Mitsubishi Cleartec

Few buyers would consider Mitsubishi as an eco-friendly brand. With its high-performance Lancer Evolution super-saloon and line-up of rugged off-roaders, the Japanese company couldn’t be further from the green ideal.

However, that image is set to change with the latest Mitsubishi: the Colt Cleartec. It’s based on the familiar supermini, but features a whole host of kit designed to slash fuel bills and exhaust emissions.

Under the car’s stubby bonnet is a 1.3-litre petrol engine that’s linked to the Auto Stop & Go system – which works in the same way as other stop-start technology, to shut the engine down when you come to a halt in traffic.

The five-speed gearbox is uprated to incorporate taller ratios, while regenerative braking, low-rolling-resistance tyres, thinner oil and a gearshift indicator also feature.

As a result of all these changes, the Colt puts out 119g/km of CO2 and promises to return 56.5mpg combined economy. These figures represent improvements of 24g/km and 9.4mpg over the standard version.

Prices for the Cleartec start at £9,599 for the three-door and rise to £10,099 for the five-door. And while the Colt is the only model to wear the badge at the moment, bosses tell us it won’t be long before it appears on other cars in the line-up.

Elsewhere, the company is leading the way with direct-injection engines – it first used the technology in 1996, on petrol-engined versions of the Carisma family model. By injecting a precise amount of fuel into the cylinders, this feature helps minimise wastage and boost efficiency.

For instance, the 2.0-litre DI-D powerplant fitted to the Outlander off-roader produces 174g/km of CO2 – a figure which the maker claims can’t be matched by any other four-wheel-drive seven-seater on the market.

However, for the cleanest Mitsubishi motoring, buyers can look to the hi-tech all-electric i-MiEV. Based on the oddball rear-engined i city car, it seats four, is capable of 81mph and has a range of 100 miles.

Better still, its batteries can be recharged in around seven hours via a standard household socket. The first 25 trial models arrive in November, with customer cars due in dealers next year.

BEST ECO BUY: Colt Cleartec