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By
EWAN KENNEDY
27 November 2006
Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart is a five-door hot hatch at a most
modest price. It’s one of the weapons being used by the local branch
of the Japanese giant in its battle to re-establish its position as one
of the major players in this country.
This little Ralliart beast is the real thing in the car
performance field, not simply a dressed up pretender. Power comes
from a turbocharged and intercooled 1.5-litre engine based on that
used in the standard car but with significant changes to let it
cope with the additional stresses created. In Ralliart format the
engine generates 113 kW of power, and 210 Nm of torque at 3500
rpm.
These are not outputs on the face of it, but in a car that
weights just 1130 kg (only 60 kg heavier than the standard Colt)
there’s more than enough power for the keen driver to punt the
Ralliart along hard and fast. Turbo lag is likely to be acceptable
to all but the most demanding of control freaks behind the
steering wheel.
The Ralliart Colt comes only with a manual gearbox, a
five-speed unit in this case. Six speeds would have been nice but
would have added to the cost of the car, it’s likely that we
will see a six-speed unit in the future.
The gear shift lever is taller than we would like but works
well enough, with decent feel and a reasonably precise action. The
length of the lever is dictated by the fact that this is a tall
car so you sit relatively high.
The Ralliart Colt has a more rigid body than the standard Colt
to give the suspension a more stable platform on which to work.
There is a sports suspension system that’s complemented by
upgraded brakes and larger wheels and tyres.
Standard safety features include ABS, stability and traction
control, dual front airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners and load
limiters.
Colt Ralliart is something really special in the appearance
stakes. It has a standout mesh slot in the bonnet to feed air to
the intercooler. This lets it extract the greatest amount of
energy from the oxygen in the air, thus producing more power while
using less fuel and creating fewer harmful emissions.
There's also a striking looking body kit with a front airdam, a
mesh grille, over-fender flares, big side sills, and a rear
spoiler sitting over an extended rear bumper that incorporates an
air diffuser.
And don’t forget the purposeful look created by a large
chrome exhaust tailpipe, fog lights and big 16-inch alloy wheels.
Inside there is a leather-clad steering wheel and the handbrake
lever gets the same upmarket treatment. In a very appealing touch,
both driver and front passenger get the same Recaro sports seats
as are fitted to the Lancer Evo IX. They are slightly on the small
side but support well during cornering and certainly have the sort
of appearance you would expect in a car of this type.
We were able to test the Colt Ralliart over an extended
distance, and smiled to ourselves on many occasions at the way it
provided safe driving fun in numerous locations.
The suspension is firm but comfortable although a couple of
moderate sized potholes did send a shudder through the car.
Handling was safe and predictable and the little Mitsubishi
cornered at high speeds while providing plenty of feedback to the
driver by way of the steering wheel and the seat of their pants.
Fuel consumption in day-to-day driving is similar to that of
the standard Colt engine due to the extra efficiency designed into
the engine. Expect usage of seven to eight litres per hundred
kilometres in motorway conditions and in easy country driving.
Suburban use in normal conditions will see consumption climb to
nine to eleven litres per hundred.
Push any turbo engine and it will prove thirsty and harsh
driving could see these figures rise by as much as 25 per cent.
If you can’t afford the $29,990 to buy a Ralliart Colt
there's the option of dressing up the standard Colt with a $4000
Ralliart body kit. This seems a bit like cheating to us, but there
has always been a market for the car that looks the part without
actually having the performance to back up its appearance. And by
avoiding the turbo engine you will save substantially on insurance
costs.
Whether on the open road of a quiet Sunday morning, or touring
the show-off auto scene the little Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart looks,
feels and sounds just right.
Mitsubishi Australia isn’t satisfied with simply introducing
a hot hatch variant of the Colt to signal its sporting intentions
in Australia. A radical looking little coupe-cabriolet has also
arrived and will the subject of future road test.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Colt ES 1.5-litre five-door hatch - $15,990
Colt LS 1.5-litre five-door hatch - $17,490
Colt VRX 1.5-litre five-door hatch - $19,990
Ralliart Colt 1.5-litre five-door hatch - $29,990
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard on all models
Air Conditioning: Standard on all models
Automatic Transmission: Not offered on ES or Ralliart, $1500
option on LS, $2000 option on VRX
CD Player: Standard on all models
Central Locking: Standard on all models
Cruise Control: Standard on all models
Driver Airbag: Standard on all models
Passenger Airbag: Standard on all models
Front Side Airbags: Not offered on Ralliart, $1200 option on other
models
SPECIFICATIONS (Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart 1.5-litre turbocharged
five-door hatch)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.468 litres
Configuration: Four cylinders in line
Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 10.0:1
Bore/Stroke: 75.5 x 82.0mm
Maximum Power: 113kW @ 6000rpm
Maximum Torque: 210Nm @ 3500rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Five-speed
Automatic Transmission: Not offered
Final Drive Ratio: 3.737:1
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 3925mm
Wheelbase: 2500mm
Width: 1695mm
Height: 1550mm
Turning Circle: 10.8 metres
Kerb Mass: 1130kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 45 litres
Towing Ability: Not supplied
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: Independent, MacPherson struts, front strut
tower brace, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: H-shaped torsion beam, coil springs, anti-roll
bar
Front Brakes: Ventilated disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: NA
Standing 400 Metres: NA
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Fuel Type: Petrol 91RON
Fuel Consumption - Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 6.7 L/100km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Five years/130,000km
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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