Mitsubishi Motors USA broke its one-month-old, sixth-generation Mirage sales record in February 2015, soaring up to 1863 units, a 67% year-over-year improvement.
The Mirage is a penalty box in the classic sense of the automotive term – in genuine penalty boxes you’re forced to sit beside a guy who takes notes like a secretive therapist while a camera looks up your nostrils.
But by the relative standards of Mitsubishi’s current U.S. status as a low-volume mainstream automaker in a high-volume market, the Mirage is a hit. And by, “a hit,” we mean it does ok. By Mitsubishi’s standards and our expectations for an 74-horsepower subcompact.
North of the border, the Mk6 Mirage, a replacement for the Colt in much of the world and a new entry-level car for Mitsubishi in our corner of the world, got off to a decent start. But then the Nissan Micra arrived and Mitsubishi’s average monthly Mirage total fell 36% from 377 units in the first eight months of 2014 to 241 since then, with February marking the second-lowest full month total since launch.
But there’s no Micra in the United States, and Mirage volume has steadily improved over the last year. Only once in six tries has the Mirage failed to increase its U.S. volume, year-over-year. Mitsubishi sold 3785 Mirages in the first-quarter of 2014, 4482 in the second-quarter, and 4599 in the third-quarter. Q4 volume not surprisingly fell to 3842 units, but January sales broke past the 1700-unit barrier for the first time. February, with 1863 units, was 158 sales better than January’s record, a 9% month-over-month improvement.
Context? Yes, the Mirage is selling better now than at any point in its first 16 months. But even in its best-ever month, the Mirage accounted for just 0.15% of all new vehicle sales in America; 0.32% of all new passenger car sales.
Nissan sold 11,909 Versa sedans and Notes in February. Struggling subcompacts like the Chevrolet Sonic (down 62%) and Ford Fiesta (down 23%) outsold the Mirage by 1037 and 1845 units, respectively.
The Mirage was Mitsubishi’s third-best-selling model behind the Outlander Sport and Lancer. Not including the i MiEV (two February sales), Mitsubishi only markets four different vehicles.
Nevertheless, it was a record. So chin up, Mitsubishi. We may wish your subcompact was nothing more than a mirage, but you’re making visible Mirages more apparent than ever.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures.
Can’t help but notice that neither the Prius V nor the C-Max are lighting the sales charts on fire. Hybrid owners apparently don’t wan’t ugly mini minivans.
Happy to see its success. I really like how refreshingly simple the bottom of the market is. I recently test drove a bare bones versa S, 5spd with zero options. No separate headrests on the front seats, just one piece seats like a lada 2106. Maybe it was just the novelty of the thing but I really liked it. In some ways more interesting than my civic. Plus epic legroom!
The Smart Fortwo also has seats like that with the head restraint integrated into the backrest. IMHO they’re the best, most comfortable seats this side of an Audi A3. Really great for my back pain. I could creep along in traffic for hours.
Let me add to this: in this price bracket (sub $12k new car), IMO the Versa sedan is still hands down the most practical option for 99% of ‘real’ buyers. That is, the person on a tight budget that just has to have a new car, but needs it to function like a full fledged automobile, not some oddity.
15cu ft trunk, huge rear seat space to fit child seats or full grown adults, adequate 4 cylinder power.
None of the other options (Spark, Mirage, ?) offer that sort of practicality. The one thing the Versa is missing in super basic trim is a split fold seat.
I can’t sit upright in a Versa back seat. And I’m just 1.8m (about 6 foot right?). So even if I have endless leg room in a Versa, no head room and shoulder room is tight. Guess I’m jaded because here we have cars with larger trunks, more headroom, shoulder room and folding down rear seats with quite adequate if not Versa size leg room (even corporate sibling Renault Logan). And, depending on priority, and having or not other “highway” cars, that 99% shrinks fast.
Also as considered that the new Versa sedan has the same space eating armrest and gearbox placement of the March/Micra. Don’t know, haven’t driven the new one. Did not feel this issue with the old Versa or March.
I’m certain you are right on these points, I’ve been in a Renault Logan taxi in Novosibirsk and was amazed at how roomy the back seat was, particularly width-wise, 3 grown met sat side by side in relative comfort. The Versa is definitely a narrower vehicle.
I really like these pragmatic sedans, as awkward as they may look styling wise (disproportionately tall and ‘tippy’ in our land of longer, lower, wider). They unabashedly put practicality first and foremost. The good ground clearance is also something I admire, something lacking in most US-market cars.
Semi-snide tone of the article notwithstanding, I’m thinking maybe the vehicle has qualities overlooked or minimized by the pack mentality of the automotive press. Prius like mileage in a conventional, low priced car perhaps? Maybe its just a lot better with a manual transmission.
With gas prices down, it should be doing worse, not better.
I have to agree with the semi-snide tone also.
My daughter, just starting out on her own could use a nice new inexpensive car, with a long warranty, good fuel mileage and low maintenance costs. Not everyone has the budget or the means to afford a new higher level car when they’re starting out…
Surprisingly, the car has done well, but I suppose there is a larger market out there for an inexpensive car than most realized? Not everyone wants a 84 month loan, either. Fuel prices be damned.
It really is too bad the US market does not get the Nissan Micra, much better value/price bottom feeder with a superior dealer network. Check Nissan Canada to see why. Krom edition as well:)
Shame the Micra/March is so bad when it comes to lay out. Impossible to sit comfortably in it. Haven’t driven the Mirage but would love to.
I like the looks of the Micra, if they got better mpg than Mirage and offered everything the Mirage ES has (including 100K warranty) I would have bought one! My favorite is the Honda Brio though, I wish I had a 1.0L brio. The Mirage is the best MPG car we’ve got here in the USA and everyone needs to show the demand so other car makers bring their tiny cars to market.
would love to hear from someone who bought one and why, was it just price, a city car what else did they compare against it…
I bought one…
I commute 120 km daily for work and wanted to reduce my monthly gasoline bill.
The Mirage boasts economy numbers equal to any gas or diesel out there and very close to hybrids at <50% of the cost. Mirage carries 160,000 km/10 yr warranty.
Do the math….
I will run this car out of warranty about 7yrs in at 160,000 km, just before the rust warranty ends.
I have no concern for resale value as I will run it until it is spent like an empty Bic lighter.
As far as some of the biased, one insulting, a couple sadly misinformed comments here……
On their own merit these cars make excellent fast food delivery vehicles that can run economically for 5 – 7 yrs with warranty. No deals necessary, just average math skills.
I own my car and it's white, there is a purple one at one of the driving schools. Hint, you're wrong.
Low credit specials…? My credit score is as good as any of you on this forum. That comment was insulting, serving only to draw attention to your ignorance.
FYI. ..
I easily achieve the stated economy of 64mpg (imp) daily and have hit 74mpg (imp) on Highway trips with my CVT trans.
This car has all the bells and whistles I want as well as a couple surprises for this price range.
Contrary to popular belief this car will move when asked.
If you don't think so, be in front of me in a passing lane when I want in front of you.
I have driven many cars in this class and for money spent the Mirage delivers more.
I agree about the low credit score comments. It’s always the same ignorant comments that add nothing to the conversation.
I drive a lancer se because I wanted awd and I wanted it as cheap as possible. I’ve owned a jeep, a wrx, a srx and I now realize that a car is just an appliance. I want cheap and I want reliable and with as long of a warranty as possible.
Wish there was a “like” box here. Lucid comments like this are too frequently smeared by the B&B.
I like the versa and think I would like this also. Dependable, economical, and roomy (at least the versa) and would be happy to have one.
I am a die hard car guy, I’ve loved cars since I was old enough to use old windshield wipers on my parents house. I’ve owned almost every make and model of car (mostly older cheaper cars of course) and my list of favorites includes MR2, Miata, CRX. Every car has a purpose, some cars can multitask each car should be judge by the task it can perform as designed to perform. You won’t see me take my Jeep Cherokee to a autocross event, or a MPG marathon, but in 12” of snow or off road it is king.
The Mirage, why? Was it just the price? The price added to the appeal but it was a LOT of things. After owning dozens of Honda’s I was so tired of Timing belt anxiety, costly replacement or finding a place to do it myself. I refuse to buy a car with a interference timing belt engine, the Mirage is a simple timing chain like most cars are now.
What is the Mirage designed for? Everything about the Mirage is designed to be light weight and fuel efficient and for a very small market that is very appealing (Me including). For the rest of the market the standard features and price brings them in to buying a Mirage, they discover the incredible fuel economy down the road and what its like to drive 300 miles and spend $16.00.
If you try to put a Mirage in 1/4 test or a road course your missing the purpose of the Mirage.
I compared the Mirage with a Honda Fit, Versa, Mazda 2, Spark, Fiesta.
It didn’t take very long for me to narrow down the list to the Mirage, ecomodder forum that I have been a member to for a long time talked about it and lead me to the Mirage Forums. That’s where the real truth came out about the negative reviews from Corvette test drivers. I would have really considered the Versa note if it wasn’t so ugly, the versa sedan looks great but the note….why couldn’t they just keep it similar but Nissan doesn’t offer fast key or 100K/10YR power-train warranty
I do 60%city and 40% highway driving in my Mirage and my current average (Pennsylvania winter mostly) 39.9MPG. My 1999 Civic EX did a best average of 26 mpg in the winter.
My Mirage gives me a new car reassurance for driving places with my daughter for a super low price, the fast key makes life so much easier. I always said I would never own a new car, the Mirage changed that, low price, incredible mpg, no batteries or charging, leather steering wheel, fast key, bluetooth, steering wheel controls, cruise…. all on a tiny car? It’s a dream come true.
Honda hasn’t had a timing belt in a Civic since 2006, Fit never had one here in the US either… just fyi
Trust me I’m a car guy and a honda fan I know a lot about the I series and the fit.
See my comment below.
I have a friend who bought one. Lives in the old part of Baltimore (brick streets, no parking), commutes out of the city for work. He bought it to replace a 2002 Hyundai Accent. The Mitsu was cheap, and he puts a premium on MPG and low ownership costs. Not a car guy, it’s just an appliance. And where he lives, nothing stays nice for very long. Might as well buy something disposable.
The fact that it outsold the Yaris, a better car in every aspect, shows me that it is a money issue, even though at the end of the day, the much lower resale value of the Misu makes it not such a good buy.Unless you plan to run it into the ground.
Why would you say that? Just from spec sheets? How much cheaper is a Yaris than a Fiesta? After having driven a Micra/March there is none better in terms of driving than the Fiesta while the Spark has a very good platform rendering it a nice generalist car with some apparently clever packaging.
Come on, Marcelo, you know Toyota cars are better than these Mitsubishi crap-cars, always has always will, that is why Toyota have always been recommended to me by mechanics and used car brokers and dealers who know a lot more about the car business than I do! BTW TTAC calls them penalty boxes, I don’t see that term to describe any other small car.
I don’t really know that. The Lancer has some fans here as do their SUVs and trucks, which btw have never failed to disapoint me. We don’t have the Yaris but we do have the Etios. And while nice to drive is put together like a fisher price toy (i can pull anything in the dash apart with little prodding). So the answer is not always Toyota. And as you are a sincere Toyota guy, your take on it wiuld be interesting.
I point you to my Nissan Micra/March review. Everything in the spec sheet and even previous experience with it led me to believe I’d love it. Then I drove it.
That reconfirned my opinion. Always test it fir yourself. Spec sheets and past experiences are useless when a new model comes out.
Marcelo, in this case it is beyond cut and dry, perhaps your anti-Toyota bias is showing? The Yaris is basically a class up from this Mirage in power, highway driveablity, and price. The Mirage has some really glaring cost cutting such as unpainted inner body panels (hello rust), and a 74hp 3 cylinder engine is just no match against an admittedly outdated but still competent 4 cylinder with over 100hp. Finally the Yaris platform is a tried and tested one, the drivetrain we’ve had here since 2000 (Toyota Echo, then Scion xA/xB), and the body/hardware since 2006.
I love that we get the Mirage here in the US and I’m cheering on its sales, but to question the Yaris’ superiority over this little runabout on any objective measure short of fuel economy or price is just silly. I think Volt is correct that the price gap between the two is just that great that many people are going with the Mitsu.
Or so you say. The Mirage is a brand new car as far as I can tell in the Americas and like any other car I’d approach it with open eyes. i hardly know about the Yaris like I freely admitted but Volt is the sort of guy who likes his Toyotas and can talk abiut them without resorting to name calling so I was interested in his input. Anyway probably best of times for small car fans around the world even in NA.
Again, facts are facts. To hit that $11k price, the Mirage is slapped together in Thailand, the cost cutting is so deep that some of the body panels never get a top coat of paint, just google “mirage engine bay paint.” and you’ll start to understand. Additionally, the vibrating, weak kneed 1.3L three cylinder is down 25hp to the Yaris 1.5L. At this bottom rung of automobile HP ratings, 25hp is huge. I’m not bashing the Mirage needlessly, nor am I implying that the Yaris is a great choice (it’s not). I’m merely stating that the Yaris is a lot more car than the Mirage, cost aside. Likewise a Camry is a lot more car than a Corolla, a Charger more car than a Dart, etc.
The build quality on my Thailand built mirage may not be up to German spec but a lot of the money is spent on what counts. They could have painted the bay and added 300 to the price but why? It’s a economy car. 74hp is more than enough for me, I am capable of passing out any car on the road easily, I infact wish I had the 1.0L. Yes it’s the lowest horsepower car on the road, find something new to cry about you guys are beating a dead horse. Btw how are the head gaskets on your 3.4 4 runner ;) mine went at 170k. Never got over 18mpg in my 4 runner, my 4.0 cherokee runs circles around it on and off road plus gets 22mpg
As to being built in Thailand so is the global Ranger. What is your point?? The car comes the way it does because Mitsubishi chose it too.
As to unpainted bay, take a look at the Toyota Etios. If mighty Toyota is doing it, it must be right, tight?
@gtemnykh,
I have a Thai built Mazda BT50 and the quality of the vehicle is as good as a Korean manufactured vehicle, or possibly even better.
Most every manufacturer is knocking cars up in Thailand.
One thing you must remember, run of the mill everyday hacks can be knocked up wherever there is a port, some roads and electricity.
Car manufacturing is not the domain of advanced/OECD economies.
Any country can even manufacture a prestige vehicle. South Africa makes BMWs.
It is quite simplistic of you to think you are superior or produce a superior product because your income is higher.
Currently the Big 3 in the US are probably in between Japanese and the Chinese in overall vehicle quality.
This would place them below Korea and Thailand.
Chrysler and Jeep in Australia are not viewed as good as Asian or Euro vehicles. They challenge the Koreans in pricing an bling.
Even the Grand Cherokee isn’t viewed as a prestige vehicle here. It considered a cheap SUV.
Didn’t mean to start a wave of Mirage owner butthurt…
headgaskets are fine, this truck will last for a few decades after the Cherokee is reborn as a chinese washing machine, and the mirage as well for that matter.
Marcelo before we veered off course, the simple point I was making that the Yaris was a more substantial vehicle, better fitting the typical US buyer’s needs (can drive on highway with some semblance of stability, okay power, good build quality). You’re bringing up offhand points, the Etios is an interesting vehicle but an irrelevant 3rd world market vehicle, IE not the yaris we get in the US. You’re right Thai built doesn’t mean bad, but not painting metal IS bad.
Now you are making some sense. If you had said that from the beginning. Though semblance of stability at highway speed is subjective I can get your points. And I won’t dispute you.
But if you go off using expressions like Mo butthurt, 3rd world whatever, and so on, you make it sound like what you like is superior and are being disdainful for what someone else potentially likes.
As always, my point is, try it for yourself. No one is a bigger expert than yourself for your needs and for what you like. Case in point that just drove it home, the March/Micra i recently drove. Wanted to love it, not only because I thought the design was interesting, but the spec sheet read very well, too. ended up not so because of the faults pointed out. That may or may not be a point to you. Examples abound, the old Fusion is another. And the list goes on.
Marcelo, if you look through all of my previous posts comparing the Yaris and Mirage, I think I’m pretty consistent in the things I emphasize the Yaris outdoes the Mirage in. I even went out of my way earlier to say that I was happy the Mirage was selling, I don’t have anything against the car. I was merely stating my opposition to the idea of the likelihood that the Mirage was ‘on the same level’ so to speak as the Toyota.
I’m sorry if my language is un-PC regarding ‘third world,’ but the Etios truly is designed for up and coming countries like Indonesia, India, countires in Central America. I see them over here in Mexico right now, I think the concept of a sturdy little solid rear axle rwd 4 cyl people carrier is awesome, and I wish they sold them here in the US. My parents have a small homestead that’s located 25 minutes away from their house, they use my dad’s Fit as their little workhorse right now, an Etios would handle that role a bit better IMO, more capable of carrying a load I think and long term would hold up better (there are some gravel/dirt roads along the way).
Regarding the Alex guy’s lashing out against 4runner headgaskets, I can’t think of a more fitting description for an unprovoked and unrelated remark other than ‘butthurt.’ Pardon the juvenile term, but when the shoe fits…
Enjoy the lively discussion and your unique perspective as always!
There’s no point in a Yaris when Toyota will lease a Camry L to outside lessees for 119-199 a month
Actually I think Corolla has been keeping Yaris sales in the dumpster, much more car for not much more money. The Yaris is overpriced, either they’re gonna have to lower price or make it better, we’ll see what they do with the Mazda 2 platform.
I agree in full. The Yaris right now is totally superfluous once you factor price in. Perhaps Toyota should revive the “Tercel” or “Echo” concept and offer a true Accent/Versa S/Mirage fighter with a decontented stripped down Yaris built in Mexico. This could very well come to fruition, as we all know the next Toyota subcompact will share a chassis with the Mazda 2 and will be made in Mexico. Between the shared costs of the platform and Mexican assembly, we may very well see Toyota come out swinging with a $11k Yaris.
Sorry for being “butt hurt” I am just tired of seeing people criticize a car when they have never even give it a chance other than reading some specs on the internet, watching a few car reviews on you tube. My Ford windstar was a terrible vehicle, it was recalled multiple times rotting everywhere there was paint at one time, terrible mpg, tons of ridiculous things like intake manifold gaskets at 100k? I’ll post back in 10 years with the unpainted parts of my Mirage that do have primer over the metal and you will see that paint was not needed. I wanted something affordable that got the best mpg and had all the technology items like bluetooth, steering wheel controls, keyless start for under 15k, nobody else could fill that order. Test drive a Mirage 5 speed and see it for yourself before saying a Yaris is better than a Mirage. I believe they have a lot of pride in the build quality in Thailand, its comparable to USA.
Once you buy a Mirage and discover the mpgs you’ve been missing all your life you will not let it go easily! I’ve seen this with plenty of Metro owners, they are embarrassed they have to drive a metro at first then that turns to respect for the metro and they embrace it like a tax refund check.
“If you’ve got a pulse…we’ve got your deal”
$146/month for 84 months (at my local dealer)
Does that include free interest?
I think it was 5.X percent.
Nobody buying a Mitsu is gonna have a credit score to qual for a 0% loan.
Do these sales also include fleet sales? I could see the rental fleets gobbling these things up like the bite-size candies they look like… Mitsubishi could have just offered one hell of a fleet deal to somebody to inflate sales numbers.
Gotta be. I started seeing tons of these bearing rental-car barcodes when I go to work on The Strip every day.
Here’s a hint: the ones in the funky colors are privately owned. Every one I see in white/silver/gray is a rental.
We just read yesterday that Mitsu is gonna start selling only SUV’s in a couple of yrs, so what’s gonna become of their hot little car?
Give it two or three more inches of ground clearance, some grey rub strips, sell it for a $14k base price, and rake in a bunch of additional profit for very little work?
To all the people on the Internet that complain cars became too bloated, and have too many expensive features “no one wants”: Put your money where your mouth is and buy one.
Done. :3
Isn’t it obvious? Low credit specials.
Exactly this. In case some haven’t noticed, the “recovery” hasn’t reached the bottom 99% of the population. The Mirage is cheap and you can get a forever loan on it. If you’re scraping by on two jobs flipping burgers and stocking shelves at Walmart, this may well be your only new car choice.
Mitsu should slap a turbo on it, some alloys, and wring the competition’s neck. Hahaha!
There is a bolt-on supercharger kit available for this car (aftermarket) and mine came with alloys.
The sales increase is coming from one place: rental car companies. These things are multiplying like lice in rental fleets. Had one last week in LA. It was awful!
5 speed or CVT?
CVT. Horrible throttle response, poor acceleration.
That explains why. The 5 speed manual does a MUCH better job at making out the most out of the 3-cylinder.
Come on, guys. Mitsu sales in the US are just to keep a toe in the NAFTA market and supply the Caribbean. With plants in Europe, Asia and North and South America, they’re a global company. Sales here of their economy car sold in developing countries are just to advertise it’s the same car sold in America. Believe it or not, there are still a few places in the world where that means something.
I bought a silver DE 5 speed in May 2014. My only real complaint is the electronic throttle lag. It’s not as bad as, say, a late 2000s Chevy Aveo (Rented one in 2009, it was terrible), but it’s enough to annoy me when shifting gears. The suspension is soft and has way too much body roll, but swapping in a set of Tein springs dealt with that easily enough.
I bought the car because it’s a perfect blank canvas for what I want emphasized- handling and fuel economy. It’s one of the lightest cars on the market today at 1973 lbs (that’s only 38 lbs heavier than a Lotus Elise, by the way) with a 0.28 drag coefficient. With the right suspension setup, it’ll be a go-kart. That low drag coefficient and small engine also means it gets more than 50 MPG on a steady highway cruise, without needing hybrid trickery (take that, Prius).
So why did I buy it? It made perfect sense, and I want to support the return of smaller, lighter, simpler cars.
How is it comfort wise? Can you take a long trip in it, or is it strictly a city car?
The stock suspension actually rides very well comfort wise, and does a great job over rough roads. The seats are well made and comfy and do just fine for multiple hours behind the wheel with ample support. I’ve done 8-hour trips in mine and it wasn’t unpleasant at all. It’s no luxury car, but for what it is, it actually isn’t all that bad.
That anyone who can fog a mirror can drive away in a Mirage at your local Used Car Superstore (Also We Have Some Mitsus In The Back) factors heavily into its sales ‘success.’
Really? You think the sales figures above include “used” sales numbers…
In reality every used Mirage sold is one less new Mirage sold which would lower the sales figures above.
Naah, he means that the Mitsubishi “dealer” is a desk or two and 15 parking spaces in the back of the WangBang Auto Group Preowned Superstore, since Mitsu doesn’t have enough sales volume to support a standalone store.
Further evidence that there are no longer any bad cars. If this car came out a decade ago it would be the class leader. As a modern automobile what is there to complain about? If I could get a good deal I would buy one. From the picture above it looks almost attractive.
Just FYI for everyone… the engine bay and trunk floor are NOT unpainted on the Mirage. These areas are painted with a non body color paint which is used across the entire line to lower costs. It is used in all areas we don’t see when hood, doors and hatch are closed.
It’s still quality automotive paint and will keep rust at bay over the same timeframe as the exterior body paint.
How could any manufacturer offer rust warranty on unpainted steel panels?
Ask DMC :p
Good to know, that makes sense from a production efficiency standpoint. I was thinking it was primer or some sort of base coat.
Confession time. I owned a 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander AWD, which moved with me from Washington, DC to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where it still currently resides. Never had a problem, handled SP’s questionable roads with aplomb, and sold for a tidy profit to an incoming American.
If you can get past the Mitsubishi hate that permeates the interwebs, you can pick yourself up a competent car with competitive features for much less than Toyota or Honda wants you to pay. The Mirage’s “success” is basically the low-end expression of this in the market.
I would love to read a general Op/Ed piece from anyone who works for Mitsubishi Motors N.A. (or even a dealer employee) on their personal thoughts on the brand’s choices and future.
I heard a news report this morning that an urban study showed that low-income/minority workers are having to travel further to employers’ locations. So I wouldn’t doubt that a car like this would sell pretty well. That being said, I have my own unpleasant experiences with Mitsus. I’d rather have a used model of it’s competitors .. I suspect what is so offputting to car enthusiasts is that the Mirage is the very opposite of what most think a car should be: worse, that some future mandate will put most of us in something like it. And I don’t assume some ‘socialist’ would do it to us, either ..
I have owned a ’14 mirage for a year and a month now and 20k miles.
Haven’t had a hint of a problem yet. For the price, you are rewarded with ‘a little too soft’ suspension and ‘too light even for a baby’ steering. However, those issues aren’t really problems until you try doing hotlaps at the racetrack.
I, for one, drive this car like I stole it. With that said, the car handles better, it seems, with wider tires. My current tires are 15″, 195 wide. Now, I have no problem taking corners at twice the speed limit. There still is a bit of unease because of the suspension, but I hope to remedy that with some coilovers soon.
As stated above, the power, or lack of, isn’t actually too bad. I enjoy shifting at higher rpms and hearing the engine actually work. I actually was having too much fun and going at it with a 2009 (body style) f150 from stoplight to stoplight a few months back. I can only assume it was a V6 as I was neck-neck, or sometimes, depending on launch, actually winning against it. So, just imagine yourself having a v6 work truck.
I have the ES version so push-button start is awesome. Power windows and locks, bluetooth, leather wrapped steering and shifter.
For someone’s first vehicle, or someone’s daily driver, I think this is a great car. Don’t expect it to do what other cars do better and you’ll be fine.
Here’s why I bought mine as opposed to competition:
vs Yaris, Mazda2, Fit, – These would all be more expensive to get models approaching the same level of convenience/comfort features. Warranty and MPG wasn’t close to the Mirage.
vs Chevy Spark – Drove it, I didn’t like it for some reason. 1 year later, Seems like the Spark is having a lot more quality control issues than the Mirage. The dealer was also the whole sleazy “let me know what payment you want and Ill talk to our guy..”
vs Nissan Versa – The STRIPPED base model was the only thing in the same price class (it felt very low rent in comparison), and the mpg was unimpressive.
vs Fiesta – I was only interested in the ecoboost, due to the MPG, but price was way higher than alternatives. didnt drive it.
vs pretty much every used car I looked at – very little or no warranty, and it seems like the type of used car you get for the 12000 to 14000 range all have 30-50k miles on them already. None came close to the MPG of the Mirage, and most were automatics (I wanted a manual)
I wanted something practical, very cheap to buy and drive, good rearward visibility, good warranty, and had a reasonable feature set (I’m sorry but if Im going to be making payments, I want power windows, AC, a decent stereo). The Mirage fit this bill. Im happy with it, and have taken more than one 12 hour road trip in it.
Greetings from DK!
I´m the happy owner of a rare CVT-model….98% of cars are manual here in DK, but I really want the auto due to a lot of commuting.
Why did I end up with a Mirage?
—Price – a VW UP with similar stats would add on app. USD 5 – 6,000
—Spark and VW Up drive´s with horrific rpm´s – the Mirage is VERY low revs
—In DK we get 80 HP and 15″ alloys
—5 year and 100.000 warranty
—Great mileage
I have only driven 1000 km by now, but I´m so pleased. I tried numerous cars before I bought it, read and watched a lot of tests, tried it again, read again, and so on…!
The funny stuff….many of the negative tests posted are 99% copy-paste, even in DK, makes you wonder….WHY and WHO?
I´m amazed with the negative tests, and how most jump to conclusions – I agree, a BMW M3 is more fun to drive, but in DK I can get 21 Mirage CVT´s for the price of one M3; the small drivers car, the Fiesta would cost me an additional USD 11,000, do I need to say anymore?
Bottom line – it seems to me like “The Truth” can´t handle the truth, and no question, the little Mirage will continue to concour the sales list.
Steen