Road Test
Mitsubishi i
Test date 11 July 2007
Price as tested £9,084
For Innovative engineering, cute styling, impressively spacious cabin
AgainstShort on out-of-town ability, expensive for what you get
Here’s proof that the motoring future isn’t as bleak as the doomsayers suggest. The Mitsubishi i proves that it is possible to build an innovative city car capable of combining modern safety standards, ultra-low emissions and design that doesn’t make you think of fridge freezers.
Despite being built to the same restrictive Japanese ‘Kei’ car regulations responsible for tinny, boxy offerings such as the Suzuki Wagon R, the i is a far more advanced proposition, certainly the closest thing going to a four-seat version of the Smart ForTwo.
Since going on sale in Japan earlier in 2007, it has acquired near-cult status, with over 37,000 already sold. And now Mitsubishi’s importer in the UK, the Colt Car Company, is bringing in 300 to gauge demand over here.
Only one model will be available. The price is a steep £9084, for which the i is going to have to be something very special.
The i’s front is dominated by a tall windscreen and flat nose. The rest of the monobox design is inoffensive enough. Under the surface the i gets really clever, combining a rear-mounted engine and aluminium spaceframe construction.
The all-alloy three-cylinder petrol engine is mounted transversely behind the rear seats and under the boot floor, with the block canted at 45 degrees for packaging efficiency. The engine uses variable valve timing, a turbocharger and an intercooler to produce 56bhp, with drive delivered to the rear wheels by a four-speed automatic gearbox. No manual transmission is available. The front suspension subframe is also home to the standard electric power steering.
Mitsubishi is keen to emphasise the i’s crashworthiness, and although UK versions only come with two airbags, the combination of the aluminium spaceframe, high-tensile steel reinforcement and a front impact area in the space where a conventional supermini would have its engine make for a strong safety performance.
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