Mitsubishi Colt News

Which Mitsubishi do you wish would make a comeback? Pajero? Lancer?  Well, Mitsubishi is currently undertaking a massive overhaul of its Australian line-up with several new models to come to fill the gaps. So while they're at it we’ve put together our wishlist of cars they really should really revive or bring here. The changes to the Australian Design rules (ADRs) in March this year meant Mitsubishi had to axe three vehicles from its local lineup.  These were the ASX small SUV, the bigger Eclipse Cross SUV and the Pajero Sport off-roader. This leaves Mitsubishi with just two cars on sale in Australia — the Triton ute and Outlander mid-sized SUV. Meanwhile Toyota has 23 models on sale.Now we're not suggesting that Mitsubishi needs another 21 models, Ford is managing just fine on pretty much the Ranger, Everest and Mustang, but I definitely think there are some essentials the brand could use and a few dream cars while we're at it.Probably the most obvious model Mitsubishi needs right now is the Pajero. Yep once-upon-a-1990s the Toyota Prado and Mitsubishi Pajero wrestled for dominance all over Australia, from the outback to suburbia. The Pajero eventually lost the battle and was axed by Mitsubishi in 2020 … or so we thought! Imagine the comeback. Just when the new generation Prado had arrived and was still gloating, the Pajero could make its return. Sure the Pajero Sport is coming back in 2026, but that’s a Ford Everest rival. The beauty is Mitsubishi could easily plonk another, posher-looking SUV body on the ladder frame and call it the Pajero. And they’ve already got the badges made up. You just just take the “Sport” bit off. Think of the savings.Next on our wish list is not really a car that would sell in high numbers, but it'd be the halo car in many ways the brand needs so badly right now —  a reborn Lancer, and yes, with an Evolution grade as well. Or maybe just a standalone Lancer Evo XI. I think we’re up to XI, I can't remember but I tested the very final one in 2015.Back in the final glory days of Ford Falcon versus Holden Commodore there were two other tribes going to war: Subaru WRX v Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. These days the WRX lives on, but it looks so lonely without the Lancer EVO to play with.Finally, and given the number of grey imports we see of this car, Mitsubishi needs to add the Delica people mover to its Aussie line-up. What’s not to like about a high-riding all-wheel drive six-seater van?A sixth-generation of the people mover is expected in the next two years and whether it looks anything like the futuristic and silly Delica concept Mitsubishi revealed at the 2023 Tokyo Motorshow is yet to be seen.A wishlist for Mitsubishi could go one forever, who wouldn’t want to see the Colt come back, or the Cordia Turbo? Or the 3000GT?In reality the ASX will be back and so too will the Pajero Sport, and that might be all Mitsubishi needs as it faces bigger problems.  Challenges like how on Earth will it adapt to a rapidly changing market that’s been inundated with excellent electric vehicles from brands which hardly existed five years ago. Currently Mitsubishi doesn’t even sell one purely electric vehicle in Australia at all.

A Czech dealer has revealed a special edition Mitsubishi Colt small car that channels Ralliart vibes. In other markets, Mitsubishi isn’t scared to trot out the Ralliart name, with South East Asia markets getting stickered-up versions of the Pajero Sport, Triton and other models. Like those, don’t expect this Colt for Australia.  Known as the Performance edition, the Clio-based Mitsubishi Colt isn’t exactly the hottest hatch on the block, with a dyno verified 96kW and 222Nm at the wheels. Phwoah.That’s the sort of grunt that would’ve had a 199X Suzuki Swift GTi sweating, but not the current hot hatch establishment. The similar-size Hyundai i20 N and Volkswagen Polo GTI pack at least 50 per cent more punch. There are some good aspects to the hot Colt, such as a six-speed manual transmission and light 1097kg kerb weight. It features high-end 18-inch OZ Racing Superturismo GT wheels, too. Further details, such as price and run-size, have not been revealed. Compared to the last Colt Ralliart, sold in Australia between 2006 and 2010, the stats are pretty promising, that vehicle putting out 113kW and 210Nm from its turbo-petrol four-banger and weighing 1130kg. It was good for a 0-100km/h sprint in 8.0 seconds. There are no suspension changes for this Mitsubishi Czech special, though, not even lowering springs. It’s more of an appearance pack than a full transformation and that means there’s absolutely zero likelihood of coming to Australia. The new Clio on which the Colt is based isn’t sold in Oz and the Colt certainly isn’t. Additionally, Mitsubishi Australia has previously turned down similar performance versions as it wants “to do heritage justice.”"We are asking for a Ralliart," Mitsubishi Australia CEO Shaun Westcott told CarsGuide at the Triton ute’s launch in March, also suggesting a vehicle like that would be popular in other markets such as South Africa. "So the fact that we are there, and that we are in Ralliart and that we are racing the vehicle I think does open up an opportunity for us to look at performance enhancement in the future potentially around the vehicle." Ralliart’s reboot is in the works. Don’t expect it to be half-baked but hopefully it’s here soon.

Mitsubishi has revealed its reborn Colt light hatchback, but it will be very familiar to anyone interested in French cars. As part of its ‘leader-follower’ product strategy under the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, Mitsubishi is borrowing models from French arm Renault for sale in Europe.

If you were holding out hope for a new-generation Mitsubishi Lancer sedan or Mirage and Colt hatchback, unfortunately, we've got some bad news for you.Speaking to CarsGuide, Mitsubishi Motors Australia boss Shaun Westcott said the local market has well an

The Colt is back!

A world record price of ￡100,100 ($A181,180) for a Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Makinen Edition in the UK may set the scene for rising prices of other Mitsubishi WRC cars in Australia, says Shannons Auctions.The Evo VI, with only 10,000 miles (16,000km) on t

It seems that even though we’re a few decades behind Europe (and a few ahead of North America), the forthcoming Toyota GR Yaris – with its turbocharged three-cylinder engine, promise of big performance and super-compact footprint – proves that the baby hot hatch is, indeed, a thing.

Cars are either being built worse -- or companies are getting better at detecting faults.a range of models made over the last 10 years replacing potentially deadly Takata airbags in 1.3 million cars in Australia. a second, airbag-related recall for the Priusreplacing potentially deadly Takata airbags in 1.3 million cars in Australia

The company is looking to inspect 332 of its RG Mitsubishi Colt models sold between June 1 and August 23 this year to inspect the rear torsion beam suspension bolts, as part of a global recall of 1468 vehicles. "In the worst case, driving the vehicle on rough roads may result in the bolts coming loose and possibly detaching, resulting in decreased vehicle stability," the recall notice said. The company's notice also said a stone chipping resistant agent, part of the paintwork sprayed to the underside of the vehicle, may have been applied where rear torsion axle retaining bolts are located. Mitsubishi spokesman Paul Stevenson said only a small number of vehicles were in customer hands - the bulk of the vehicles were still on the docks or in dealer stocks and had already been checked. "There have been no incidents in Australia, it's only when it's on severely corrugated roads that the bolts get loose. Where the bolt goes in it should be masked - there was a month where the area around that hole wasn't masked," Paul Stevenson said. Mitsubishi is contacting affected customers by letter and owners with concerns are advised to contact their Mitsubishi dealership for inspection of the retaining bolts.

The car is destined to arrive late next year and slot in where the Colt left off, but better the Colt on price and spec, Mitsubishi spokesman Paul Stevenson says. "That's certainly the target - to be under the Colt," Stevenson says. "You have to be to be competitive in that segment and this is an important product for us. We haven't really had a strong entrant in that segment for some time, so we're pinning a lot of hopes on this car when it comes through." Mitsubishi's global platform plan follows in the footsteps of the Blue Oval's 'One Ford' platform policy with the Fiesta and Focus, and GM's 150-market strategy with the Barina Spark. The Mitsubishi 'global small car' - or GSC, as the sub-light car is called at the moment - will carry a choice of two three-cylinder petrol engines with stop-start systems that were shown with the concept car at Geneva motor show in March. The smaller of the two engines is believed to be the latest development of the 3B21, a 52kW/92Nm used in the ultralight 'kei car' class in Asia, and in the Smart ForTwo. The larger, which we're more likely to see here, is said to be a 1.1-litre that is a step up from the 55kW/100Nm 1.1-litre used by the Colt overseas. Unlike many of the other light cars on the Australian market, the GSC will offer an automatic transmission - which should give it a leg up on the competition in a market increasingly moving away from manuals. That broadens it appeal to what Stevenson says is a wide range of buyers. "If we didn't have an automatic our sales projections would be significantly lower than what they are, and the car wouldn't have the appeal across so much of the segment," he says. "The demographic tends to be divided pretty much equally between young people, retirees, empty-nesters, and people looking for a second car or better fuel economy." Mitsubishi has not released sales projections for the car, but Stevenson says that Australia is expected to account for about five per cent - and that some Aussie dealers have already seen and given feedback on the vehicle. "Earlier this year we took quite a large group of dealers up to Okasaki R&D centre and they were shown the car. In fact, for the engineers, and the designers, the only direct feedback they've had from dealers at that stage was from Australia," Stevenson says.