I test drove the Mitsubishi Mirage today| Off-Topic Discussion forum |

EvanR Dork
6/27/14 2:32 p.m.

...and all I can say is "why?"

I once owned a 1986 Chevy Sprint ER (the older brother to the Geo Metro) for which I paid the princely sum of $250. The Sprint was a slightly better car than this Mirage. However, the Mirage costs about 50 times as much as I paid for my Sprint.

It's slow. Bog slow. For a moment, I thought it had decent pickup in fifth, until I looked at the tach (the Sprint didn't have a tach, so I'll give Mitsu +1 for that) and the shifter, and realized I was wailing on the Mirage in third gear. Oh.

Everything in the car feels a lot like the Sprint - i.e. like it's about to fall apart. Don't lean against the fender with your butt, or it will dent.

TL;DR - if you must have a sub-$15k car with a warranty, go buy any other car that meets these requirements. Better yet, go buy a CPO version of an $18k car.

A funny note. I hung around the showroom for 15 minutes, and no one was there. Not "no one approached me" - there was literally no one in the building! I finally went out to the ONLY Service Writer and asked him if they actually sold cars there. He picked up the phone, and 5 minutes later a sales guy wandered up from the Nissan store in the next building. He apologized and explained that no one stays in the Mitsu store, because sales guys only make money if someone buys a car, and no one buys Mitsubishis, so they all hang out in the Nissan store, hoping to actually make a commission.

Swank Force One MegaDork
6/27/14 2:40 p.m.

Did they have dozens of them in the fruitiest colors you've ever seen?

Tom Suddard GRM+ Memberand Associate Editor
6/27/14 2:49 p.m.

Heh. They just mailed me something saying the Mirage was the best thing since sliced bread.

I see a good stunt car in the making.

Wally GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
6/27/14 3:04 p.m.

In reply to Swank Force One:

The dealer by me looks like a fruit bowl. The down side is you can tell they have not sold a single one as they have been lined up the same way for weeks.

EvanR Dork
6/27/14 3:06 p.m.

Swank Force One wrote: Did they have dozens of them in the fruitiest colors you've ever seen?

They did, and actually, I'll give them +1 for that, as well. I like colors on my cars. Seems like 75% of what you see on the road today is black, white, or some form of grey. But if you want something tiny and colorful, both the Spark and the Mazda2 come in plenty of neat colors as well.

Swank Force One MegaDork
6/27/14 3:07 p.m.

I haven't seen the Spark and Mazda2 in the awesome barbie pink/purple pastels yet, though.

If the Yaris was available in that really obnoxious purple, my wife would become intolerable in her begging.

aircooled UltimaDork
6/27/14 3:08 p.m.

Mitsubishi still sells cars?

I thought they were a EVO distribution center now.

Swank Force One MegaDork
6/27/14 3:10 p.m.

For some reason i see a lot of brand new Galants around here.

Duke UltimaDork
6/27/14 3:28 p.m.

Because they're reasonably roomy, and they're giving them away. No other reason.

Racer1ab Dork
6/27/14 3:42 p.m.

Duke wrote: Because they're reasonably roomy, and they're giving them away. No other reason.

This. I test drove a Mirage while I was considering buying the M2 and the mere mention of cross-shopping got the sales guy to offer two grand off the sticker price.

To me, it still wasn't worth it.

nicksta43 UberDork
6/27/14 3:52 p.m.

I knew they would be like this but somewhere deep inside of me is a very sad panda. I really wanted it to be a good car.

Zomby Woof PowerDork
6/27/14 4:01 p.m.

Under $10k in Canada, same as the new Micra. I should test drive both just to see how bad they are.

oldopelguy SuperDork
6/27/14 5:20 p.m.

I like mine. I'm just over 8k miles and knocking down a cumulative average of @42mpg on my commute to work, so gas+insurance+payment is still less than gas in my pickup.

Compared to nearly any new car it is considerably less powerful, but compared to similar cars like Festivas or Metros I don't consider it under powered. It holds speed on cruise in 5th that even my truck has to kick down for, so for driving down the highway it has all it needs.

I wouldn't even consider the cvt though. In this segment you have to drive it like you stole it, and a cvt just won't do.

nicksta43 UberDork
6/27/14 5:28 p.m.

In reply to oldopelguy:

So does it feel like it's about to fall apart? I can live with underpowered, hell I still lust for a yugo.

oldopelguy SuperDork
6/27/14 5:46 p.m.

The sheet metal is thin, so leaning on it probably would give you a dent, and most of the interior is the hard plastic that auto reviews lament about. That said, the cabin is quiet, no weird squeeks, rattles, or god-awful wind noise like a Festiva (or every GM I have owned) and while I am not a huge fan of the automatic climate control it works well.

I only have two gripes, really: I wish the seat was an inch lower for headroom getting in and out and I wish the rear suspension was a bit stiffer. The rear I can fix, new sway bar and coilrite airbags, but with the airbags in the seat I am still looking for a good solution.

It is what it is, a 4-door car under 2k# that gets hybrid mpg without the cost penalty. One tank tooling around northern MN by the in-law's cabin I went over 450 miles on an 8 gallon tank. My commute is a very windy 25 mile blast down a 75mph interstate and I still get 350 miles to a sub $30 fill up.

Inflation adjusted $12k now is almost spot on match for the $6k msrp on the Metro the last year it was available. Hp, weight, economy, all almost the same but the Mirage has features they never thought of back then: automatic climate control, Bluetooth (that works very well), one touch up power windows, push button start, remote control locks, etc...

nicksta43 UberDork
6/27/14 6:16 p.m.

They should build this.

Travis_K UltraDork
6/27/14 6:26 p.m.

I had no idea they even made those, I haven't ever seen one. Everyone in my area who wants a car like that buys a 500, fiesta or yaris, its very unusual to even see a Mazda 2 or Chevy spark.

drainoil Reader
6/29/14 8:25 p.m.

A new high mpg econo car in this price range that's not slow? Does one exist?

mad_machine GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
6/29/14 8:47 p.m.

I do not know about the new Mirages.. but I once had a rental Mirage Sedan. Even though It was the same colour as my car and about the same size.. it was so anonymous that I would lose it in every parking lot.. I am almost surprised I did not lose it in my own driveway

neon4891 UltimaDork
6/29/14 10:07 p.m.

I just looked it up, no more gallant. The entire line up is the Lancers(4 door, 5 door, evo), Mirage, i-Miev, and Outlanders(large and small).

On paper, the only thing about the Mirage that looks good is the light weight, MPG, and combination of 5spd and cruise.

neon4891 UltimaDork
6/29/14 10:11 p.m.

I should test drive one for just to see.

EvanR Dork
6/29/14 11:01 p.m.

Then test drive a Spark.

PHeller PowerDork
6/30/14 11:34 a.m.

I'm convinced the new Mirage is a car that will never look good. When you do a google search for "Mirage Stance" and nothing interesting is found except older Mirages (that actually look cool lowered) it is evident there is no hope.