With 80PS to play with in the 1.2-liter Attrage, I was looking forward to driving this Mitsubishi Attrage on the highway and some back roads. Other Attrage segment vehicles carry a 1.5-liter engine, but produce the same or less power.
So, having a 1.2-litre engine in this Mitsubishi just means saving fuel over the competition. Many Malaysians will not realise the on-road/highway potential of the all new 1.2-liter Mitsubishi Attrage simply because there is a stigma attached to small cubic capacity engines.
The weather in the morning was sunny and dry. Perfect for extreme driving where this Attrage will possibly never see its owners doing. Yes, the typical Attrage owner will probably be a mild mannered driver with little or nil extreme driving intentions.
Of course, we had different ideas. Travelling at 100-120km/h on the highway, all I wanted to do was push this Mitsubishi family sedan as the engine was smooth, quiet and somewhat docile. Yes, it was purring with negligible effort as we progressed kilometre after kilometer on the open highway.
There was no wind noise as the Attrage body is aerodynamic, providing a drag coefficient (CD) of just 0.29.
There was a little tire noise on the coarse tarmac and we enjoyed the steering wheel feel. Off the highway and on the small town roads things were different. Initially the ride felt a little too firm but as I started to up the pace, things all made sense.
The Attrage responded to whatever I asked of it, went exactly where I pointed it, with good feel as to exactly what was happening through the steering. This was just as well and when I found the first tight bend and the second and the third, I worked the Attrage around them and with even more progress. Surprisingly we never got thrown off line and it just gripped and did as it was asked by my steering inputs. So a smaller engine does not mean less power and enjoyment behind the wheel.
Visit a Mitsubishi showroom and take the Attrage out for a test drive and experience this surprising sedan for yourself. Remember to bring along the family for the test drive and see how well the engine performs.
Mitsubishi Attrage 1.2L Specifications
Engine: Inline-3, DOHC, 12V, MIVEC
Capacity: 1193cc
Transmission: CVT (continues variable transmission)
Max Power: 80PS @ 6,000rpm
Max Torque: 106Nm @ 4,000rpm
