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MM Full-Review: 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage
A Review of the 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage
http://www.mitsubishicars.com/mirage
IN A NUTSHELL: By American-market 2015 standards, base transportation and nothing else.
CLOSEST AMERICAN-MARKET COMPETITORS: Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent, Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Spark, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, Mazda2, Fiat 500, and the upcoming Scion iA
(I did not include the Smart for Two and Scion iQ because the iQ is being discontinued, and both of them, IMO, are simply too small and not suited for American driving conditions...the Fiat 500 is almost two small, and borderline itself).
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;
;
;
;
;
OVERVIEW:
Given that it's no secret that Consumer Reports and some other auto magazines have given this car quite low ratings, some of you might wonder why I would be wasting my time writing up a bare-bones car like this when I could be reviewing more substantial products. Well, a couple of reasons. First, some people can't afford to spend more than the low-mid teens for a new car, and simply don't want the risks of taking the same amount of money and buying a somewhat larger, more substantial used car (even a Certified Used Car). Second, for those that can't afford more expensive vehicles, the fact that they would drive something in this class shows that they are more concerned about saving their money, and not spending what they can't afford in monthly payments (or a lump-sum), than about what the Jones's think (or their own family and friends may think, for that matter). Third, IMO, an auto reviewer who won't try out humble products like this, and can think only of glamorous vehicles, doesn't really deserve to call himself or herself one. Fourth, to me personally, almost no vehicle is a waste of time...I've had driver's seat time in vehicles across the spectrum from air-cooled Beetles and the Lotus Elise to a Rolls-Royce (not always brand-new, though), and enjoyed trying out them all. Fifth, I had a doctor's appointment this morning (each year, a follow-up appointment after my heart surgery of several years ago....so far, no problems). The roughly 25-mile trip to the doctor's office took me past one of the comparatively few remaining Mitsubishi shops in the area....a couple of blocks away, shared with Mazda. Sixth, since Consumer Reports, a publication I (usually) respect very much, gave the Mirage such a low road-test score (and a not-recommended category), I wanted to see for myself if I felt the car merited such a low test-rating. So, I decided to stop and check one out, given that (along with the Nissan Versa sedan), it represents one of the least-expensive new car purchases in the American market. Last, the chances for doing so may not be around much longer, as Mitsubishi seems to be on shaky ground in the U.S., and losing more and more dealerships each year.
(Sound familiar? That's what happened with both Isuzu and Suzuki before they packed up and left the U.S., and with Daihatsu some twenty years earlier...they steadily lost their dealerships).
Anyhow, enough of the civics lesson. I'm not doing this to give a lecture, but to evaluate a car. So, on to the Mirage.
The actual name, of course, in the American market, dates back to the 1980s, and even late 70s, with the original Mitsubishi Mirage compact and the Dodge/Plymouth Colt offshoots, which were done on a shortened version of the same platform (Chrysler and Mitsubishi, of course, back then, had a close business relationship, and shared or rebadged several different products from each division. Some of you older fans may remember the quirky but innovative "Twin-Stick" manual transmission. It had one clutch pedal, and two shift-levers right next to each other......a larger one that shifted the 4-speed transmission and a smaller one that shifted the final-drive ratio into one of two ratios, for an effective combination of eight forward speeds (some of you might correct me if I'm wrong, but a true eight-speed manual transmission, to my knowledge, has yet to be developed today on a production car in the American market). Fortunately, subsequent versions of the Mirage didn't have any connections to the ill-fated sister Mitsubishi Precis, which was a rebadged Hyundai Excel...and we all know what a quality and engineering disaster that car was. Despite its rather awkward-looking steering wheel and dash, I liked the third-generation Mirage.....it had more of a feeling of solidity and quality (and less quirkiness) than the second-generation model. Both third and fourth-generation models shared their design and platform with Chrysler's Dodge, Plymouth, and Eagle divisions. The next-generation Mirage was replaced by the Lancer in the U.S., which became most noted in its Evo turbocharged AWD versions, which was also popular with more or less the same group of buyers (mostly young men in their tens and early twenties) who were driving the competing Subaru WRX and STi.
Now comes the sixth-generation Mirage back to the U.S......and, this time, it is basically a small, subcompact hatchback that is base transportation and little else. It's a car for those who shun prestige and glamor. It will get you from Point A to Point B without showing off.......except maybe for some of the eye-opening paint colors (which I'll get to later). For 2015 (assuming there will even be a 2016 model, if Mitsubishi doesn't pack up and leave the U.S.), the Mirage is offered in two trim levels.....DE and ES. Both versions come with a DOHC 1.2L in-line three-cylinder of 74 HP and 74 ft-lbs. of torque, and the choice of a 5-speed manual or CVT (Continuously-Variable Transmission). Only one body style is offered in the U.S., a 5-door hatchback (even though Americans, in general, prefer sedans to hatchbacks, with very small cars like this, they do tend to go with hatchbacks for the space-efficiency). Base prices start at a low $12,995 for a 5-speed DE and run to $15,395 for an ES with the CVT.....and, if you think THAT's low, Mitsubishi will happily send you a $1250 rebate-check. Or, you can choose essentially free money.....a 0% or 1.9% interest. Or, you can take a lease (for a DE model with CVT) at $2578 down and $129 a month. Trade in a Mitsubishi, Saturn, or Suzuki product, and Mitsubishi will send you another rebate check for $250. However you take your new Mirage home, you are probably not going to break your bank account.
But just remember that you generally get what you pay for, although even DE models come with a number of comfort/convenience items for the price, such as power windows/door-locks/mirrors, several color-keyed exterior trim features instead of flat-black, keyless entry with alarm, and a tilt-steering column.
For the review, I chose the base of the base...a DE 5-speed model with just one small option on it....an LED package. I wanted to see what the basic El Cheapo model provided for the money. Usually, I review automatics and/or automated manual transmissions instead of manuals because they generally fit today's driving conditions better than a clutch pedal......indeed, many cars today outside of the bare-entry models, sports, and/or high-performance category don't offer manuals any more. But, with the Mirage, I figured that the average buyer is looking to keep the price down as much as possible, and is willing to tolerate a clutch in heavy traffic.
Normally, I would list the lack of a real spare tire, lack of body-side moldings, and the use of a manual prop-rod under the hood as complaints. But, this time, given the car's price, and what it does come with, I'm going to hold my tongue for once and not complain about those. And, just for the record, it DOES come with a temporary spare tire.
MODEL REVIEWED: 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage DE 5-Speed Manual
BASE PRICE: $12,995
OPTIONS:
LED Illumination Kit: $225
DESTINATION/FREIGHT: $810 (Probably more than needed for a car of this small size)
LIST PRICE AS REVIEWED: $14,030
DRIVETRAIN: FWD, transversely-mounted 1.2L DOHC in-line three-cylinder, 74 HP @ 6000 RPM, Torque 74 Ft-lbs. @ 4000 RPM, 5-speed manual transmission.
EPA MILEAGE RATING: 34 City, 42 Highway, 37 Combined
EXTERIOR COLOR: Starlight Silver
INTERIOR: Black Fabric
PLUSSES:
Low, affordable price....even lower with rebates.
Excellent EPA mileage ratings for a pure-gas vehicle.
Long, generous warranties.
Riding comfort and quietness somewhat better than expected.
Good brake pedal location for big shoes.
Relatively solid-closing doors.
Good underhood layout.
Nice (IMO) paint-color choice.
Decent interior space efficiency for its outward size.
Stereo sound quality better than expected.
Good interior hardware.
Simple, easy-to-use controls and easy-to-read gauges.
Standard cargo-cover.
MINUSES:
El Cheapo hard-surface interior, even by econo-car standards.
Gummy, imprecise steering.
Very slow steering response.
Economy-oriented manual transmission/clutch pedal not geared for stop-and-go conditions.
Vague cable-shift linkage.
Awkward Zig-Zag shift lever on the CVT automatic version.
Worthless ECO-shift light.
Paint-job quality not up to that of many other vehicles today.
Somewhat sparse dealer network in the U.S.
Shaky American-market future of parent company Mitsubishi.
EXTERIOR:
The Mirage is rather conservatively styled by hatchback standards, with a relatively high roofline, which means decent interior space efficiency. Sheet metal is on the thin side, but the doors, hatch, and hood all have a fairly solid thunk when closing. A wiper/washer for the rear window is standard. Though my own test car was a dull silver, I liked some of the other eye-opening paint choices.......especially the Magenta Purple and Bright Green. The paint jobs themselves, though, while smooth and run-free, were a long way from the mirror-like brilliance of a Lexus or Audi...or even the optional Crystal Tint-Coat paint on my own Verano. The stamped-steel wheels and silver-painted wheel covers have rather small holes in them for air circulation.......which could (?) lead to rotor-warping from heat buildup, though this is a light car that probably won't put a lot of stress on the brakes.
UNDERHOOD:
Open and prop up the small hood, and, surprisingly, there is an insulation pad on the underside. The small 1.2L in-line three-cylinder, transversely-mounted, fits in quite well, with room all around it to reach and access things, though a small plastic engine cover does block some of the top-access. All of the non-engine components are easily reached, as are the dipsticks, filler caps, and fluid-reservoirs. The battery, on the right and up front, is uncovered and easily assessable, and is labelled as a Maintenance-Free battery, though for some reason it still has the old-style screw-off cell-caps where you refill with water.
INTERIOR:
By 2015 standards, the interior is probably the car's least-impressive area, although I've seen lots worse....the 1971 Plymouth Cricket, for example, comes to mind. Still, this not a car to impress a date in. Almost the whole interior is a sea of either flat-black or (on the center-dash) shiny-black plastic, with not a single padded surface or part anywhere except for the seats and the thin, padded, fimsy-feeling sun visors.
The fabric front seats, comfort-wise, are OK for relatively short drives (my wide rump tended to rub on the inner seat-belt holder), but probably not for extended trips....and the seats only have fore/aft and rake-adjustment. The somewhat cheap-feeling fabric is mostly black, with a grayish-black spot pattern superimposed. Headroom is OK both front and rear, helped by the lack of a sunroof, but, in back, my 6' 2" frame was close to the limit on headroom despite the comparatively tall roof. Legroom in back is either quite tight or adequate, depending on how far back you have the front seats adjusted.
Not all is bad inside, though. On the plus side, the hardware seems of decent (or even good) quality, some power-operated features are standard, and there is standard air conditioning. The stereo sound quality, though definitely a non-killer, is not as tinny as I expected, and the gauges are simple and easy to read, though I would have preferred a regular analog fuel-gauge to the standard bar-graph. I also liked the simple, well-designed steering wheel that was not cluttered up with a dozen different buttons and switches.
CARGO COMPARTMENT/TRUNK:
Open up the hatchback, and the cargo compartment offers good vertical space because of the high squared-off roofline, but the short stubby rear end doesn't give much fore/aft cargo space...you generally have to drop the rear seats if you want to carry longer things. As expected, the cargo area is not lavishly finished or have plush materials, but the materials used are not bad for the price. I didn't expect a cargo-cover, but a fuzzy-lined one is standard to help keep out prying eyes from seeing your packages. A temporary spare tire is also standard.
ON THE ROAD:
Start up the small 1.2L three cylinder with (what else) an old-fashioned key and side-column ignition switch, and the three idles with a reasonable amount of refinement for an engine of that type...it didn't seem to have the pulsing vibrations I can remember from previous threes. On the road, it does make some noise, particularly under acceleration, but the underhood pad clearly helps.
The engine's paltry 74 HP and 74 ft-lbs. of torque aren't helped much by the 5-speed transmission's rather tall, economy-oriented final-drive ratio and gearing....one reason for its very high EPA ratings. It takes some clutch revs and slipping to get the car rolling in first gear from a stop, particularly on an uphill. Indeed, it seems like the engineers programmed the hydraulic clutch-release mechanism that way...to release slowly (and slip) even if your left foot releases the pedal quicker. I could tell from the very first couple of shifts that the manual-transmisison linkage was cable-operated...it had that classic cable-feel, with more than a light touch of notchiness, and needed a firm hand while grabbing first or reverse gear. A green ECO light on the dash signals when it is time to upshift for best fuel economy, but using it pretty much guarantees that you will be in the slow lane...not to mention lugging from the slow-turning engine.
Wind and road noise were both somewhat better-controlled than I had expected, though you still know you are not riding in a Lincoln Town Car. Steering response was very slow, even by econo-car standards, the steering had a gummy feel to it, and it seemed like the car didn't want to track steadily without steering corrections or re-center the wheel easily after steering input...kind of like there was too much toe-out in the front wheel-alignment. The soft suspension and non-aggressive tires give good ride comfort for a short-wheelbase light car like this, but I couldn't gauge the level of body-roll accurately because the steering response is so slow that I couldn't turn the car quick enough to generate any detectable roll. One nice thing about the brake pedal, though...it doesn't have the problem that many other vehicles have, where the brake pedal is higher than the gas and too close, which catches the edge of my big size-15 clown-shoe when lifting from gas to brake. In the Mirage, the brake and gas pedals are at exactly the same height...just slide your shoe right off the gas and onto the brake, with no hang-ups.
THE VERDICT:
So.....was Consumer Reports accurate in its low rating of this car, and only giving it 29 out of 100 points? Yes...and no. In an overall, absolute sense, probably yes. But I found the car, despite its cookie-cutter interior, Ho-Hum drivetrain, and unimpressive fit/finish level, to be some what more pleasant than I expected. The ride comfort is not bad at all, noise level is at least somewhat suppressed, and there are some surprising standard features for the low price. The warranty and factory protection is outstanding.....IF Mitsubishi stays in the America market long enough to actually make good on it. But, in general, with most vehicles, you get what you pay for.....and this car is no exception.
And, as always......Happy car-shopping.
MM
A Review of the 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage
http://www.mitsubishicars.com/mirage
IN A NUTSHELL: By American-market 2015 standards, base transportation and nothing else.
CLOSEST AMERICAN-MARKET COMPETITORS: Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent, Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Spark, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, Mazda2, Fiat 500, and the upcoming Scion iA
(I did not include the Smart for Two and Scion iQ because the iQ is being discontinued, and both of them, IMO, are simply too small and not suited for American driving conditions...the Fiat 500 is almost two small, and borderline itself).
;
;
;
;
;
;
OVERVIEW:
Given that it's no secret that Consumer Reports and some other auto magazines have given this car quite low ratings, some of you might wonder why I would be wasting my time writing up a bare-bones car like this when I could be reviewing more substantial products. Well, a couple of reasons. First, some people can't afford to spend more than the low-mid teens for a new car, and simply don't want the risks of taking the same amount of money and buying a somewhat larger, more substantial used car (even a Certified Used Car). Second, for those that can't afford more expensive vehicles, the fact that they would drive something in this class shows that they are more concerned about saving their money, and not spending what they can't afford in monthly payments (or a lump-sum), than about what the Jones's think (or their own family and friends may think, for that matter). Third, IMO, an auto reviewer who won't try out humble products like this, and can think only of glamorous vehicles, doesn't really deserve to call himself or herself one. Fourth, to me personally, almost no vehicle is a waste of time...I've had driver's seat time in vehicles across the spectrum from air-cooled Beetles and the Lotus Elise to a Rolls-Royce (not always brand-new, though), and enjoyed trying out them all. Fifth, I had a doctor's appointment this morning (each year, a follow-up appointment after my heart surgery of several years ago....so far, no problems). The roughly 25-mile trip to the doctor's office took me past one of the comparatively few remaining Mitsubishi shops in the area....a couple of blocks away, shared with Mazda. Sixth, since Consumer Reports, a publication I (usually) respect very much, gave the Mirage such a low road-test score (and a not-recommended category), I wanted to see for myself if I felt the car merited such a low test-rating. So, I decided to stop and check one out, given that (along with the Nissan Versa sedan), it represents one of the least-expensive new car purchases in the American market. Last, the chances for doing so may not be around much longer, as Mitsubishi seems to be on shaky ground in the U.S., and losing more and more dealerships each year.
(Sound familiar? That's what happened with both Isuzu and Suzuki before they packed up and left the U.S., and with Daihatsu some twenty years earlier...they steadily lost their dealerships).
Anyhow, enough of the civics lesson. I'm not doing this to give a lecture, but to evaluate a car. So, on to the Mirage.
The actual name, of course, in the American market, dates back to the 1980s, and even late 70s, with the original Mitsubishi Mirage compact and the Dodge/Plymouth Colt offshoots, which were done on a shortened version of the same platform (Chrysler and Mitsubishi, of course, back then, had a close business relationship, and shared or rebadged several different products from each division. Some of you older fans may remember the quirky but innovative "Twin-Stick" manual transmission. It had one clutch pedal, and two shift-levers right next to each other......a larger one that shifted the 4-speed transmission and a smaller one that shifted the final-drive ratio into one of two ratios, for an effective combination of eight forward speeds (some of you might correct me if I'm wrong, but a true eight-speed manual transmission, to my knowledge, has yet to be developed today on a production car in the American market). Fortunately, subsequent versions of the Mirage didn't have any connections to the ill-fated sister Mitsubishi Precis, which was a rebadged Hyundai Excel...and we all know what a quality and engineering disaster that car was. Despite its rather awkward-looking steering wheel and dash, I liked the third-generation Mirage.....it had more of a feeling of solidity and quality (and less quirkiness) than the second-generation model. Both third and fourth-generation models shared their design and platform with Chrysler's Dodge, Plymouth, and Eagle divisions. The next-generation Mirage was replaced by the Lancer in the U.S., which became most noted in its Evo turbocharged AWD versions, which was also popular with more or less the same group of buyers (mostly young men in their tens and early twenties) who were driving the competing Subaru WRX and STi.
Now comes the sixth-generation Mirage back to the U.S......and, this time, it is basically a small, subcompact hatchback that is base transportation and little else. It's a car for those who shun prestige and glamor. It will get you from Point A to Point B without showing off.......except maybe for some of the eye-opening paint colors (which I'll get to later). For 2015 (assuming there will even be a 2016 model, if Mitsubishi doesn't pack up and leave the U.S.), the Mirage is offered in two trim levels.....DE and ES. Both versions come with a DOHC 1.2L in-line three-cylinder of 74 HP and 74 ft-lbs. of torque, and the choice of a 5-speed manual or CVT (Continuously-Variable Transmission). Only one body style is offered in the U.S., a 5-door hatchback (even though Americans, in general, prefer sedans to hatchbacks, with very small cars like this, they do tend to go with hatchbacks for the space-efficiency). Base prices start at a low $12,995 for a 5-speed DE and run to $15,395 for an ES with the CVT.....and, if you think THAT's low, Mitsubishi will happily send you a $1250 rebate-check. Or, you can choose essentially free money.....a 0% or 1.9% interest. Or, you can take a lease (for a DE model with CVT) at $2578 down and $129 a month. Trade in a Mitsubishi, Saturn, or Suzuki product, and Mitsubishi will send you another rebate check for $250. However you take your new Mirage home, you are probably not going to break your bank account.
But just remember that you generally get what you pay for, although even DE models come with a number of comfort/convenience items for the price, such as power windows/door-locks/mirrors, several color-keyed exterior trim features instead of flat-black, keyless entry with alarm, and a tilt-steering column.
For the review, I chose the base of the base...a DE 5-speed model with just one small option on it....an LED package. I wanted to see what the basic El Cheapo model provided for the money. Usually, I review automatics and/or automated manual transmissions instead of manuals because they generally fit today's driving conditions better than a clutch pedal......indeed, many cars today outside of the bare-entry models, sports, and/or high-performance category don't offer manuals any more. But, with the Mirage, I figured that the average buyer is looking to keep the price down as much as possible, and is willing to tolerate a clutch in heavy traffic.
Normally, I would list the lack of a real spare tire, lack of body-side moldings, and the use of a manual prop-rod under the hood as complaints. But, this time, given the car's price, and what it does come with, I'm going to hold my tongue for once and not complain about those. And, just for the record, it DOES come with a temporary spare tire.
MODEL REVIEWED: 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage DE 5-Speed Manual
BASE PRICE: $12,995
OPTIONS:
LED Illumination Kit: $225
DESTINATION/FREIGHT: $810 (Probably more than needed for a car of this small size)
LIST PRICE AS REVIEWED: $14,030
DRIVETRAIN: FWD, transversely-mounted 1.2L DOHC in-line three-cylinder, 74 HP @ 6000 RPM, Torque 74 Ft-lbs. @ 4000 RPM, 5-speed manual transmission.
EPA MILEAGE RATING: 34 City, 42 Highway, 37 Combined
EXTERIOR COLOR: Starlight Silver
INTERIOR: Black Fabric
PLUSSES:
Low, affordable price....even lower with rebates.
Excellent EPA mileage ratings for a pure-gas vehicle.
Long, generous warranties.
Riding comfort and quietness somewhat better than expected.
Good brake pedal location for big shoes.
Relatively solid-closing doors.
Good underhood layout.
Nice (IMO) paint-color choice.
Decent interior space efficiency for its outward size.
Stereo sound quality better than expected.
Good interior hardware.
Simple, easy-to-use controls and easy-to-read gauges.
Standard cargo-cover.
MINUSES:
El Cheapo hard-surface interior, even by econo-car standards.
Gummy, imprecise steering.
Very slow steering response.
Economy-oriented manual transmission/clutch pedal not geared for stop-and-go conditions.
Vague cable-shift linkage.
Awkward Zig-Zag shift lever on the CVT automatic version.
Worthless ECO-shift light.
Paint-job quality not up to that of many other vehicles today.
Somewhat sparse dealer network in the U.S.
Shaky American-market future of parent company Mitsubishi.
EXTERIOR:
The Mirage is rather conservatively styled by hatchback standards, with a relatively high roofline, which means decent interior space efficiency. Sheet metal is on the thin side, but the doors, hatch, and hood all have a fairly solid thunk when closing. A wiper/washer for the rear window is standard. Though my own test car was a dull silver, I liked some of the other eye-opening paint choices.......especially the Magenta Purple and Bright Green. The paint jobs themselves, though, while smooth and run-free, were a long way from the mirror-like brilliance of a Lexus or Audi...or even the optional Crystal Tint-Coat paint on my own Verano. The stamped-steel wheels and silver-painted wheel covers have rather small holes in them for air circulation.......which could (?) lead to rotor-warping from heat buildup, though this is a light car that probably won't put a lot of stress on the brakes.
UNDERHOOD:
Open and prop up the small hood, and, surprisingly, there is an insulation pad on the underside. The small 1.2L in-line three-cylinder, transversely-mounted, fits in quite well, with room all around it to reach and access things, though a small plastic engine cover does block some of the top-access. All of the non-engine components are easily reached, as are the dipsticks, filler caps, and fluid-reservoirs. The battery, on the right and up front, is uncovered and easily assessable, and is labelled as a Maintenance-Free battery, though for some reason it still has the old-style screw-off cell-caps where you refill with water.
INTERIOR:
By 2015 standards, the interior is probably the car's least-impressive area, although I've seen lots worse....the 1971 Plymouth Cricket, for example, comes to mind. Still, this not a car to impress a date in. Almost the whole interior is a sea of either flat-black or (on the center-dash) shiny-black plastic, with not a single padded surface or part anywhere except for the seats and the thin, padded, fimsy-feeling sun visors.
The fabric front seats, comfort-wise, are OK for relatively short drives (my wide rump tended to rub on the inner seat-belt holder), but probably not for extended trips....and the seats only have fore/aft and rake-adjustment. The somewhat cheap-feeling fabric is mostly black, with a grayish-black spot pattern superimposed. Headroom is OK both front and rear, helped by the lack of a sunroof, but, in back, my 6' 2" frame was close to the limit on headroom despite the comparatively tall roof. Legroom in back is either quite tight or adequate, depending on how far back you have the front seats adjusted.
Not all is bad inside, though. On the plus side, the hardware seems of decent (or even good) quality, some power-operated features are standard, and there is standard air conditioning. The stereo sound quality, though definitely a non-killer, is not as tinny as I expected, and the gauges are simple and easy to read, though I would have preferred a regular analog fuel-gauge to the standard bar-graph. I also liked the simple, well-designed steering wheel that was not cluttered up with a dozen different buttons and switches.
CARGO COMPARTMENT/TRUNK:
Open up the hatchback, and the cargo compartment offers good vertical space because of the high squared-off roofline, but the short stubby rear end doesn't give much fore/aft cargo space...you generally have to drop the rear seats if you want to carry longer things. As expected, the cargo area is not lavishly finished or have plush materials, but the materials used are not bad for the price. I didn't expect a cargo-cover, but a fuzzy-lined one is standard to help keep out prying eyes from seeing your packages. A temporary spare tire is also standard.
ON THE ROAD:
Start up the small 1.2L three cylinder with (what else) an old-fashioned key and side-column ignition switch, and the three idles with a reasonable amount of refinement for an engine of that type...it didn't seem to have the pulsing vibrations I can remember from previous threes. On the road, it does make some noise, particularly under acceleration, but the underhood pad clearly helps.
The engine's paltry 74 HP and 74 ft-lbs. of torque aren't helped much by the 5-speed transmission's rather tall, economy-oriented final-drive ratio and gearing....one reason for its very high EPA ratings. It takes some clutch revs and slipping to get the car rolling in first gear from a stop, particularly on an uphill. Indeed, it seems like the engineers programmed the hydraulic clutch-release mechanism that way...to release slowly (and slip) even if your left foot releases the pedal quicker. I could tell from the very first couple of shifts that the manual-transmisison linkage was cable-operated...it had that classic cable-feel, with more than a light touch of notchiness, and needed a firm hand while grabbing first or reverse gear. A green ECO light on the dash signals when it is time to upshift for best fuel economy, but using it pretty much guarantees that you will be in the slow lane...not to mention lugging from the slow-turning engine.
Wind and road noise were both somewhat better-controlled than I had expected, though you still know you are not riding in a Lincoln Town Car. Steering response was very slow, even by econo-car standards, the steering had a gummy feel to it, and it seemed like the car didn't want to track steadily without steering corrections or re-center the wheel easily after steering input...kind of like there was too much toe-out in the front wheel-alignment. The soft suspension and non-aggressive tires give good ride comfort for a short-wheelbase light car like this, but I couldn't gauge the level of body-roll accurately because the steering response is so slow that I couldn't turn the car quick enough to generate any detectable roll. One nice thing about the brake pedal, though...it doesn't have the problem that many other vehicles have, where the brake pedal is higher than the gas and too close, which catches the edge of my big size-15 clown-shoe when lifting from gas to brake. In the Mirage, the brake and gas pedals are at exactly the same height...just slide your shoe right off the gas and onto the brake, with no hang-ups.
THE VERDICT:
So.....was Consumer Reports accurate in its low rating of this car, and only giving it 29 out of 100 points? Yes...and no. In an overall, absolute sense, probably yes. But I found the car, despite its cookie-cutter interior, Ho-Hum drivetrain, and unimpressive fit/finish level, to be some what more pleasant than I expected. The ride comfort is not bad at all, noise level is at least somewhat suppressed, and there are some surprising standard features for the low price. The warranty and factory protection is outstanding.....IF Mitsubishi stays in the America market long enough to actually make good on it. But, in general, with most vehicles, you get what you pay for.....and this car is no exception.
And, as always......Happy car-shopping.
MM