Mirage economy run Thailand: 31.9 km/L (3.1L/100km, 75 mpg US) 5-spd

http://www.9carthai.com/wp-content/u.../11/Mirage.jpg

Last September, Mitsubishi Thailand sponsored an economy run using multiple teams of media reps (writers/reviewers) driving a pair of Mirages round-trip from Bangkok to Chiang Rai and back again.

Original article (deciphered using Google Translate):
http://www.9carthai.com/mirage-%E0%B...8%A2%E2%80%9D/

See also: Mirage 1.2 economy run contest: Bali, Indonesia (video)

The cars:

• Mirage 1.2 GLS with the automatic CVT
• Mirage 1.2 GLX 5-speed manual

Setup:

• tire pressure set to 45 PSI (owing to poor road conditions, if I got the translation right). 35 PSI is normal spec.
• 91 octane fuel used, car rocked 4-5 side to side to get a complete fill each time
• no other modifications
• hoods & fuel filler doors taped shut by marshalls

Driving style/notes:

• air conditioning used
• driving with an average speed of 80-90 km per hour (~49-56 mph)
• CVT notes: around 1,750-1,900 rpm between 82-90 km/h (50-56 mph) along the route. While the transmission is in gear at around 1,500-2,000 rpm at a steady speed
• 5-spd notes: at around 82 km/h (51 mph) around 2,500 rpm

Results:

Car	Media Teams	Route	Distance	Fuel Used	Fuel-Economy	Note
GLS 1.2 CVT	"Sri Ong heavily" & "Gangster car magazine"	Bangkok - Chiang Rai	770.7 km (478 mi)	27.793L (7.3 US gal)	27.730 km/L 3.6 L/100 km 65.2 mpg (US) 78.3 mpg (Imp)	Head Office of Mitsubishi Motors Thailand
GLS 1.2 CVT	"As increasingly liberal" & "Magazine Grand Prix France"	Chiang Rai - Bangkok	819.8 km (509 mi)	28.753L (7.6 US gal)	28.512 km/L 3.5 L/100 km 67.1 mpg (US) 80.5 mpg (Imp)
GLX 1.2 5-spd	"Apichatpong Bangkok Po Si" & "Automobile Magazine"	Bangkok - Chiang Rai	770.5 km (478 mi)	23.478L (6.2 US gal)	32.818 km/L 3.1 L/100 km 77.2 mpg (US) 92.7 mpg (Imp)	Head Office of Mitsubishi Motors Thailand
GLX 1.2 5-spd	"First Saowanit ml water" & "Formula One magazine"	Chiang Rai - Bangkok	819.8 km (509 mi)	26.320L (7 US gal)	31.147 km/L 3.2 L/100 km 73.3 mpg (US) 88.0 mpg (Imp)

Round trip results:

Car	Route	Distance	Fuel Used	Fuel-Economy
GLS 1.2 CVT	Bangkok - Chiang Rai - Bangkok	1590.5 km (988.3 mi)	56.546 L (14.94 US gal)	28.13 km/L 3.5 L/100 km 66.2 mpg (US) 79.5 mpg (Imp)
GLX 1.2 5-spd	Bangkok - Chiang Rai - Bangkok	1590.3 km (988.2 mi)	49.798 L (13.16 US gal)	31.94 km/L 3.1 L/100 km 75.1 mpg (US) 90.2 mpg (Imp)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvT9X_tk_1I

http://mirageforum.com/forum/attachm...4&d=1361022104

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Other Mirage economy runs:

• Mirage 1.2 economy run contest: Bali, Indonesia (video)
• New Zealand Mirage economy run: 3.3L/100 km (30.3 km/L, 71.3 mpg US) CVT

Nice. And as I suspected, the manual is a little better on an economy run.

Very impressive numbers.

It definitely is eye-popping.

I summed the distances and fuel used for both legs to calculate round trip figures, and added this to post #1:

Round trip results:

Car	Route	Distance	Fuel Used	Fuel-Economy
GLS 1.2 CVT	Bangkok - Chiang Rai - Bangkok	1590.5 km (988.3 mi)	56.546 L (14.94 US gal)	28.13 km/L 3.5 L/100 km 66.2 mpg (US) 79.5 mpg (Imp)
GLX 1.2 5-spd	Bangkok - Chiang Rai - Bangkok	1590.3 km (988.2 mi)	49.798 L (13.16 US gal)	31.94 km/L 3.1 L/100 km 75.1 mpg (US) 90.2 mpg (Imp)

Great to see peaple getting great economy figures with aircon on and only the tyre air pressure increased:cool: There looks to some good ability to get some great economy figures from these cars. Some more tinkering with them etc should see evan better figures;)

I just noticed something else that may have played a factor in these startlingly good results:

The elevation change on the route took them from sea level at the start, to ~2k ft / 610 m elevation in the north, and then back to sea level. That would have had the engines running closer to peak efficiency on the way up, and they possibly had lots of opportunities to coast on the way home.

Good point there Metro.

I wonder about the taping of the hood, why not do something under the hood with some sort of insulating rubber like used around widows and doors in a home to stop air leaks. I would think that would come close to doing the same thing and you wouldnt have to remove it like you do tape. Plus looking at the car it would still look like it was factory. Has anyone tried that? i am hoping to get my Mirage this week, a base 2015 DE with the 5 speed.

Welcome to the forum Don.

Some cars (Mercedes comes to mind, but others are doing it now) make a lot of effort sealing the hood gaps with gasket material, as well as the gaps around the headlights, grille and bumper.

It's only going to make a tiny difference to overall efficiency, but the idea is every little bit helps.

Thanks Metro,

I will be getting my Mirage this week and wanted to ask if you thought with the 5 speed it would be better to just go first to third and then to fifth to get better MPGs. i think i read where you had mentioned trying to be in 5th by around 30 mph. I am in east texas so it is mostly country blacktop roads that i am on. and when i am on the hwy i usualy just do about 55 mpg. I like high tank averages LOL when i get the car i will try to get a picture to post. . thanks

If you want/need to accelerate really quickly, I'll go to 5th from 3rd once at the target speed, but you really have to wind it out. If there's nobody behind me or no need to hurry, I keep revs down and run through the gears normally.

Cruising country roads at 55 mph is going to get you some very good numbers! You'll really enjoy this car if you like going for MPG.

Under normal acceleration with the flow of traffic I skip 4th gear because it feels like it's just wasting time and fuel to use it.

The mirage will pull out from 26 MPH in fifth gear very nicely with no lugging. Plenty of torque there.

While it can also pull out in third gear from 15 MPH with no problem I still use second gear to keep from having to wind it out in first.

I did not say that in the correct order so to make it clear on level ground I go 1st-2nd-3rd-5th.
Only ever use 4th gear when accelerating up hill WITH someone trailing behind me and I don't want to annoy them.
This way I can keep the ECO light lit and have a smooth acceleration.

I missed this thread, I guess I joined the forum after the last post in the thread. Thanks for bringing it up! Nice numbers these guys pulled off!

Gives me an idea for a new slogen: Drive it like you're in an economy run! (instead of "like you stole it") :)

Thanks 3dplane,

5th at 26 is good to know : ) I think i will be getting the car tomorrow, my first new car, the last 2 cars i drove were 91 jetta diesel and 81 rabbit diesel.....i still have the rabbit. i am getting the Mirage because someone rea ended me in the Jetta and it got totaled.
the wife said Get something new and not another diesel smelling Piece of Crap LOL.. The rabbit still runs good and i use it kinda as my farm truck. I never knew how hard of a clutch peddel it had till i drove the Mirage. that car drives like a dream for me. I am hoping i can get about 60 mpgs around here. with out doing to many mods. and if i can get more i will try. when i get it i will post pics and start a garage here on the site.

also i scored 19 quarts of Royal Purple 0-20 oil yesterday at walmart for 3 dollars a quart, almost have the next 6 oil changes covered : )

Thanks for reading, Don

Sorry i missed this reply Metro, I will be cruising between 35 and 55 on the backroads using engine on and engine off coasting depending on the length of the coasting area. (I know the roads around here well.) I think in my rabbit i did this and got slightly over 70 mpgs on one tank of gas. i think i can do a lot better with the Mirage.

I practiced a lot of engine off coasting today and had no problems with steering or breaking. two taps of the engine start stop button and you are in ACC mode with everything except the engine running. push in the clutsh and it starts right up. It is a beautiful setup.

I am having a hard time understanding the digital mpg reader thing. i cant seem to get it into the right mode. i will re read the book again. i zeroed everything out today while trying to find the B avg mpg setting. I want to see how high i can get the mpgs, I used to love doing this in the Rabbit, and this car so so much more enjoyable to ride in and drive.

thanks for reading, Don

Don!

To get to "B" average: Short taps of the button till you get to range (miles remaining) display then hold for about a second when you hear a short beep and one more tap of the button to see B average.

Fair warning! The display is a bit optimistic so you will get a little less actual at the pump then what it is saying.
I document my B-display at every fillup in the comments section of the fuel log and mine is roughly 3-4% optimistic. (but I never really added them all up to calculate average display error)

BTW congrats on the new ride! We got another hypermiler it seems! You are going to enjoy the car!

I got to the B avg mpg, then did the engine off and it kicked it to the other one lol. Not sure if i am going to do much engine off coasting i will like messing with that is it will need to be reset to much. I also am wondering if i am losing actual miles on the odometer between shutting the engine off and till it is reset to the ACC. before you go back to the ACC mode the speedometer needle is at Zero. when you push the start button twice it goes in to ACC mode and your speedometer needle works again. I went to the gas station just to fill up the car and had 145 miles on the tank. it took 3.4 gallons to fill for 42.6 mpgs. I thought it would be better than that. Tomorrow i will be able to roll the windows down and see how that goes with out using the AC.

The only time i cant do hypermiling is when the wife is in the car with me. but then i keep the hwy speed to a max of 65. it is worth it to keep her happy.........a happy wife = a happy life.

Engine still needs to be broken in :) plus you likely have your a/c on in Texas! I got 60mpg my first long drive with my mirage home and back to the dealer (brought a friend to drive my Honda home) but I was driving it very gentle.

Hi alex16

yep I had the AC on, we had the windows tinted so i had to leave the windows up for 3 days so I was a must. Today will be the first day where i can roll them down. I did get rain guards for the windows so i can leave the windows slightly open so the car wont get so hot when parked in the all day sun. We have not garage and the bamboo we have planted is a few years away from being able to shade us so i went with the rain guards. I worrie about the cars with computers and the Texas heat.

Hopefully better MPG numbers will be coming after a few tanks. not to worried about it. the car is awesome!

thanks for reading, Don