Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and forward automatic emergency braking are standard, but the competition now offers much more in these areas. Like the rest of the car, the Mirage’s infotainment and safety offerings are minimal. It’s noisy inside, with obvious engine and road vibrations, but it’s not uncomfortable for such a small vehicle. For such a small car, there’s also more backseat space than most competitors and in the Mirage hatchback, more cargo room too. In my testing, I saw 42 mpg in combined driving and, importantly, even the cheapest hybrids and EVs cost thousands of dollars more. While the Mirage’s tinny, lightweight doors and acres of dull, hard plastic interior bits feel like a timewarp to much older small cars, all this weight saving delivers unbeatable mpg for a non-hybrid.
The skinny tires don’t encourage pushing the car’s limits, but the Mirage’s light weight and responsive steering go some way towards making up for its lack of poke and the CVT isn’t any worse than the ones in most competitors. The car’s power-to-weight ratio is essentially the same as the original 1979 Mirage (famous here as the Dodge Colt) and zero-to-60 takes about 11 seconds, okay then but slow today. Under the hood is a gruff, rather noisy 78-horsepower three-cylinder engine and all Mirages now use a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). With the Chevrolet Spark now discontinued, the Mirage hatchback is the smallest car on sale in the U.S.
#2021 mitsubishi mirage update#
The Mitsubishi Mirage doesn’t sell on style or speed, but a 2021 update brought this handsome front end to the car. All are faster, larger and more refined, but they also cost more. Tiny budget crossovers like the Hyundai Venue and Nissan Kicks are also rivals. The Versa and the Kia Rio are the only two proper entry-level small cars left in 2023, but the sedan-only Versa is much larger overall, 7.5 inches longer than the Mirage G4 sedan and nearly the size of a Honda Civic hatchback. That competition is changing, however, as small cars fade in favor of crossovers. While the Mirage is unapologetically small and basic, it’s surprisingly roomy and not awful to drive.
#2021 mitsubishi mirage manual#
2021 saw updated styling and a couple of added active-safety features while 2023 marks the deletion of the formerly optional five-speed manual transmission. Created for international markets and built in Thailand since 2011, it’s been on sale in the U.S. It’s also one of the oldest designs still on sale. It’s the lightest, least powerful and, in hatchback form, smallest car in you can buy in America. It makes little or no pretense of fun, style or speed, but the Mirage is refreshingly honest about its ultra-low-cost transportation mission. The low costs continue after purchase with 39-mpg economy and a long warranty, but living with the miserly Mirage means compromises. The manual-transmission Nissan Versa has swiped the Mirage’s status as America’s least expensive new car, but the Mitsubishi is still the cheapest with an automatic transmission, just $17,450 including destination and sometimes less if you shop around. Small, inexpensive cars are a vanishing breed in these days of crossover mania and $48,000 average car prices, but there’s still one truly old-school economy car on the market: the 2023 Mitsubishi Mirage.
0 kommentar(er)
