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New MITSUBISHI I-CAR review at a glance:
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Advantages: Room for four, credit crunch-sympathising running costs, accommodating interior plan, rammed with a good choice of kit as standard, future-proof exterior aesthetics, cosseting ride quality

Disadvantages: Not the cheapest small runabout to buy, scrimped on safety, drive doesn’t exactly awaken the senses, struggles to keep up the pace on motorways, aural histrionics will upset the Noise Abatement Society, beware the understeer (and the judder, man)

Summary: If good things really do arrive in small packages, then you best brace yourself for all the excitement you can handle with the advent of the Mitsubishi iCar; a place where size is irrelevant. Unless you’re gargantuan in stature, in which case you may not want to read any further. Next-to-nothing running costs, an agreeable ride, loads of kit and an engine in the boot. What more could you ask for? Possibly more useable power and better handling…..

New MITSUBISHI I-CAR Review:
Eight inches shorter than a Ford Ka, the iCar has a stretched wheelbase; meaning better use of what interior space there is in something so, well, compact. So, like Dr Who’s galaxy-hopping vehicle of choice, the itsy-bitsy Mitsubishi boasts Tardis-like cabin qualities. Cue a place where rear occupants don’t have to sit on each other’s laps, and where the storage capacity is actually of use.

The choice of engines freely available in the confines of the Mitsubishi iCar is in singular figures. And the one power plant you get, isn’t discovered quite where you’d expect it to be either. Behind the driver and their occupants as it happens. That’s right. Pop the bonnet and gasp as aside from the radiator and the brake servo there’s precious little else to clock. But there’s method in this iCar madness, which involves everyone’s favourite word – safety.

An impact absorbing structure that doesn’t need to wrestle for elbow-room with something as secondary as an engine sits in pride of place front-most in the iCar.

Indeed, to locate the power source you must first wander around to the boot of the innovative supermini and proceed to peer under the boot floor where you’ll see a screwed down flap. This my friends is where you’ll find the iCar’s means of propulsion. And marvel at the miniscule 57bhp 0.6-litre three-cylinder turbocharged unit that’s before you.

But before you go dising its perceived performance credentials (80mph full whack, although loses the will shortly after 50mph) think of the economy. And the planet.

Driving the rear-wheels, via a four-speed automatic transmission (note audience groans) the iCar squeals off the start line with much vim and vigour, but then peters out shortly after. However if you spend most of your days hurtling around the cityscape at breakneck velocity, then the iCar will perform with gusto. And thanks to its impressively tight turning circle, suburban parking won’t fluster you. Just avoid motorways, as the iCar gets ruffled by a few passing juggernauts.

Despite the engine’s location, there’s no escaping the noise it generates. Although it often loses the fight to the screeching of the road and wind.

Handling doesn’t exactly inspire confidence (and definitely rules out bravado) either, with plenty of rock to accompany the roll, minimal road adhesion and what can at best be described as a breakdown in communication between the driver and the steering wheel. We noted that at pitifully ineffective speeds the iCar lapsed into scary understeer too.

On the plus side, the long wheelbase determines an unobtrusive negotiation of the road’s deviations, with all humps and hollows ably absorbed by the iCar’s uber-soft springs. And whilst on the subject of reasons to be cheerful, the iCar falls into VED Band B courtesy of its nominal CO2 emissions, average 55mpg and suggests a three year manufacturer servicing package that costs just £150 for the peace of mind.

So to the insides, and the engine isn’t the only strange occurrence going on with Mitsubishi’s latest supermini. The digital speedometer is cast into the large dial of the rev counter, which - although cool – is a bit leftfield. Meanwhile the cabin plastics are brittle to the touch, the steering wheel – a nice leather jobbie, as is the gear stick – is in a perma-fixed position so some folk may find it difficult to find their comfort zone. But the dash ergonomics are straight forward and easy on the eye, the visibility is encouraging and the cabin feels light and welcoming.

Equipment-wise, and the Mitsubishi iCar stands its ground against the Toyota Aygo and Smart Fortwo competition by revealing climate, electric windows, central locking and a CD player as standard, whilst options run to sat-nav and Bluetooth. Yet critics are said to be disappointed with what they consider to be a glaring safety omission in the guise of side and curtain airbags and stability control, which aren’t even options. The iCar does however list twin front airbags and ABS with EBD amongst its successes though.