TEST DRIVE

THE SUBCOMPACT
Piymouth Colt is all new
for 1993, offering contem-
porary ‘“‘tear-drop’’ exterior
styling, a handsome and
roomier interior, and some
improvements in ride and
handling.

The Colt is built by Mitsubishi
in Japan, imported for Chrysler,
and’ re-badged as the Plymouth/
Dodge Colt and Eagle Summit.

You can say “Sayonara”? to the
Colt hatchbacks.

. This year, the new Colt is
available only as a two-door
coupe and fotr-door. sedan. Last
‘year, Plymouth and Dodge of-
fered an’ entry-level hatchback
and: sedan called the Colt 100
(built in Thailand), as well as a
more contemporary ‘hatchback

called the Colt 200 (built in
. Japan). .
Eagle also offered the base

hatchback and sedan known as
the Vista, and the uplevel sedan
called the Summit.

In addition, Plymouth, Dodge
and Eagle dealerships began offer-
ing a new, larger van-like vehicle
called the Colt/Summit Wagon.

Tf aff that seems rather confus-
ing, it is. :

This year’s. lincup is. con-
siderably simpler. Plymouth,
Dodge and Eagle now offer the
same three models: 2 coupe,
sedaz:, and wagon,

This week, [| will confine my
review to the two-door coupe, as
the larger Colt sedan offers a big-
ger, optional engine, and deserves
its own test drive at a later date.

The Colt coupe follows the lead
of such cars as the Toyota Tercel
and Nissan Sentra in replacing. a
hatchback body style with a
“three-box”? coupe or sedan with
a trunk,

_ _ The benefits of this switch are
mainly to do with improved body
rigidity, less vibration and har-
shness in the passenger compart-
ment, a reduction in interior
noise, and better looks.

The new Colt coupe is definitely
a moye sophisticated car, © par-
‘ticularly compared to the Colt
100,

With its small exterior
sions, quick, precise,
assisted steering (optional), com-
fortable interior, nimble handling
(courtesy. of an independent
Suspension) anu” good outward
visibility, the Colt coupe isa very
pleasant car to drive in and
around the city.

However, what the Colt gains in
precision and sophistication, «it
loses in versatility.

The coupe-with-a-trunk body

dimen-

‘style offers

power- «

with a “‘three-box”’ coupe or sedan with a trunk.

less cargo capacity
than the previous wagon-like
hatchback of the Colt 260. The
new Colt's fold-down rear seats
help a little, but the trunk opening
is not very wide and large objects
are difficult to fit,in, To its credit,
the trunk’s lift-over height is low
and the trunk lid swings up out of
the way.

The good news is. that passenger
room js actually roomier than in
previous Colts.

This is due to an increase in the
wheelbase of about 55 mm (2 in-
ches), and a slight increase in
width. Rear passengers of average
height now have adequate legroom
and headroom, and front passen-
gers. have plenty of room in the
well-designed interior.

With rounded corners‘ and soft
edges, the Colt’s redesigned inte-
rior is attractive and very func-
tional. Sturdy cloth-covered seats
offer enough support and. the
steering wheel is adjustable for
height

Instruments . and
easy to see and use with the ex:
ception of the radio which had
very small buttons in my test car.
A centre console with armrest and
storage bins is standard equip-
ment, Front and rear passengers
have -three-point . seatbelts, but
there is no airbag for the driver,

My other criticism is that the
rear passenger windows . don't

“wind down or swing open.

The only engine available in the
coupe is a%2-horsepower 1.5-litre
four-cylinder unit,
engine as last year.

Acceleration from rest is sur-

controls are ,

the same

WITH ROUNDED corners and soft edges, the Colt’s redesigned

interior is attractive and very functional.

H '

prisingly quick because’ of the
Colt’s light. curb weight (946 kg)
and an engine designed to develop
maximum torque at just 3,000
rpm.

My test ‘car had the optional
three-speed automatic transmis-
sion which performed with preci-
sion and smoothness, but lacks a
fourth overdrive gear for. com-
fortable highway cruising. | At
speeds over 100 km an hour, the
engine is buzzy though not noisy.

The. higher engine revs. explains
the difference in fuel mileage be-
tween the Colt, equipped with the

entry-level |

standard five-speed manual
transmission ‘and the one fitted

‘With the three-speed automatic.

‘Highway consumption of the
former is an excellent 5.5 litres per
100 kilometres (S51 mpg), while the
latter gets a ‘still-respectable 6,5
litres per 100 kilometres (43 mpg).

Colt coupes come in two-trim

‘tevels, base and GL, ‘starting at

$9,805. That’s about $2000 more
than the base price of last year’s
Colt 100 hatchback,
and. slightly more than the 1992
Colt 200 hatchback.
Nevertheless, the

new Colt

NEWS photos Neil Lucente
THE PLYMOUTH Colt coupe follows the lead of such cars as the Toyota Tercel and Nissan Sentra in replacing a hatchback body style

Price as tested $13,297
Base price $9,805
Type 2-door,
coupe
Layout transverse front
engine/front-wheel drive
Engine 1.5-litre four-
cylinder, SOHC, 12. valves,
sequential multi-port fuel in-
jection

Horsepower 92 @ 6,000 rpm
Torgue 93 @ 3,000 rpm
Transmission three-speed
automatic (five-speed man-
ual)
Curb
Ibs.
Wheelbase 2,440 mm/96.1 in.
Length 4,345 mm/171.1 in.
Width 1,680 min/66.1 in.
Height 1,305 mm/51.4 in.
Tires P!45/80R 13 radials

Fuel economy (City: 8.1 L/100
km, 35 mpg; Hwy: 6.5 L/100
km, 43 mpg
Warranty
km; Powertrain:
100,000 km
Inquire about the .Colt at
Jubilee Plymouth Chrysler,
1177 Marine Dr., North Van-
couver, °

,5- passenger

weight 946 kg/2,085

three yrs/60,000
five yrs/

coupe is competitively priced with
other new import coupes in its
class.

And let’s face it, there’s. very
fittle left starting under $10, 600
these days.

St