Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

This is just a wonderful little car! Performance from the 1.5 turbo is spritely at 8.4 secs 0-100 km/h, but also economical. Despite 110kw compared to the 66kw of my previous Barina 1.4, it's just as economical unless you use the extra performance.

The top comes off, it has a huge boot for shopping when the roof is up, & has many nice touches around the cabin. Seats took a bit of getting used to, but have found them comfortable for up to 200km at a time. The rear seats are tiny & may as well not be there, as anyone trying to get in will need their legs amputated first.

Ride is generally good, but can be a tad rough over choppy surfaces as there's not much suspension travel on the Turbo's sport suspension. Handling is excellent with the roof up & also very good with the roof down if roads are smooth. But topless motoring with the roof down on rougher surfaces introduces scuttle shake, which spoils the fun. As this is also likely to loosen the structure, I choose my roads for topless motoring with care, so I enjoy the experience. Tried it around curvy mountain roads & it was smiles all the way.

My car has low km, & in the 6 months I've had it, I haven't looked at a car yard. I'm normally addicted to checking out the used car yards, but this little jigger has cured me it seems. After Alfas, MG ZT-T, Suzuki Baleno, Jeep, Holden V8 ute & more, that's really saying something for me!

The only thing that seems a bit of a concern is clutch bearing noise in lower gears. However, this doesn't appear to affect the longevity of it. The car also gives the feeling that the basics are done well, but some of the extras are a little underdone & give the impression it's a basic car with stuff stuck on. For example, it has a leather wheel etc, seat warmers & auto headlights & wipers. But the interior light stays on if you leave a door open & there's no boot light. Little things, but they paint a picture.

Looks are subjective, & when I was weighing this against a Pug 206/207 or Holden Tigra, this one lost out. But the more I looked at it, the more I came to like it. It's not pretty as such, but it has character. And you won't lose it in the car park ;)

It also has a very interesting story, the Colt being the basis for the Smart ForFour. The cabrio one then goes to Pininfarina in Italy to be built; it's officially an Italian car per the compliance plate.

Faults:

Nothing yet.

General Comments:

I bought this car to replace a 1997 Honda CR-V that was too big for our needs now, and have been very impressed.

The Colt is a simple car that does everything asked of it.

Pros:

Reliability.

Amazing fuel economy. I average low 5L/100km with normal city driving.

Spacious and practical.

With the 1.5 mivec engine, the Colt is surprisingly spritely when pushed.

Very well equipped - power windows/steering ABS front airbags.

Cheap as chips to buy used.

Cons:

Uncomfortable front seats.

Lifeless steering.

Unpleasant gear change - 5 speed manual.

Lots of road noise, but in fairness Australian roads are crap & I have cheapo dealer tyres.

Woeful stereo.

No rear parcel shelf/screen.

In summary, I am surprised, given the things I don't like about this car, at how much I like it. It has a willing" character" and goes about its business with no fuss. I think it is the basic nature of the car I like the most. It doesn't pretend to be anything else but reliable practical transport, which it is.