My better half is always asking how I differentiate between different cars over the months and years.
But I always give the same answer, which is that almost every car has some pluses and minuses; every car has some sort of redeeming feature, some more than others and every car has something memorable about it. This applies equally to large and small, powerful and thrifty, classy and utilitarian.
I've just spent a few days in the company of the Mitsubishi Colt Juro, putting it through its paces and generally seeing what it had to offer.
First of all, it's classed as a small car, a small 5-door hatch, which immediately makes you think of proper tiddlers like the C1, 107, Aygo etc. but fear not, this little car has one of the biggest interiors I've seen in its class, and not only that it is particularly well designed too, with just the right amount of space for everything and all in the right places too. It's an attractive little car; perhaps not as distinctive as your Fiat 500 or Alfa Mito, but nonetheless quite a smart run-about.
In terms of specification, it really does shine. Its lively little 1.3 engine pushes out a respectable 94 bhp and it really does feel quite nippy, both on the town circuit and on the open road. It cruises comfortably and quietly at seventy and with cruise control fitted as standard it really does eat up the miles better than many other small cars I've driven. Combining that with the large, airy cabin, the good sound system and the comfy leather seats and it all makes for very comfortable motoring indeed, whatever the road type or road conditions.
Equipment levels are excellent for the price and now include Garmin sat-nav, leather, aircon, electric windows, bluetooth and alloys as standard. This really makes for a very attractive package for the price. There are iso-fix child seat anchorage points in the rear too. Accessibility is a breeze, with high, wide doors and a big full-width hatch for getting all the clobber in and out of the boot. The 60/40 split folding rear seat allows for those bigger lumps of kit to be accommodated with ease.
To sum up, the Mitsubishi Colt Juro is a fantastic value-for money small family car. It successfully combines performance with economy and comfort and yet manages to keep everything within a very affordable bracket. With the fixed-price Mitsubishi Service Plan available, it allows easy motoring-on-a-budget in one neat and inexpensive package. I enjoyed driving it and even though I don't think it stood head-and-shoulders above other vehicles in its price bracket, it certainly gave them all a really good run for their money.
Nigel Crawford
October 2011
Model Driven: Col Juro 5Dr. 1.3 Manual
Price OTR at time of review £10,999.00.
For more information go to mitsubishi-cars.co.uk |
The Volvo C30
