In 2008 Mitsubishi refreshed its smallest vehicle in the lineup, the Colt. Based on the success of Lancer Evo story, the Japanese carmaker adopted the same front design for the Colt. Another important improvement to the car was the introduction of the 1.5-liter turbo gasoline engine in the “Ralliart” version. By 2008, that engine was only available on the three-door version.
Besides the existing engine lineup, with power ranging from 75 hp to 109 hp, Mitsubishi introduced a special version named “Cleartec”, which had an automatic “Stop&Go” function and regenerative braking for charging the car's battery and thus improved the fuel-efficiency with a claimed 10%.
To improve pedestrian safety, which started to be taken into account for the five-star EuroNCAP crash-test rating, Mitsubishi installed new front wings, grille, and hood to obtain more points for that measurement. It also had a new front bumper installed. At the back, a slimmer backlight, lower rear combination lamps, new liftgate stamping, and a more elaborated bumper design visually lowered and widened the car considerably (5-door only).
For the interior, most of the materials and design were unchanged. That said, the rear seat arrangement and modularity were modified in order to obtain a bigger maximum trunk space, from 854 l (30.1 cu-ft) from the previous Mitsubishi Colt to 1032 l (36.4 cu-ft) to 2008 Colt.
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