Mitsubishi FTO
The Mitsubishi FTO 2002 is a very pretty little sports car with a design that will look good well into the future. Acceleration is 0-60 in 7 seconds and there are three engine sizes to choose from, 1800 GS (125bhp), 2litre V6 GR/GX (170bhp) and the top of the range 2.0 V6 24v MIVEC GPX/GPR (196bhp). With top speeds of around 140mph, depending on the engine, this car really packs a punch. You will only get around 30mpg, but then you would probably have bought something a little less sporty if economy was your prime consideration.
The Mitsubishi FTO has a Tiptronic style gearbox the ‘INVECS-11’, which makes the car truly driver sensitive as the system learns and adapts to your personal driving style. You can manually switch the gearbox to sports mode, which stiffens the suspension and improves handling. Top of the range models are equipped with ABS, twin airbags and traction control as standard.
The Used Mitsubishi FTO has a retro style Momo steering wheel and hooded dials, which add to the fun of this nibble little speedster. With prices ranging from £3,300 to £12,000, for used models, this is an affordable sports car, which cannot fail to impress. One note of caution, when looking at used examples you should be aware that there are subtle differences between the genuine UK specification models and Japanese ‘grey’ imports. UK models come with fully automatic air con, leather rimmed steering wheel and low-profile 205/50R16 tyres, while on the Japanese versions you will find much more plastic. Which you go for is up to you and your decision may well be influenced by your budget.
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