Did my first long road trip

Went to visit my dad in Central, Pa over the weekend. It takes about 4 hours to get there. We done this trip many, many times in a Geo Metro. The Metro always had issues climbing the mountains. Some were so steep we would end up in 3rd gear going 35 MPH trying to climb while getting passed by everyone including loaded dump trucks. We would normally average about 44 MPG doing this trip.

The Mirage was a completely different story. This car was able to climb the mountains with no problem at all. I only had to downshift into 4th gear once because the old man in front of me was going so slow up the hill. My Mirage with the P195/50R15 tire/wheel combo averaged 42 MPG on the way there and 39 MPG on the way back fighting a strong headwind. I am sure the stock wheels and tires would have netted better MPG's, but I am not complaining.

Very happy with this car so far. We currently have about 5,000 miles on the odometer and had no issues at all.

My first 4+ hour roadtrip on my mirage started when I left the dealership for the 265mi drive home lol.

Talking about climbing the mtns slowly got me thinking of climbing the 70 freeway through Colorado. No that's a climb. I made it once in my old 95 Toyota 4cly 4wd pickup with 31" tires and a fully loaded bed, my xr650 was back there too.

I literally had to keep it in 2nd sometimes going like 25mph. Semis passing me. Oh no.

I did that drive in multiple vehicles cross country.

The one that was most enjoyable and effortless was in my old 94 Cadillac Fleetwood. It had the LT1 V8 and that could easily float up any of the i70 at 80mph if I wanted.

Last year we packed up and traveled from near Erie PA to Harrisburg PA which is around a 4.5 hour drive, all through those hills and back roads.

Same exact performance as what you said but with the factory Enasaves the mileage was a little better. The car itself had no problem performing with 3 of us and all our luggage packed in.

The *only* complaint I have was the stick shift/no cruise, and the seat becoming ultra uncomfortable after an hour of driving. A pillow helped but I think I need to try an ES seat or something.

I bought the thing to drive across Canada, and it was perfect for that.Between 2 people, the fuel costs were well under 200 each.

I do recall a few times where I couldn't really push the mirage to the speed limit going uphill. At the time, they didn't seem that steep of an incline, but now having had the Mirage in Ontario for months, I realize how quickly I must have been elevating myself to have that kind of trouble.

The little girl preforms admirably, and I look forward to another long roadtrip!

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Originally Posted by ISP_guy

Last year we packed up and traveled from near Erie PA to Harrisburg PA which is around a 4.5 hour drive, all through those hills and back roads.

Same exact performance as what you said but with the factory Enasaves the mileage was a little better. The car itself had no problem performing with 3 of us and all our luggage packed in.

The *only* complaint I have was the stick shift/no cruise, and the seat becoming ultra uncomfortable after an hour of driving. A pillow helped but I think I need to try an ES seat or something.

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completely agree. the lumbar support was just ok, but my azz was killing me, you?