2008 Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart review
January 30, 2008 by Karl Peskett
Introduced in 2004 the Colt has been a quiet achiever in the small car segment. Only in 2006 was a manual variant added, and it saw sales increase slightly, but rivals such as the Swift, Jazz and Mazda 2 had already garnered more of the market.
So, in late 2006, Mitsubishi saw fit to introduce the Colt Ralliart in an effort to boost sales. Using the same 1.5-litre motor but adding a small turbocharger has upped the power from 77kW to 113kW (a substantial jump of 46%), and bumped the peak torque from 141Nm to 210Nm (a similar increase of 48%).
The respectable rise does come at the cost of turbo lag. And when the revs increase, coarseness begins to rear its ugly head, especially above 4500rpm, but fuel economy is still quite good.
Adding over 40% more power and torque can have disastrous consequences if the rest of the car hasn’t been beefed up. Fortunately, suspension, brakes, tyres and wheels have all been upgraded, and the result is a makeover which, although you wouldn’t call extreme, makes the car a different animal.
The increase in thickness of the stabiliser bar at the front, for instance, is only 1mm, but it’s amazing what a millimetre can do. Bodyroll is contained, and combined with the uprated springs, a strut tower brace, better dampers and more rigid suspension components, the Colt Ralliart is suddenly sporting. This comes as a shock when you look at the car, which is easily perceived as top-heavy.
I reviewed this car over a year ago and probably would have awarded it five wheels! The Colt Ralliart is totally underrated but perhaps slightly overpriced when compared to say a Polo GTI. Thing is though, the Colt will demolish the Polo, the moment you hit any curvy sections, and the sports seats are phenomenal.
Great review as always Karl.
you guys are missing a next button on the 5th page
Its like a bad mullet,
Looks business up front and for the back… well WTF IS THAT!
It might beat a Polo GTi round some corners, but the Polo is streets ahead in every other way.
I would still prefer Suzuki Swift Sprots, looks better. But don’t know about the performance, maybe if Suzuki release one with a turbo, maybe….
Golf is better and cheaper! Has 5 seats! The Colt only has four!
It does look like it has five seats, but i heard it only has four (roadahead mag)and a 3 star ANCAP is pretty bad!
Duck, the golf is not cheaper (around $40k)
your thinking of the vw polo gti at $27k
for less than $2000 you can give the polo an APR ecu flash and it makes 150kw and 320nm. eat that colt
Grant – the Colt Ralliart will hammer the Polo (that’s with the APR ecu flash) on any twisty section you care to name.
^^^^^^^^^^Sorry i meant Polo GTi
Out of these five cars what would you rather buy…………………
Peugeot 207 GT ($31,990)
VW Polo GTi ($26,990)
Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart ($29,990)
Suzuki Swift Sport ($23,990)
Opel Corsa VXR (I dont know how much it costs and i know they dont sell it in Australia but im wondering if people would consider this than the other cars above)
^^^^^^^^^Peugeot 207 GT is $31,490.
I think these are cool, had a look on carsales.com.au and they can be had 2nd hand with less than 10,000 km on them for around $20k, which is damn good I think, tho it doesn’t bode well for future resale value
When you drive one of these things will be the only time you will really appreciate how much fun it is, this is all about the rally winning heritage Mitsubishi has earned.
Wait for the Lancer EvoX and even the Ralliart variants this year.
I bought one for the wife, I love driving the car and being a large person 6″ and over 100Kilos I can sit in the back seat very easily. Its a great car that handles, stops and goes and doesnt look like everything else on the road.
2 thumbs up to Mitsubishi, Well done!
Considering you can buy a Ralliart for $25,990 Drive Away Brand new, as per the national advertising campaign, that changes the whole dynamics of the competition. Maybe if the Polo was 25K driveway it could be comparable, but since it’s now well over 7K more on road, then its VERY hard to go past EVO’s little brother.
About time a TRD Yaris joins the party…
hmmm…?
Love the concept, but the shape…? I dont know? Just seems so tall and lanky :(
TRD Yaris??
Mmmm, just what everyone needs. A ’sporty’ microwave.
I have owned one for 5 months and they are great. A few minor downfalls such as road noise and no cruise control but 5 year warranty and blasts a XR4/Polo GTI for performance and individuality. Much safer than the motorbike I sold and great on fuel – 8ltr/100 even when thrashed
I love it! it is literally a mini-evo, I bet it’s good on the insurance too.
Lookswise at the front, it’s great, I don’t know about the rear though and the fact it looks like a mini people carrier from the side.
It is definitely something a bit special though. Anyone know if this is a limited run thing? when ralliart gets involved they seem to like their limited editions
This is a fun car to drive around, good performance and good on fuel, the only thing that it really lack is the after market parts, however with some right parts this car can stand up well against the rest of the competition even in terms of after market
Just bought one of these 2nd hand last week and it is awesome… I love it. I was downgrading from a larger car and can’t believe I didn’t do that earlier. As for VW, I think that is a brand on the way out. Build quality is being questioned quite a bit, especially since they moved a lot of their “factories” to South Africa…
This vehicle is truly awsome. I borrowed a friends for the w/e and was totally amazed, it’s very quick and handling is perfect, it’s wierd because to look at the car, you can’t picture it turning so well.. Anyway I’m bying one asap. Oh and the seats are insane they hold on to you like glue, makes u feel very safe.