I love the simplicity of the engineering. In today's age where everything is computer controlled being able to kick open a fresh air vent is literally a breath of fresh air.

43 years old and still doing what it was designed to do. What more could you want? Whilst the modern day boronic computers on wheels are lucky to get to 10 years of age (before dying a terminal diagnostic death), this superb little piece of engineering continues to deliver. Meanwhile, the Top Gear 0-60 muppets would probably deem this minibus as trash. How very, very sad. An utterly superb vehicle in every way. Thanks for the broadcast Ian.

Chuck a couple of spanners, some wire and a screwdriver inside and you could fix almost any problem. Flaps at the front to get fresh air - absolute joy. When did we lose such design simplicity ?

Nice van - never mind the naming on the Delica, I've always wanted a 'Mazda Bongo Friendee Moving Cottage'!

Can only imagine how rare that van is since it came all the way from Malta. Beautiful condition really. Hubnut never disappoints. Smiles.

Your assessment of the gear change reminds me of Alan Partridge walking round a branch of Tandy repeatedly opening the lid of a Midi Hifi saying "Nice action" and ending with "That's a quality action".

Charmingly spartan with exquisitely lean design engineering apparent everywhere you look. A little treasure. Thanks for sharing.

How cool is that van! It’s definitely my type of oddness. Alas, so many odd vehicles that never made it to the states....😕

I've always loved Van's. I used to have a vw kombi and drove it around Australia. I love the driving position ,vision and being able to rest your arms on the steering. wheel.

Great review Ian,with the name Mitsubishi Colt you always think of a car but as a minibus,looks really nice and very spacious inside.

...The Japanese version of the Volkswagen Transporter camper van !

what great fun - you really do have to credit the Japanese with some really innovation in their vehicles, this was lovely to watch.

Hi Ian lovely old bus with good wiper action good road test see you in the next video, best regards to you both.

What a lovely van. It’s in remarkable condition

There'd be very very few of these left ,worldwide i reckon. Thanks for bringing us this one 👍

What a lovely van amazingly well preserved.

I rode in one of those Delicas in Malta. Didn't get to drive it (driving in Malta is fun-filled, if you're brave) and was impressed with it. Shame Mitsubishi didn't market it here. The owner had a worrying habit, he used to coast down hills. He reckoned that he saved fuel. He then went on to say he had found his brake linings didn't last long. I suggested he stopped coasting down hills and used engine braking. He took up my suggestion and found coasting wasn't really safe control wise and false economy.

That's fantastic Ian I like it, reminds me of the Commer my stepdad owned back in the 80's.

Very cool van. So unusual and rare -love the noise of the viscous fan and gearbox

I live at Bromyard, and used to know some nice people at Shelsey Beauchamp! Nice to see my part of the country adding a backdrop to one your vids!

so glad mrs hub can "partake" meets with you

Always enjoy your videos.

My late father in law used a Mitsubishi van for delivering the fishing rods he designed and manufactured. It had done over 250,000 miles by the time he got rid. It was just so well made and competent. He also had a Xedos 6 and won a 121 in a Mazda dealer raffle. The 121 still only has 55,000 on the clock, though its looking ratty after 21 years.

Very nice. i remember driving a Bedford Midi in the 90's and being totally flumuxed by the column gearchange.

On a hot summer's day, there is nothing like a blast of fresh air up the trouser-leg. That's what I call refreshment. The Japanese think of everything.

What a gorgeous looking van

Awesome little van 👍👍👍

Another beautiful classic i want one

I worked for a electrical firm way back in 2001 , they had a few of these , the van version, the owners van was the newest one being 1975 vintage,.From memory I think they prone to rust around the windscreen support columns , I liked the column change gears and prefared driving them , instead of the much noisier diesel Ford Transit. This one has not suffered the rust problem having spent its life in sunny Malta. Ian H.

How rare is that? Super sweet! Love to see retro Japanese vehicles.

Lovely little wagon

My dad had a Mitsubishi L300 panel van. I got to drive it odd times once I passed my test at 17. I loved it. Used to catch the hooters exactly the same lol.

Wow! Reminds of the 2.0 versions from the mid 80's I drove a fair bit here in Aus with a column change. The first was used when we were moving stores back in 1990 & I learnt how to do a compression lock-up. That is, build speed in 4th then slam it into second. Went well a few times until laden with about 7 people in the back; the rear lifted & if it wasn't for me releasing the clutch it would have ended a bit badly. I was a lot more careful after that. The second one had at least a foot of slop in the steering, so just keeping it straight was enough of a challenge!

I been waiting for this test, I love the design of that van eventhough the wheelbase is a little narrow and odd. I noticed that there was a GMC safari van (Chevy astro), yeah my step dad use to work in the plant where those vans were made (Baltimore Md).

Gotta love that 70's Japanese dashboard!

I see what the inspiration to buy your new car was hahaha Great little van this one!

That's a fascinating little thing! The basic layout was carried through up to the third generation (apparently still in production for the Saudi market), including the folding seat in the mid-rear row. For some weird reason, the RHD models always had one sliding door while the LHD ones had two, a feature that set the Mitsubishi apart from both the Toyota HiAce and the VWs in central Europe. The T4 was the first VW to be sold with two sliding doors but that was an option hardly anyone actually took. The successor of this was sold in central Europe under the name Mitsubishi L300. It came in a variety of versions I think, the pickup, three-seater van (with a closed metal wall behind the front row), possibly 6-seater van, definitely 9-seater van and also possibly a 7-seater luxury van. The pickup retained the old body style into the early 1990s while all other options received the 3rd-gen design in 1986. The 3rd gen definitely came in all the versions I listed above. The most common version in Austria was the 9-seater 2WD van with 5-speed manual and 69 BHP 2.5l Diesel. The 4WDs were fairly common up in the mountains but they were atrociously thirsty. I don't think I've ever seen the 4-speed auto in the wild. The gearbox with column change in the 3rd gen is... OK I guess. You do need to get the hang of it first, then the lever slides into place smoothly. Otherwise it'll bind pretty badly and make your wrist hurt after a fairly short trip. If you treat it well, the power train of the 5-speed manual Diesel is pretty much indestructible, although cylinder heads need to be replaced occasionally (on my parents' 88 it went in 2012 after 240k km but the replacement 96 had it done at 120 k km soon after they bought it). Oddly enough, while both Mitsus my parents had had the exact same engine and gearbox the 96 goes considerably faster. Official top speed is 130 but we once got it to 155 km/h on the German motorway. That felt a bit scary in the last row! Note: we didn't measure the speed, thats what the speedometer said. The 88 didn't really go past 130 on the speedo even downhill. In total I guess I spent several trips around the globe in that 88 van (something close to or over 200k km) growing up! I still miss it from time to time. It also had original black plates. In 1990 Austria introduced new white plates with black lettering and since the plates are tied to the registration in Austria you lose them every time the car changes hands. Since the plates are also considered documents and only issued by the government you can't even get replacements for worn black plates (they're paint on embossed aluminium and the paint do comes off), they just got rid of the machines as soon as they stopped issuing the older-style plates. Originally they even said the old plates would be discontinued by 1998 but apparently they then decided that'd be too much effort and just left them alone.

Loved this , reminds me of the VW type 2 bay bus with it;'s brolly handle hand brake coming out the dash board

Reminds me of the Bedford Midi/ Suzuki , they had column change and in dash handbrake, also engine under seat

also loving the kamikazi plane on the rear view x

In the Netherlands the following model was the L300 Van and Minibus, as far as I know, at the beginning of my mechanics time regularly worked on it.

Lovely to see it and in action. Thanks Ian. I seem to recall at the time Colt Car Co in UK set Colt as a more "prestigious" Japanese brand, to compete with comparable European brands. That coupled with the quota system on Japanese imports at that time and the already established Datsun and Toyota ranges. I would suppose that was a reason not to sell a van, instead concentrating on saloons, sports cars and 4x4's.

Looks pretty modern and in nice condition for a vehicle 4 years older than myself.

You're absolutely gleeful aren't you! Your excitement at the windscreen wipers is infectious...

Malta is only 19 miles long so mileage is probably right.

Had an all black L300 Delica Super Exceed, 1989 grey import. 2.5 l Pajero diesel, slow as hell , 4 speed auto with overdrive. Great fun and was like a limo in the back. The rear 3 seat bench slid backwards and forwards to increase boot space or leg room and the middle seats were two captains chairs that could turn to face the rear, so the passengers could face each other. Weird led lights in the back with limo tints and curtains were a bit of fun

Woke up to a fresh Hubnut drive, Very pleasant. 2hours fresh. Ideed a worthwhile mini bus 🚌 I wonder why Mitsubishi didn't try to sell more of them to the UK,& USA. Or even sold as a Campervan. Apparently a nicer engine than the VW Bus. A fun video all round Ian, If you were the sales manager It would have sold. Well done. Rich and Cats, purring like Mitsubishi engines. LA. 🇺🇸

I had a 1987 Mitsubishi van with a Sherrod conversion package. Very nice, fully loaded. We took my wife's parents and our three small children on a nice trip aroun the lower end of Lake Erie and over to Niagara Falls. The only thing about it was the 2.4 engine. I couldn't find another 2.4 and it wasn't compatible with any other engine at the time which would have been the 2.6 or the 2.2.

The pre facelift version has got a smiley face with its big single round headlights.From what I've just seen on Wikipedia.

Remember driving Mazda vans in the 80's with the 4 on a tree. Very nippy.

Hi Ian, Delicaious. Thanks.

I'm not sure if the use of the name Colt in the UK came from Japan or if it was the idea of the person that started the Colt Car Company in Gloucestershire to import them. Nice musical indicator noises in that one, and it's quite amazing that they made that engine work in a van and minibus when it was designed for a mk1/2 Escort-size saloon car...

I worked in the Middle East in the 80s and there were a plethora of small lightweight minibus designs by all the usual Far Eastern vehicle manufacturers. Often used as airport taxis , hotel shuttle or even company buses - I used one every workday for several years ( a Toyota, I think) they were a bit of a tight squeeze for ten burly westerners but did the job well enough. Never saw any of these models in UK so I presume they had been banned as not meeting safety protocols or something.

Rather like a small Datsun E20 I drove in my first "real" job. I loved it and will never understand why column gearchange's went out of fashion. So convenient for town driving.

You get to drive the coolest stuff.

Thanks Richard cov

I had the Austin Somerset, my one experience with column change . I wish I still had it.

Great video; maybe try it 9 up next time! :-)

Lovely van/minibus. My Dad had a later Mitsubishi van in the 1990's and that had column gearchange, engine underneath the passenger seat. That seat was like a heater.

Looks like it's a great motor

How did you keep so calm and professional in this video while all the time being dive bombed by a small aircraft .

Desde Ecuador- Sud América. Excelente vehículo, muy versátil, cómodo e ideal para el trabajo, distribuíamos medicinas en el.

Brill!! Reminds me of our old petrol Mazda Bongo. Big heavy bus atop a. gutless 2 litres that drank fuel. Far better than the diesels and much less noise from between your thighs though. A trip to the shops felt like a relaxed holiday style drive though.

you just keep showing me motors i want.ps aging wheels and mustie1 are excellent.

Never seen this van series before. The 2nd generation was sold here, Australia from 1980 as the Mitsubishi L300 Express commercial van, and the people mover was the Star Wagon. And the 3rd generation was sold up to 2013. Mitsubishi then quit the van market here, and so did the Mazda E series and Nissan Urvan. The only Japanese van to stay on the market was the Toyota Hiace. Kia and Hyundai entered the market, and the Euro vans: Renault, Fiat, Mercedes, Volkswagen etc. And the Chinese LDV, and SAIC . The Transit returned in the facelifted 2nd generation after a break. Amazing to think how much the vehicle market, just for vans has changed here. A Nissan S Cargo van would make an interesting test, if you can find one.

Mid engine, very sporty! I like little vans like this and the Suzuki's from the 80s and 90s. Driving position (on top of the front axle) is also lots of fun like the T2 and T3 I drove through France.

Looks to me that this van is an earlier version of the Mitsubishi L300 which appeared here in Australia in 1980. They were fitted with 1.6 and 2.0 litre engines.

These were rather popular in van form in Singapore, in the '70s & '80s. Cheaper & drove better than the competition. There weren't heater controls either as there wasn't one fitted like on many vehicles in hot climates back then.

I really enjoyed this video , the under the front seat engine reminds me of a mk2 Nissan urvan I used to drive at work back in 2001 - please Ian do a Nissan urvan (panel Van )test drive in a future video - if there are any mk2s left !

One thing i so miss wrt old cars is the high beams button on the floor

Here in western Canada, we get some of these imported (RHD) from Japan. They're newer and all diesel 4X4s. The name Delica is short for Delivery Car. Mitsubishi sold a Colt here under the Dodge name, and when they set up a factory (Hyundai) in Korea, one of their first exports was the Hyundai Pony. All the underpinnings were the same as the Colt. Only the body was different. The Kia factory was similarly set up by Mazda, and their first few cars were Mazda 323s under the skin.

Smashing motor. I'd like one.

tenaga dan material besinya luar biasa , salah satu mobil legendaris dari mitsubishi

oh, they knew Brits and Americans could say Mitsubishi, problem was that plane hanging on the mirror. That is what the folks through the 70's who were buying new cars remembered them for. At the time, Colt was a good distraction...and nice and Chevette should never be used in the same sentence. They ever tore down the factory they were built in north of Atlanta...

THAT IS GORGEOUS.......Ian ,youre a lucky git lol

PPLLLLEEEAASSEEEEE say you've done a video of the NSX in the background!

This van looks like from different planet compared for example same age Commer Spacevan. Mitsubishi really knew how to make cars (and vans) back then!

Cool van :) remind's me of 1980's Toyota Van's :)

So similar to the Hiace of the same period in design. The Toyota possibly had a larger engine? The were branded Mitsubishi here in NZ Assembled by Chrysler yet, Colt for the Australian market. Thanks for the great vids

In Australia we had Mitsubishi L200 & L300 Colt was small front wheel drive with the same engine

I do like a good column shift. Looks like it could maybe do with an overdrive to be practical on motorways but I doubt it was an option. Love the styling. It'd be fine for anyone who doesn't usually have to bother with motorways. I could live with it. And kip in it.

Wonder if that was used for airport - hotel transfers. The beginnings of some interesting holidays in Malta.

I would love that. ideal for moving mountain bikes around.

Same layout as my Toyota Previa was. Or the 'MR8' as I called it.

Love it :)

Ash tray for the rear passengers? Washer fluid bottle inside the cabin? What luxury!

Delicas were very popular in Greece (I think that was the first generation sold here)!

Given your obsession with wipers, what do you think about the mono-wiper arrangement on the MB 190E? I think it's amazing!

Hi Ian. No fifth gear? I'm sure my old boss's Mitzie had five. Great vid's luv em!!

Nice car...still much sparepart for this car on my country ..new old stock and genuine

Nice to see a column change that works more like a flappy paddle - looked so smooth and precise - good design or low mileage ?

Great motor, no need for anything else. Good choice of wristwatch too, if I may say so......(Casio F91-W?)

Legend cars

@3.24 is he a stunt double now your famous

I always thought they traded as 'Colt' to avoid the Mitsubishi 'Zero' connotations

Very interesting, I’ve seen a 4x4 version, an old woman parks it outside Aldi in Kettering every morning. Or is it Lidl, same thing I guess

You need to get your hands on an old series landrover & do a vid

Mantul👍👍👍👍

Similar engine layout to a Commer minibus I was in. In the 80s.The minibus would have been over ten years old at the time.

That gearshift is actually far better than the now normal floor mounted one. I wonder why it was never very popular