Mitsubishi Colt CZC1 this years hottest cabriolet to hit the roads.
‘Tis the season to be sunny’ or so I thought back in April when I booked the test cars for June. Without a second thought I bagged ‘this years must have’ the cabriolet. Cabriolets are becoming immensely popular in the UK despite having the worst record for bad weather in Europe. You can say that again, but eventually, this week the weather has improved enough for me to reveal all and go topless.
Kick-starting us off is Mitsubishi. Their contribution to the cabriolet market is to take the placid Colt three door variant, strip out the engine, replace with a 1.5 litre 4-cylinder 16 valve engine and put in a two-piece semi-automatic retractable hardtop complete with glass window and demister. The Colt has now become a stallion.
Why would the roof not close? Because little fingers had been tampering with the window lock. The joys of children in cabriolets!
The dinky looking exterior sees steel wheels, side coloured coded air dams, a muffler exhaust, colour coded bumpers, electrically heated door mirrors and side protectors.
Standard equipment includes air-conditioning, electric anti-trapping windows, stereo radio /CD that is MP3 compatible, six speakers with the remote controls on the leather tilt adjustable steering wheel plus height adjustable driver and passenger seats. There are a few cubby holes for drinks etc but you really do not want to leave to much on display especially with the roof open.
Talking of which, the roof has an unsettling audible warning when operating, but do not panic, you are not doing anything wrong. Two hinges simply unleash in the front, and then the electric button does the rest for you in twenty-two seconds. It will not open when the car is on the move and will not close if the window locks are on which I found out after a very long time and a thunderstorm looming.
Why would the roof not close? Because little fingers had been tampering with the window lock. The joys of children in cabriolets! Also be aware that the electric switches to operate the roof are below the electrics for the windows in the driver’s door. As you fumble to say open the window, you could very easily touch the wrong switch by mistake. A loud audible buzzer will alert you to your error.
Powered by an advanced all-alloy 16-valve petrol engine, the front wheels glide through the five speed manual transmission that has bespoke ratios to maximise the engines’ performance. This results in the Colt CZC1 cantering to 62mph in 10.5 seconds and galloping to a top speed of 114 mph. Despite this hot hatch-rivalling performance, it returns a trottering good 42.8 mpg on the combined cycle and has a tax-friendly CO2 rating of 157g/km.
The ride and handling has been enhanced to compensate for the loss of torsional rigidity - a common problem with convertibles. The result is a little rough and ready at times I will admit, but the overall performance is one of a near thoroughbred. The Colt CZC1 comes with an electrically powered rack and pinion steering that will guarantee you will not be thrown at the last hurdle facing those treacherous parking bays.
Not that you could shop for much anyway as the luggage area is quite small if the roof is open and bags have to be placed on their sides. However, I question an owner of a CZC1 being anywhere near a supermarket, more an on-line sort of person.
Safety is pretty impressive having enhanced passive safety levels from the Colt CZC’s heavily reinforced A-pillars, side sills, doors and rear bulkhead that eliminate the need for rear roll over bars. There are driver, passenger plus side airbags along with ABS, EBD plus RISE - Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution that is a system that integrates all the cars active and passive safety features. Two three point safety belts are in the rear in case the need to take the children out with you ever occurs.
Tethering the Colt CZC1 is an engine immobiliser, alarm; central locking including tailgate thus falls into insurance group 8E. The CZC1 is the not the best looking cabriolet with the roof closed. That is a different story when open where the Colt really does transform into a black beauty. A great fun drive with the best news that of affordability. For this stands in at a mere £9,999 OTR. Can you afford to rein in this Colt? Absolutely
FemaleFirst Jackie Violet