peugeot 206 GT

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