Moving on from the Celeste, the next step is the Mitsubishi Cordia. A class above the Colt/Lancer, a class below the Galant, the Cordia shared its platform with the Tredia – so, if you’re thinking from an European viewpoint, the cars matched the latter Mitsubishi Carisma, size-wise.
Still, the Carisma could never match the quirky snazziness of the Cordia. And even if the Cordia started off a humble FWD platform, there were some definitely interesting variants on offer.



At its most simple, the Cordia offered a 1400cc or 1600cc powerplant. The twin stick Super Shift did keep them from being boring, as you would shuffle between Power and Economy modes on the adjacent lever.

But above the bread-and-butter Cordias, Mitsubishi offered a turbo version. While the initial, pre-facelift Cordia only reached 112 hp with the 1.6-litre turbo engine, the 1984-onwards car had a 1.8-litre engine with all of 135 hp. You could imagine the under-1000kg machine would move quite sprightly with that power figure.

And the most fascinating version was the 4WD Turbo, advertised here in its home country. From a relatively low-key three-door wedge, the Cordia transformed into something that foreshadowed the most powerful DSM:s – with some rally pedigree flashed in the ad campaign.
[youtube width=”720″ height=”480″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTNH0_AKaJM[/youtube]
[Cordia magazine ad: Alden Jewell’s photostream]