They say with divorce, it's the kids who often suffer the most. When Mitsubishi got together with Daimler-Chrysler (DC), the Colt was to be the poster-boy of Mitsubishi's future, the first fruit of its alliance with DC.
Sharing 60 per cent of its underpinnings with the new forfour model from the German's Smart car marque, it was to be the long overdue market winner for the Japanese brand in desperate need of some good news.
Then, like many transcontinental liaisons, the relationship went sour and divorce was swift. But the Colt lives on.
And, for those who have followed the trials and tribulations of Mitsubishi over the years, getting behind the wheel of the Colt leaves you slightly bitter over the break-up. If this was a sample of things that were to come, then motorists are missing out on some impressive motors. However, there's still the Colt.
Our initial impressions, though, were far less positive. The first time we came across it, we have to admit our heart sank. The earlier versions, though rather bulbous and favoured by learner drivers and the like, were at least a little different than the regular supermini fare.
This new version, sitting on an uninhabited stage at the Birmingham motor show in its five-door guise, looked every bit a copy of the boxy Daihatsu Charade.
Were we to welcome yet another high-roofed supermini? Was imagination truly dead in the mainstream car industry? Whatever happened to the world of curves?
Surely there was going to be something more original from the hand of Olivier Boulay, the chief designer brought in to revolutionise the brand? Disillusionment set in, only added to by the subsequent knowledge that Boulay was one of the victims of the break-up.
Then we got our chance to get up close and personal with the car in a real world environment - the Naas road. The car-show world of "rent-a-smile" models and fancy painted chipboard is a world apart from the real-life look of a car sitting under a leaden sky in an industrial wasteland in west Dublin.
But, for once, the tables were turned. The car actually looked better here than under the glare of the spotlights.
The first thing that strikes you is the similarities with one of its German parent's siblings - the A-Class. Now before we send owners of the baby Merc into apoplexy, we need to point out that it's only the slant of the front and the side profile. But you can see where Boulay got his ideas.
That's not to say it's strikingly pretty. It still looks too much like a dozen other superminis to warrant superlative prose. But, then the average hatchback owner doesn't prioritise bold and brash styling. He or she wants the car to look good and do its job. The new Colt does just that.
The rear, however, seems to come straight from the standard Asian market script. Thankfully the upcoming three-door version has a distinctly more stylised rear and looks the more finished product of the two. Due here in January, if you care about image it's the one to wait for.
The Colt is effectively the same car as the Smart forfour. It has the same translucent switches inside, the same running gear. In fact, largely the same car, though admittedly without the fancy body panelling.
And not as funky, you might think. Not a bit of it. While the back of the Colt does look too square and the roof is a little high, the forfour has too much in common with older versions of the Ford Fiesta. What's more, we suspect that for all the fancy colours on offer from Smart, most will probably opt for regulation red, grey or blue in the end.
Mitsubishi claims class-best cabin length and the Colt's impressive interior space is apparent in both the front and rear seats. Even those who cast a shadow on the Spike could stretch their legs.
It's very much a "tall" supermini, with a high driving position, an overall length of 3,870mm and a relatively long wheelbase at 2,500mm. It has become rather old-hat to talk about legroom in a car of this size, but the movable rear seats in the back are very impressive.
Toyota offers a similar system, as do some other marques, and after a week of fiddling with it we can't imagine buying a small car without this feature. It's arguably more useful on an everyday basis than the 60:40 split rear seats format. Legroom or bootspace - you make the call.
The Colt feels light on its feet with the 1.3-litre engine and it ambles around town well, with a good sharp turning circle, though the high-roof does mean it can catch some crosswinds on open roads. It's also quite a noisy little engine when put to work.
The five-speed gearbox is manageable and, after a week in the saddle, the word that most often came to mind was perky, even if it struggles a little on steep inclines.
After years of Mitsubishi misnomers (what were they thinking with the deadly dull Carisma), they've finally matched the marketing name with the engineering backbone.
It's not the most powerful in its class, but neither is it a slouch. On the motorways it will saunter along at 70mph without too much complaint, and the handling is rather positive for a town car.
We didn't try the 1.1-litre yet, but suspect that anyone venturing outside the town boundaries on a regular basis might look to the mid-range engine - or wait until next month when a 1.5-litre turbodiesel version goes on sale.
Mitsubishi would really like to do well with this model, and hopes it represents a turning point for the brand. Certainly the three-door version looks every bit the sporty supermini and should have a bright future ahead of it.
Alas there is one fly in the ointment - price. This segment of the market remains highly price sensitive. Our test car featured the range-topping Invite specification, so the price is rather high compared to what the average Colt buyer will pay.
Yet the entry level price at €14,995 for the 1.1-litre still pits it against the likes of the 1-litre Toyota Yaris and 1.3-litre Fiesta. That's serious competition for a small car in a cut-throat market. Will it cut the grade? We suspect it will and, if we're proved right, it should come as a welcome relief to all who have been through the mill with Mitsubishi in recent years. For our money, however, we'd wait to January and pick up the sharper looking three-door.
