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If you’ve read our review of the 2008 Smart ForTwo here, you’ll know that we like its chic design, spacious interior (but only for two), and its point and squirt ability in urban environs. And you’ll also know there was plenty we didn’t like about the Smart, including its limited usefulness (only two seats and tiny cargo area), lack of power, and perhaps most seriously, its frustrating and dim-witted transmission.
As good fortune would have it, we were able to arrange for a brief drive of the Mitsubish i, an interesting extension of the basic Smart idea. The tiny Mitsubishi actually does share some DNA with the Smart. Its platform is related to the Smart’s, as is its 3-cylinder engine (but reduced in displacement to – get this – 0.7 liters in order to meet Japanese Kei-class parameters). That means it’s rear-engined and rear-wheel-drive, just like the Smart.

The Mitsubishi i expands on the basic Smart concept
From there though, the little i seems to have it all over the ForTwo. Its still petite dimensions accommodate four doors, a real back seat, and – hallelujah – a real automatic transmission (no robotized manual tomfoolery here). It looks really neat too, especially in the white that we drove. It almost looks like an iPod on wheels.

Climbing into the right side of the car (it’s Japanese spec, so you drive from the other side!), we eagerly set out to compare it to the Smart that we had driven the previous day. Let’s get right to the point: this is WAY more like it! Where do we even start?
Let’s start inside. As we mentioned earlier, the i has four doors and a real back seat. Not a tiny cramped back seat, but one that can accommodate two adults comfortably. Given how tiny the car is, this is truly a miracle of packaging. And because of the high roof, it’s very easy to get in and out of any seat in the house. All of sudden, this urban car concept starts to make a whole lot of sense – it’s maximum space within a minimal exterior footprint, and you don’t have to leave your friends or cargo behind as you would need to with the Smart.

Now that’s a tiny car!
On the road, the little i is a revelation. For reasons we can’t really fathom, the i seems significantly faster that the Smart. It really shouldn’t be. After all, the engine is exactly 2/3 the displacement of the Smart’s engine, and it’s hooked up to a torque converter 4-speed automatic, which theoretically should sap more power than the Smart’s robotized manual. Plus, with its extra length, back seats, and additional doors, we would assume the i is significantly heavier than the Smart. Maybe it’s the fact that the i’s transmission doesn’t jerk, pause, and hesitate between shifts like the Smart’s does. Speaking of transmissions, the i’s automatic transmission handily takes care of the Smart’s biggest flaw, which is its idiotic transmission. Smart already buys its engine from Mitsubishi; we think that if they were truly “smart”, they’d buy this transmission as well and put it into the ForTwo pronto.

No sir, it doesn’t need too much of that!
You can probably tell by now that we love this little car. Any flaws? Only one that stands out, really. The interior is as drab and uninteresting as the Smart’s is exciting and high fashion. It’s all dreary hard gray plastics in there; it’s depressingly gray like a Morrissey tune. It’s nowhere near as cool as the exterior and represents a real disconnect with the rest of the car’s funky concept.

Unfortunately, in the interior, everyday is silent and gray.
In short, THIS is the car that the Smart ForTwo should have been for the US market. Unlike the fun but flawed ForTwo, the i really does work as an everyday car. Its high-tech yet cute styling is nearly as attention-getting as the Smart’s, and its trim size means it retains nearly all of the Smart’s agility and nimbleness. In this day of ever increasing high fuel prices, such a car makes a whole lot of sense – especially for those who want some style with their economy.
We don’t know if Mitsubishi has plans to ever introduce this car in the US, but we would welcome it. And if Smart is smart about its future in the US, they would do well to consider a similar concept for American drivers.