Mitsubishi i petrol

nippy, head-turning & talented town car - but wide range of fuel consumption depending on driving style

Yes there's a lot of talk about the fuel consumption only being 35 mpg instead of the advertised 56 mpg, but it does depend a bit on your right foot. If I'm the first off the lights, always accelerating to get ahead before switching lanes, blasting out of corners and so forth, my fuel consumption has been as low as 35 mpg. But I have tried grandpa mode too, crawling off the lights, changing into neutral hundreds of yards before a junction, never turning on the aircon, never travelling with open windows at speed, and in general just tootling along; under those circumstances the best fuel economy I have ever got is 46 mpg - not bad for a petrol engined four-seat vehicle under any circumstances, but nowhere near as good as the advertised 56mpg. Mitsubishi are doing themselves a dis-service when lying about the fuel consumption: they compare the running cost savings of owning an electric i-MIEV to a petrol one, and that comparison would look even better if they factored in the true running costs of a petrol vehicle.

For the rest: it is a joy to drive; is very practical; has an amazing turning circle; is an attention grabber; and can cheekily slip through where most would have had to wait a bit. And unlike so many wind-tunnel, squashed sandwich style cars of the modern era, this little darling can fit four tall adults in comfort and with plenty of headroom to spare. For journeys under 30 miles, I wouldn't want any other car than this.

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