A PACESETTING new supermini is poised to make 100mpg motoring available in Britain at a budget price. Hailed as the world's most economical production car, the Japanese model will cost less than £10,000 when it reaches the showrooms next year.

Featuring a new 1.1-litre direct-injection petrol engine and advanced underbonnet technology, the Pistachio promises to break the 100mpg barrier with ease, claims Mitsubishi. The chic three-door car returns more than 84mpg in Japanese government tests which simulate stop-start driving through town centres and urban areas.

'This is the perfect city car and just the kind of transport commuters have been waiting for. But the bonus is that it also has sufficient power to cope with longer distances,' said Denis Murphy, acting managing director of Colt Car Co. 'We're keen to market a model which is smaller than the Mitsubishi Colt hatchback and which costs substantially less than £10,000. As well as being super-efficient with fuel, it is easy to park and will qualify for the cheapest road fund licence rate.'

The Pistachio has adequate room for four and uses Mitsubishi's latest technology aimed at further improving the benefits of GDI direct-injection. Fitted with an automatic stop and go idling system, the car's engine shuts down at traffic hold-ups and bursts back into life when the accelerator pedal is pressed.