Small, sporty and good fun to drive
Last week's news of less than impressive financial results from Smart'S parent, DaimlerChrysler (DC), must only add to the woes at the little car marque. A decision to delay yet again the introduction of the Smart brand to the US and the postponement of the latest model variant adds to questions over its very future. Indeed, several fingers pointed at Smart as one of the causes for DC's flagging finances.
Perhaps the smart people at Smart will look back wistfully at the deal with Mitsubishi to jointly build a four-seater supermini. Smart came away with the Forfour and Mitsubishi ended up with the next-generation Colt.
Of the two the Colt is the superior car in driving pleasure and finish. But there's another reason why Smart must feel put out.
Mitsubishi went on to do exactly what Smart should have - building a car on the back of the deal that has the sporting looks that could well appeal to owners of Smart's iconic two-seater Fortwo who have widened their circle beyond one best mate.
It's rare that a three-door derivative of a car warrants a separate review. In general the differences between the two involves more racy outlines on the rear side windows, a set of flip-up front seats, the odd "go-fast" stripe and, on very odd occasions, a good welding gun.
Yet in the age of segmenting and splicing the market, the differences between the two are becoming more important.
Perhaps we've been caught up in the marketing spin, but the three-door Colt, referred to as the CZ3, looks and feels a very different car. In fact it deserves more than a few extra letters to its name. Just as the new Colt should not have been associated with the old, the three-door should have been separated further from the five.
While it's an admirable car, the five-door Colt is a square family orientated affair. True, both three- and five-door versions have the same sharpened front nose. But from the back, the CZ3 looks like the proper end result of years of messing with clay models in the design studio. It's youthful, shapely and even slightly aggressive. All this must further frustrate Smart executives - and details of a new convertible model released this week will only add salt to the wound.
The CZ3 has all the curves to please the eye, and leaves its five-door sibling looking positively frumpy, and slightly Korean.
The interior is regulation Colt, which means there are relatively tough plastics with some "trendy" backlit switchgear. It will appeal to younger motorists but may be a tad too much for older patrons.
It's also quite roomy inside. You can fit two adults in the back, provided you're going from Arklow to Letterkenny. Mitsubishi has adopted a similar moveable rear seat as found in several other Japanese superminis. The benefits are a choice of extra bootspace or more legroom. It's a useful option, if somewhat limited on trips where extra people also means extra luggage.
Three engine versions are on offer: a 1.1-litre 75bhp or a 1.3-litre 95 bhp petrol, and a 1.5-litre common rail diesel. Our test car was the 1.1-litre version. It's really reserved for those who like the sporting looks, are keen on fuel economy, but don't really find themselves on open stretches of road very often.
When we did venture out onto the motorway, travelling at 120km/h was always accompanied by the whine of the three-cylinder engine in full song. The engine seems to be tuned to high-revving and, even when taking off, there's a lot of sound and fury.
Yet that's not to denigrate its performance. Keeping in mind its size and output, it manages a 0-100 km/h sprint in 12.9 seconds. It might seem positively pedestrian compared to an Evo VIII, but against rivals such as the Ford Fiesta or Nissan Micra it seems positively racy.
In more challenging roads the suspension is quite taut for a little car its size, in keeping with the more sporting looks.
The Colt suffers slightly from sidewinds. Not having a wind tunnel at our disposal, we can't really make a comparison with other test cars, but in last weekend's strong gusts we were regularly correcting our road position.
We drove the 1.3-litre version before. It's more worthy of the national routes, a calmer beast all round, benefiting from the extra weight at the front as well.
That said, there are other positives with the 1.1-litre. Fuel consumption was particularly impressive, managing just over 6 L/100km (47mpg) on a trip that took in rural roads, motorways and rush-hour city streets, all the while sitting in the high revs.
For those seeking a really sporty drive to go with the looks, perhaps they'd be best to keep their powder dry until May when the CZT is launched. This features a turbocharged 1.5-litre engine offering 150bhp.
Initially referred to in the media as "the Evo version of the Colt", it's not quite as crazy an idea as it would seem on paper. We drove a prototype some time ago and were really surprised by its composure.
We expected the motoring equivalent of breaking in a wild stallion but discovered a far more temperate creature, though one that quickly let you know that it might be broken in but it's still got a pedigree performance.
So back to the dreaded money issue: it takes €14,995 to get the entry-level version of the CZ3. The Look specification on our test car costs an extra €500 for which you get a height adjuster for the seat and a set of alloys.
On price, the Colt faces a hard battle up against the popular Peugeot 206, which looks a bigger car despite being only a couple of centimetres longer and taller. It's also going to have to battle with the likes of the Toyota Yaris, one of the best like-for-like packages on offer.
The CZ3 has the looks and a good range of engines to suit all-comers. But, in a market where price is premium, it may suffer from its position as one of the more expensive in the segment.
However, representing the first of 10 new models on the way from Mitsubishi, it suggests a brighter future for the Japanese brand if the number crunchers can get the figures to add up.