2023 Mitsubishi Mirage

The unfairly maligned Mirage, perfect city car

Monday, March 11, 2019

I just replaced my ancient Aveo with a 2017 Mirage and I love it. Averaging 39.5 mpg, mixed city/ highway (highway is the slow crawl on the 405 or through The Crush, not cruising speed). The little 3cyl/ CVT has more get up and go than I was expecting. It's not really fast but the Car & Driver writers make it sound like you can't leave a stop light without redlining it. That is not the case. The engine is not working very hard at all. The CVT keeps the revs pretty low during normal driving but it is willing to rev higher to pass. The seats are comfy and supportive. Surprising head/ leg room, my 6' wife has no trouble in it. Not too bouncy considering how short it is. And that short overall length makes it super easy to maneuver in a parking structure, or U-turn on a residential street with room to spare. Reliability will be revealed as the years tick by but Mitsubishi has a decent track record. The little Mirage gets hateful reviews from the professional "driving enthusiasts" but I'd love to see them drive their stick shift 911s and M5s on SoCal freeways during rush hour. It's a gas sipping, U-turn anywhere, park anywhere, urban commuter for the budget conscious. Which is perfect for many of us.

Great Commuter! GREAT MPG!

Sunday, February 21, 2021

I bought a 2018 Mirage ES in Oct of 2018 as a commuter car. Car gets phenomenal gas mileage and won’t break down. I’ve put 64,000 miles on it in 2.5 years and nothing has needed to be fix other than expected maintenance! It was a bit sluggish, however the engine is only a 3 cylinder, so I wasn’t expecting it to be quick. I added a performance chip to it, made it a little quicker from take off. Love the backup camera and touch screen radio with blue tooth. Interior pieces are cheap plastic and scratch/damage easily. So does the outside, so be gentle! I got the 5 speed manual, so I can’t give feedback on the CVT, however the 5 speed is by far the easier, smoothest shifting manual I’ve ever driven, and I’ve driven many! I will say it doesn’t FEEL like a new car driving it, not even when it was brand new. It’s not as refined as you would expect a 2018, but then again, it’s very inexpensive. I just turn up the radio and go! Best commuter I’ve ever had!

Cheaply made but reliable

Saturday, September 07, 2019

Car is compact and was a very good price brand new. Nothing spectacular about this car other than it is reliable. Don't have a passenger visor mirror, no passenger arm rest, or a middle compartment between the driver and passenger seat. The noise from outside the car is pretty loud, I'm assuming because of how cheaply the car is made and lack of insulation. Doesn't hold it's value.