Mitsubishi’s lost loving memory for many budget buyers… the normal Colt is an indication of a time gone by.
This is a treat to see again.
The first-generation of Colt – the rest of the nameplate were called the Mirage – was the Mirage (best to call it Mirage/Colt) in hatchback form taking up a five-door body style for the first time since being a three-door sporty hatchback or sedan.
The nameplate is a little confusing because of the market differences and names it had, the Lancer body also being called a Mirage in other places – and in Europe were these in a different body in three-door guise. Other markets like the domestic one and Australia received the five-door body, as did Singapore.
The Colt of this generation is most remembered today for the still-surviving RALLIART version – a hot hatch with the turbocharged 1.5-litre 4G15 MIVEC engine, a generation over the old one that is also often known for surviving in the rebadged Mitsubishi Lancer from across the border – the Proton Wira.
The non-sporty hatchbacks received a 1.5-litre 4A91 instead of a non-powerful 4G15, producing 109 horsepower and 145 Nm of torque. While its success in European markets was not great – maybe not helped with a perceived impracticality of its three-door body – it wasn’t too much a success as a five-door either – the Honda Fit would be the compact hatchback to have, several generations since its first that initially competed with the Colt.
This particular Colt has a bodykit on it – front extensions, sideskirts, rear lip and a spoiler. Its badges – including the Cycle & Carriage badge – remains intact on this car. Interesting too is the 5-spoke wheels that is equally rare as the Colt body itself.
What also interested me was the column-mounted shifter and “bench” seat layout. Its like a mix with a Honda Edix but without actual 6-seater credibility, and a little different than the European Civic’s dashboard-mounted shifter too.
My father had a Colt of similar vintage back then. It was in red, also an automatic, and was part of a Colt club back in the day. There are no surviving photos apart from one of a very young me and also-young him in the driver seat.
In not-so recent years, I have spotted at least two other units but as their COEs are likely due within this year, the Colt might go extinct, with only the egg-shaped Colt Plus and Colt Ralliarts succeeding its place afterwards. The CZC – a convertible version of the Colt – was also offered in Singapore, but the three or so that survived at a point in time had all been deregistered long ago.
Checking again in the half-point of 2026, the plate number of this exact Colt is no longer valid. A similar white unit with a SGC-plate was listed on Carousell in 2025 with a registered date of 24 May 2006. Both cars would likely have needed renewal, but unlikely has both been renewed.
There’s a tinge of nostalgia for me as I associate this bubbly shape as 2000s technology. I don’t recall the memories I may have had sitting in the back of my father’s Colt, but I recall seeing the RALLIART cars around in recent years. (This writer may have amnesia)
They are a niche car nowadays – too bad – but they carry memories and undoubtedly a legacy with those who had one and lived with one. We eventually jumped into a Mitsubishi I and a Lancer EX, and now the Airtrek Turbo. Perhaps its because Mitsubishi cars are cheap, but these offerings within the 2000s were cheap, but good. Here’s hoping Mitsubishi will one day be able to create another enthusiast-driven car, just as the company’s president and COO said himself in a shareholder conference.
~Efini
Gallery:
Photos taken 6 December 2025
Read more: SG Archives: Mazda Roadster Turbo
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