U.S: 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage 5-speed manual mileage/MPG

When the U.S. Mirage was unveiled last month at the N.Y. auto show, the company gave mileage estimates only for the CVT version of the car.

We now have estimates for the 5-speed car too:

Mirage 1.2L, 5-speed manual	Mirage 1.2L, CVT automatic
OUR PREDICTION: 34 (33.5) mpg (US) city OFFICIAL EPA: 34 mpg city OUR PREDICTION: 43 (42.6) mpg (US) highway OFFICIAL EPA: 42 mpg highway OUR PREDICTION: 38 (37.6) mpg (US) combined OFFICIAL EPA: 37 mpg combined	EPA: 37 mpg (US) city EPA:44 mpg (US) highway EPA:40 mpg (US) combined

UPDATE, Aug 19th - official 5MT ratings released, see post #3 below.

If these numbers receive the official EPA stamp, that means both the automatic (CVT) and manual versions of the Mirage have higher combined mileage than the previous best non-hybrid available (the Scion/Toyota iQ).

How did we get the 5-speed numbers?

With today's news about the fuel economy ratings for the Canadian Mirage, we have the projected NRCAN (Natural Resources CANada) ratings for both transmissions. And while the final numbers produced using Canada's test procedures can't be directly converted to U.S. EPA results, the percent difference between automatic and manual transmissions is consistent under both testing systems (based on cars in the same class).

In Canada, the ratings for both transmissions are:

Mirage 1.2L, 5-speed manual	Mirage 1.2L, CVT automatic	5-spd % of CVT value
48 mpg (Imperial) city 62 mpg (Imperial) highway	53 mpg (Imperial) city 64 mpg (Imperial) highway	90.6% 96.9%

We applied the % difference to the U.S. CVT ratings to get the U.S. 5-speed ratings. This formula is accurate for other similar cars (e.g. Chevy Spark, Mazda 2), verified against their published EPA values.

SEE ALSO: Thread: Speed vs. mileage/fuel economy chart - Mirage 1.2L 5-spd

Good news for us!

Update:

Official EPA fuel economy rating for the 5MT has been released:

34 City
42 Highway
37 Combined

So we were off by 1 MPG highway (which affects combined).

Now if they could make the stick a 6 speed, that highway mpg could be 44+

Even if it were a 6 speed they wouldn't sell it with that tall of gearing. It would feel too doggy on the highway and people would complain cause they'd have to shift to go up hills and what not. With the automatic you have fast/easy downshifting so its not noticeable.

I think around 2500-2800 RPM would be fine on u.s highways.

I don't get it, to be honest. If I'm willing to drive a manual (prefer it!), I'm perfectly willing to downshift if I need extra power for passing or climbing hills. I wonder why they think other owners wouldn't be? If I didn't want to shift, I wouldn't have gotten the manual!

I don't expect that I never have to drop out of top gear. I'd rather they give me the taller top gear for lower RPM fuel economy, and I'll shift if & when required.

I actually installed a taller final drive in my Firefly/Metro transmission to give me more efficient gearing than was ever offered from the factory. Better fuel economy, and I downshift when I want the extra power! (All 50 horses worth :D)

Simple answer: people are lazy.

Or badly trained: I once drove with a friend who complained that her 5-speed car was terribly slow at passing...

Because she'd never been taught to downshift for power!

So I taught her.