Drove a 14 Mitsubishi Mirage

[FutureDoc]

Hummm, I want me some Bo-time!

If you look at fatalities across vehicle types compared to VMTs, the only real outlier are minivans with about 20% few fatalities per unit of distance driven. Compact cars, midsize, trucks are all surprisingly the same. If there was a "dangerous" vehicle, it would be small trucks. The point to all of this, it is not the vehicle that is unsafe... it is the driver. At the end of the day, you are statistically just as likely to die in a small compact as you are in a larger light-duty truck.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Hyundai and Kia are putting the final nail in Mitsubishi's coffin in the US.

I had a 2012 Galant as a rental. By far, it was the worst new car that I've driven in my life.


That's because it is a 2003. And it's funny that people can still buy a 2012 ... and it's nearly 2014.





Originally Posted By: FutureDoc
Hummm, I want me some Bo-time!

If you look at fatalities across vehicle types compared to VMTs, the only real outlier are minivans with about 20% few fatalities per unit of distance driven. Compact cars, midsize, trucks are all surprisingly the same. If there was a "dangerous" vehicle, it would be small trucks. The point to all of this, it is not the vehicle that is unsafe... it is the driver. At the end of the day, you are statistically just as likely to die in a small compact as you are in a larger light-duty truck.


If you're playing chicken with an 18 wheeler - doesn't matter if you are in a Chevrolet Spark or Crown Vic ... it isn't ending well.


Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Its funny because cars like Mitsubishis and suzukis are prevalent in other parts of the world, and aren't THAT unreliable, believe it or not...


I wouldn't be surprised really. If it's a world model, they wouldn't want to sell bad ones.

 

[FutureDoc]

Play chicken with a 18 wheeler is not safe...

Neither is driving on a rural road at night in a 55mph+ zone in a predominantly rural, mountain, or southern state... including KS and Missouri (for some odd reason).

Why do I live in Western NC again? I have an irrational fear of flying but I really should be terrified of going to see that late movie on a friday night.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Its funny because cars like Mitsubishis and suzukis are prevalent in other parts of the world, and aren't THAT unreliable, believe it or not...


I have rented them overseas, but they are always cheap buzy [censored] cars.

I had a Suzuki something or other, small 4 door thing which lost its brakes on me when I was driving it around Cayman.

 

[kayasnow]

The all new Mitsubishi Mirage is all set with new features like safety, new engine technology and the most important extra comfort which makes it the best car in recent times.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: kayasnow
The all new Mitsubishi Mirage is all set with new features like safety, new engine technology and the most important extra comfort which makes it the best car in recent times.


Perhaps in new Zealand, but here in America we have so many nicer cars to choose from...

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: kayasnow
The all new Mitsubishi Mirage is all set with new features like safety, new engine technology and the most important extra comfort which makes it the best car in recent times.


Perhaps in new Zealand, but here in America we have so many nicer cars to choose from...

I think the sad truth is that even NZ has a wider/better selection of small and mid size cars, mid size wagons, and small and medium pickups than we do... We do have 147 different configurations of F150 though! yippee...

I won't say the Mirage is the best thing ever, but probably for NZ and rural roads here, it makes a lot of sense for a lot of people, especially if gas goes up.
80mph for hours on the interstate is not going to be where it shines.

 

[SteveSRT8]

I'm only familiar with GM pickups!

They come in BIG, TOO BIG, and HUMUNGOUS!

 

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
while wandering around a junkyard this past sunday i saw a nice honda civic hatchback in orange that was impacted on its side from what must have been a truck.

there wasnt much left, and my unexpert opinion concluded that the driver died.

that is all i think about the mitsubishi mirage, the dead people driving it that arent dead yet.


Not everyone can afford to drive a freight train as their commuter vehicle, seen as how that's the ONLY THING that will survive an impact with any other vehicle currently sold on the us market, including semis, and tanks.

Not everyone who owns a car is guaranteed to wreck it severely during their ownership of the car. In fact, most owners of cars don't experience a significant crash during their ownership of their entire lifetime of vehicles.

So, keep your ideas that the world is full of dead men walking to yourself, will you?

BC.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Why didn't they just make it a 4-cylinder engine? Are there sizable cost savings to be had making a 3-cylinder one of the same displacement?

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Why didn't they just make it a 4-cylinder engine? Are there sizable cost savings to be had making a 3-cylinder one of the same displacement?

Some cost savings with 1 less cylinder, but I think its more to do with fuel economy and combustion efficiency. Something like 400cc is the ideal cylinder size I've read. Also the less swept piston area the less friction the motor has, which can effect fuel economy as well.
I should go try one, but I think with fluid filled engine mounts it should be fine in terms of noise. Any triple sled or tractor I've run has been a bit different but not obnoxious in terms of NVH, also I drove a 3 cyl turbo firefly for test drive many years ago and I don't remember it being too noisy either.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Thanks.

I just remember test driving a Smart with a 3-cyl engine. The vibrations/roughness was appalling.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Thanks.

I just remember test driving a Smart with a 3-cyl engine. The vibrations/roughness was appalling.


Yes - it does vibrate quite a bit. Especially if you lug it down below idle. It has more vibration but less shaking when lugging than my 4 cyl Focus has. Hard to explain really.

What is cool is it sounds like a mini inline-6 when you wind it out!

I am starting to see them on the roads around here. Is it possible Mitbushi has something on their hands that will sell?

Can't argue with the excellent mileage.

 

[cookiemonster]

My '14 Mirage is great ... I'm averaging 48mpg combined city+highway and the engine does sound like a mini-6'er.

Believe it or not, I'm actually having more fun driving the Mirage than my Mustang or Nissan Z!

 

[firemachine69]

You guys need to price-compete these in Canada. The only other competition is a cash-only purchase on a Rio/Accent (like most folks actually have $15k sitting around... )... Maybe the Nissan Micra...The magnitude of savings is substantially more.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: firemachine69
You guys need to price-compete these in Canada. The only other competition is a cash-only purchase on a Rio/Accent (like most folks actually have $15k sitting around... )... Maybe the Nissan Micra...The magnitude of savings is substantially more.

The odd time though, small cars do go "on sale". Last week you could get a new Elantra for $11k+tax, no AC though. And Versa's have been down to $10k in the recent past, no AC either I assume. The Cobalt also bowed out at around $10-11k in the last model year.
These cars also don't depreciate much either, no one remembers that in 2011, you paid $10k for a Versa and not $15k, so you might get $7-8k for it with reasonable mileage. $500/year depreciation for a new car with warranty is pretty good!

 

[Vibe_2007]

Looked really hard at the Mirage when I bought my 14' Mazda 2. I just couldn't get past the looks of the thing and the transmission. I am sure it is a good car and cheap to own though.

 

[firemachine69]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: firemachine69
You guys need to price-compete these in Canada. The only other competition is a cash-only purchase on a Rio/Accent (like most folks actually have $15k sitting around... )... Maybe the Nissan Micra...The magnitude of savings is substantially more.

The odd time though, small cars do go "on sale". Last week you could get a new Elantra for $11k+tax, no AC though. And Versa's have been down to $10k in the recent past, no AC either I assume. The Cobalt also bowed out at around $10-11k in the last model year.
These cars also don't depreciate much either, no one remembers that in 2011, you paid $10k for a Versa and not $15k, so you might get $7-8k for it with reasonable mileage. $500/year depreciation for a new car with warranty is pretty good!



No AC.. Really, for 70% of Canadians, that makes it useless... And resale value is just about zero. If you take any of those Accent/Rio/2/Spark/Micra and get the cheapest package with AC, it's an average of a minimum of an extra $3k in Canada. You cannot just order AC on its own... The mirage fully loaded is roughly the same price as one of these base models with the cheapest upgrade packages to get AC. And still yet a bit cheaper then the Accent/Rio (unless on sale)...


But I agree with the general consensus... Of all things high and mighty, are these cars ever ugly!

 

[JTK]

Mmm MMM. BoJangles chicken sho'am good.

Good write-up on the '14 Mirage. Thanks for taking the time. Mitsubishi has made some good stuff over the years, but they've always been the odd-ball. I'd hate to see them leave the market, for nothing more than having another choice available to us.

FWIW, I had a Mitsubishi product back in the early 1990s. A 1989 Dodge Colt 2dr hatchback that I bought used in 1991. Vinyl seats, no power steering, 4spd manual, no air. That was a decent little car! Bought it for $5K with 32K miles on it IIRC.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: firemachine69

No AC.. Really, for 70% of Canadians, that makes it useless...


I thought Canadian summers were a week shorter than NH summers, which only average about 2 weeks long? How bad can it be?