NEW or refreshed superminis abound right now and recently it was the turn of the Mitsubishi Colt to get a makeover.
Well, sort of, because while the car has been given a host of changes - only 35 per cent of parts have been carried over - it still seems very much the same, with the same assets and the same foibles.
It looks a touch sharper, perhaps, with its family "jet fighter" grille and Lancer-inherited headlamps and colour-coded bumpers, and extra length gives it a marginally sleeker stance, as well as being clearly felt in the redesigned interior. There's been some playing around at the back, too.
But you have to look carefully to spot the changes and generally Mitsubishi has kept faith with a car that has cashed in on being cheap and chirpy. The version on test, the entry CZ1 three-door, still costs under £7,800, for example, and is a bright, practical little thing, high on economy and low on frills.
The economy comes from the 1.1-litre three-cylinder engine developed with Daimler, which burbles along quite nicely while achieving 61mpg on the open road. The 74bhp unit is certainly not embarrassed by motorway pace and there are a lot of cars slower in the sprint than the 12.8 seconds here, while you can have a clean conscience over the emissions.
On quality roads the Colt feels reasonably smooth so that long journeys are no trial; get on the back roads and the car is less accomplished, over-reacting to surface flaws and, partly due to its height, requiring a little nursing through bends. Revisions there may have been but the old underpinnings are carried over, including the compact torsion beam rear suspension.
In town the car is right at home, with a nimbleness that is underlined by the quite helpful electrically-assisted rack and pinion steering.
The high driving position will have appeal for many and, with generous use of glass, visibility is very good in the main, although the obstruction by the front pillars is considerable. There's height adjustment for the driver's seat, while the seating is very soft and comfortable, though short on grip and support.
As I said earlier, the CZ1 Colt is a bargain-price, low-on-frills car, so you are not going to get reach adjustment of the steering wheel, let alone electric door mirrors and air conditioning.
However, really-useful stuff is there, including ABS with electronic brake force distribution, brake assist and emergency-stop signal system, there are ventilated disc brakes at the front, some information is on display between the main dials, and you do get electric front windows, ISO-FIX child seat anchorage, remote central locking and front airbags. There's also an update in the audio system with the provision of an auxiliary plug-in for i-Pod/MP3 systems.
Decor, though, is kept plain and simple at this level, with just a few touches of silver inserts and white-faced heating and ventilation dials to relieve the rather hard-looking, and hard-touch, plastics of the rolling dash.
It is the passengers at the back who benefit from the Colt's extra length and for a supermini the legroom there is wonderful. Height is also very good, so the rear is by no means a children-only zone; the huge front doors and sliding front seats make access/exit easy for adults, as well.
Even in this entry model the rear seats are split and fold, thus generating reasonable luggage room in a car with a still-minimal boot.
It would be easy to dismiss the Mitsubishi Colt in the shadow of some of the brand new, sophisticated superminis around, but it costs up to thousands of pounds less and appeals to a different market. It does what it has to do very neatly, it is roomy, the economics are as good as you are going to get, the residuals are excellent and there's a fine warranty. That's ticking all the boxes that are critical for a lot of people.
FAST FACTS
Mitsubishi Colt 1.1 CZ1 3dr
Price: £7,799
Mechanical: 74bhp, 1,124cc, 3cyl petrol engine driving front wheels via 5spd manual gearbox
Max speed: 101mph
0-62mph: 12.8 secs
Combined mpg: 51.4
Insurance group: 4
CO2 emissions: 130g/km
BiK rating: 15%
Warranty: 3yrs/ unlimited mileage