Once a year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (
SMMT) round up the UK press offices and a selection of their fleet cars for a one-day event at the Millbrook Proving Ground. It's a chance to catch up on colleagues and new personnel as well as an opportunity to drive some of the latest vehicles on the high-speed bowl and entertaining 'Hill Route'.
Some outlets write full 'road tests' from the day's activities, though time in each car is fairly limited. This year I got behind the wheel of no less than 25 different cars, which goes to show perhaps how little time I did spend in each, though that included at least one lap of the challenging Hill Route in each car. There are so many new cars being launched this year that we thought it would be worth compiling my first impressions on these cars. Many we will test in depth at a later date.
Mitsubishi Colt CZC
Model tested: Mitsubishi Colt CZC Turbo
Price: £15,999 on-the-road.
0-62mph: 8.4 seconds
Top speed: 126mph
Combined economy: 39.8mpg
Kerb weight: 1200kg
Relevant links:
All Mitsubishi road tests.
Usually, small convertibles are associated with either female drivers or people that cut hair for a living. The recent crop of folding hardtop convertibles are no different, with the
Peugeot 206CC leading the pack (soon to be replaced by the 207CC) and other recent additions including the
Vauxhall Tigra and effeminate Nissan Micra C+C. Mitsubishi has now joined the party, with the Colt CZC, based on the three-door Colt hatch.
Though a naturally aspirated version is available, I opted for the 1.5-litre turbocharged model to charge around the Hill Route in, with the roof down of course. Based on the
Colt CZT, this CZC should be considered to be a hot hatch with a folding roof. It retains a lot of the fun of the hatch, with the extra versatility of the roof. Of course there's more chassis flex, but it does not detract from your enjoyment. We'll see if my first impressions are maintained when we test this car later in the summer.
Shane O' Donoghue - 13 Jun 2006
