8 months ! It's been 8 months since I had the opportunity to test drive, for your pleasure and mine, the Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart. This car is called "Baby Evo" by some, a bit like the "Baby GT-R" from Nissan (the Sunny/Pulsar GTi-R compared to the big brother Skyline GT-R) but while both Nissans and the Lancer Evolution are AWD (All Wheel Drive) beasts, the Colt, even in Ralliart version remains a FWD (Front Wheel Drive) machine.
Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart Version-R Test Drive
Maybe as a way to look a bit more like the big brother "Evolution" or more simply to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of the Colt Ralliart, Mitsubishi announced and presented a special version: the Colt Ralliart Version-R Recaro Edition !
If this doesn't beat the record of Subaru for the longest name (
Subaru Impreza WRX STI Type C Spec RA-R), it certainly adds a little bit of style to the car. Inside, 2 wonderful Recaro (obviously) bucket seats were installed at the front and the shift knob is the same as the Lancer Evo 9...outside you'll see a couple "Version-R" logos, an "Evo-like" hood to go with the 4 colors to choose from even though the original red looks like the best match for this car.
Under the hood, no change, the turbocharged 1.5 liter engine (inline 4) still produces 154HP transmitted to the front wheels through a CVT automatic or 5 speeds manual (by Getrag) gearbox, other features include the RISE (Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution) body with increased rigidity and usual ABS/EBD systems to help you out when your right foot tend to be a little bit too heavy on the pedal !
For 2,079,000¥ (13.000€ or 18.000$) you certainly get an excellent car, so if you don't live in Japan (or Australia) you can always try to import one and get used to the right hand driving !
Posted on 10/05/07 By F.B
