Media Release
Friday, 28 November 2008
Mitsubishi Colt Plus second for fuel cost efficiency
The Mitsubishi Colt Plus has proven that the hype over hybrid cars is exactly that.
Four days of driving from Auckland to Wellington return on the AA Energywise Rally saw the five-door Mitsubishi win its
category and finish second overall, in between two competitor hybrids of the same make and model.
Achieving an average consumption of 4.8L/100km for the round-trip, the 1.5L hatchback finished first in the small car
category, bettering its publicised fuel consumption (5.5L/100km) by almost three-quarters of a litre per 100 kilometres.
Driver Lloyd Robinson was impressed with what the vehicle accomplished given some difficult conditions.
“We are very happy with the results we’ve achieved over the past four days. This is a great event for directly comparing
vehicles in real driving conditions,” said Mr Robinson. “It also demonstrated that driven carefully, most manufacturers’
fuel consumption claims can be improved upon.”
Also competing in the 59-strong event was Mitsubishi’s medium-sized Lancer sedan, which bettered its 7.6L/100km official
consumption figure by over 22% to finish 13th overall.
Mitsubishi NZ’s general manager of sales and marketing Peter Wilkins said that the result reinforced that hybrid
technology offered marginal value for the $10,000 retail price premium over the Colt Plus.
“There has been a lot of hype about the benefits of driving hybrids and while the technology is leading us to more
efficient propulsion alternatives, the current figures struggle to stack up. A careful driver in an economical
petrol-powered vehicle like the Colt Plus can be just as effective,” he said.
The Colt Plus has a power output of 78kW, just 7kW less than the Hybrids it bisected and used only 0.8 of a litre or
$1.14 more fuel than the winner over the entire 1,641km event.