- Doors and Seats
NA
- Engine
NA
- Engine Power
113kW, 210Nm
- Fuel
Petrol 6.7L/100KM
- Transmission
NA
- Warranty
NA
- Ancap Safety
NA
2006-2010 Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart used car review
The Colt badge is a long-running one within Mitsubishi both globally and here in Australia.
The Ralliart tag, meanwhile, is a bit more obscure within the broader community, but held in high esteem in Mitsubishi circles.
Mitsubishi's rally, rally-raid and other motorsport exploits over the years have often been conducted under the Ralliart umbrella. And, in a road-car sense, the locally developed Ralliart Magna which sold here between 2002 and 2004 is remembered fondly for its great handling and highly-tuned V6 engine.
So what happens when you combine those two badges? You get the Colt Ralliart, a small hatchback with some pretty serious performance.
How serious? Well, by modern hot-hatch standards, the Colt Ralliart was more warm hatch, but it was an interesting packaging exercise and while it will appeal most to those who love their Mitsubishis, it also has a broader audience. Namely, the buyer looking for an alternative to the performance-hatchback establishment.
The big problem for the Colt Ralliart now is that it's kind of an obscure model.
Never a really big seller, time hasn't helped that perception, and neither has the fact that the Colt was an upright, narrow sort of design to start with that didn't translate terribly well into a hot-hatch scenario.
But that didn't mean Mitsubishi didn't take the model seriously and the attention to detail in the transformation from shopping cart to go kart is pretty impressive.
Mitsubishi added about half as many welds again to the Ralliart's bodyshell to increase stiffness and strength and even went to the effort of using thicker metal in some critical areas.
There were braces in numerous places and stronger dampers mounts, all of which raised the car's kerb weight by about 60kg to around 1130kg; still a relative lightweight.
In the suspension department, the Ralliart was also beefed up with thicker suspension arms, stiffer bumps stops, thicker anti-roll bars and stiffer springs and dampers to make it handle more sportily.
Even the steering ratio was changed to make the Ralliart change direction quicker, so the move was hardly the token, extra-decals-and-a-spoiler sort of effort some manufacturers seem to think will make a car suddenly sporty.
The attention to detail continued under the bonnet where the standard Colt engine was replaced by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder with a turbocharger making 113kW.
Again, in 2016, 113kW doesn't sound like a whole lot, but considering that low kerb mass, it gave the car plenty of poke.While the basic Colt that sold to commuters and uni students had a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine making 72kW, the addition of a turbocharger soon changed that.Torque also got a huge shot in the arm, almost doubling thanks to that turbocharger.
But both power and torque were produced fairly high in the Ralliart's rev range, so you need to keep stirring it with the five-speed manual that was the only fitment. But drive it accordingly, and the Colt Ralliart could feel amazingly nimble and zippy, even if it still looked a bit too much like a parcel van.
Speaking of appearances, Mitsubishi did the best it could with the Ralliart to turn it into something a little more spectacular looking. A body-kit, huge bonnet scoop for the intercooler, 16-inch alloy wheels and even wheel-arch flares all gave the thing some visual punch, but you can only do so much with something that starts as a box on wheels.
Inside, the best thing about the Ralliart was a set of Recaro front seats very similar to the ones fitted to the vaunted Lancer Evo. It's almost worth the price of admission today for those seats.
The Colt, like all Australian-delivered Mitsubishis back then, carried an excellent ten-year warranty on the driveline. Sadly, that wasn't transferable to subsequent owners and, since you'll be buying the thing second-hand, that makes you a 'subsequent'. So make sure everything mechanical is in good condition and that there's no damage underneath that suggests some off-piste excursions.
The engine shouldn't be noisy or rattly and there should be absolutely no smoke form the tailpipe at any time. The oil should be brown and clear, rather than black and thick and make sure the gearbox changes gears cleanly and without any graunching noises, particularly the one-two and two-three shifts.
Some owners have reported a problem where the engine management suddenly, and for no good reason, limits the engine revs to 4000rpm. This can usually be fixed simply by turning the ignition off and restarting the engine at which point the missing revs should be restored.
A few recalls have dogged the Ralliart, starting with a particularly stupid one that should never have happened. Somehow, the compliance plate on some Ralliart Colts had the passenger capacity stamped as five when the car only had seat-belts for four. Who knows how that was missed.
A second recall was to fix a batch of front-side windows with faulty attachment to the winder mechanism. In extreme cases the glass could dislodge, contact the door-latch mechanism and open the door. Not a good thing at speed.
The Ralliart was also caught up in a third recall that affected a raft of Mitsubishi models and concerned a headlight switch that could fail, leaving the lights permanently on. Or off; it seemed to be the luck of the draw.
Essentially, the Colt was designed to replace the old Mirage as a cheap and cheerful set of wheels. Ultimately, it never achieved the same popularity, mainly because it lacked the Mirage's cute looks.
But the Ralliart was a different story and deserved more recognition than it ever received.
Our rating: 3/5
Nuts and bolts
Engine/s: 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol
Transmissions: five-speed manual
Fuel economy (combined): 6.7L/100km
Safety rating (courtesy of www.howsafeisyourcar.com.au): 1 star (based on used-car ratings)
Likes:
- A point of difference in a sea of hot hatches.
- Real-world performance is good.
- Five-door layout doesn't hurt.
- Didn't attract the modifiers.
Dislikes:
- Performance trails the very latest stuff.
- A bit obscure for some.
- Small interior.
- Beware one that has been used and abused.
Competitors:
VW Polo GTi – The Polo GTi from this period was limited to a three-door layout. But it remains a great little car with a relatively large 1.8-litre engine. Like the Colt, no automatic option. 3.5/5
Renault Clio Sport – A cracking two-litre engine in a tiny package made for huge fun. Brilliant handling and loads of character. Some are past their best now, though. 4/5
Peugeot 206 GTi – From the same era, the 206 GTi got better as it aged but early cars were a real disappointment. Lacked punch and any real flair, despite pedigree. 2/5
What to pay (courtesy of Glass's Guide):
Model Year New Now
Ralliart 2006 $29,990 $3900
Ralliart 2007 $29,990 $4500
Ralliart 2008 $24,990 $6000
Ralliart 2009 $25,740 $7300
Ralliart 2010 $25,740 $8800