Do you think Mirage will sell as much as Versa?

I can speak from my personal experience as a consumer looking (for the last 2 months) to buy a new car:

First I started looking at the Versa Sedan (S Base model with manual windows, locks, bluetooth but has no usb connection for the radio)

As I watched review videos on the Versa on YouTube, a couple of people mentioned the mirage. I looked into the Mirage but immediately noticed it was a hatchback and I was turned off (We dont really care for hatchbacks very much in the USA)

But as I read more and more reviews on the Versa I continued to hear the Mirage mentioned and the rebates that made it very close in price to the Versa S. (I think this was a big problem with Mitsu that instead of using a lower MSRP they use rebates to lower the price but consumers only read a review and see the MSRP so they are led to believe that the Mirage costs $2k more than the Versa S)

As I read more reviews and epsecially reviews on KBB from actual owners of the car (rather than the professional reviewers that insulted the car because they where comparing it to a much more expensive car such as the Honda Fit or Ford Fiesta) I noticed on KBB that the Mirage has much better, consistent reviews from owners than the Versa did.

I went to test drive a Versa S and was really turned off by the cheapness of the interior, the fact that the headrest on the front seats was not adjustable and the seats themselves looked really cheap as well as the interior with the manual windows, it really made me feel that I would be embarassed to take a girl on a first date in this car (the Versa). ALso the fact that the rear seats do not fold down was a royal pain in the a$s (But there is a solution, you have to remove 2 bolts and actually take the rear seat backs OUT!) LoL

THe Versa is cheaper but Nissan went way too far and left out features that are really considered essentials nowadays and me being a minimalist am saying this, I need to have USB in for the radio and because its manual windows and I like to roll down the front and rear window on my side it would be a real inconvenience every day to open the rear door to roll down the back window and then roll it back up when I arrive to my destination(after having to open the rear door once again).

Mitsu could have introduced the Mirage sedan in 2014 and if they had done that I think they would be way ahead in the numbers. They should have known the aversion that USA has to hatchbacks and they are way behind in that regard.

The versa is selling so well in the USA because

1) It is a sedan
2) It has alot of room in the backseat (which the professional reviewers continue to chant over and over again)
3) It is the best selling subcompact in the USA for several years in a row (which the professional reviewers continue to chant over and over again) and most Americans are sheep that follow the trends
4) There are several favorable reviews for the Versa where as 90% of professional reviewers of the Mirage have insulted the car
5) Nissan is more well known, has a larger presence, is spending more on advertising the Versa than mitsu is
6) The VErsa is a more "typical" looking car compared to the Mirage which looks "unusual" to Americans and most of them are sheep and too scared to go outside the box. Just look at how well the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry have sold for years (plain janes)

I have good hopes for the 2017 Mirage Sedan in the USA, with the proper marketing strategy and a lower MSRP (rather than using rebates to lower the price) and if they would bribe some of the professional reviewers to give a positive review...... I think they will turn things around completely.

Of course with low prices of oil currently, the Americans have little to no interest in subcompacts and are mostly looking for SUVs, CUV's and V6 sedans

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Originally Posted by old mechanic

I was a Nissan fan for decades, today I own a Mirage. I would have to pass several Nissan dealerships to get to the nearest Mitsubishi dealership. Those proximity and number advantages are hard to beat. The 25% better mileage I get in the Mirage is a deal maker for me along with price and warranty.
After 15k miles, given the chance I would do the same thing again BUT Mitsu needs to fix my rear axle to near 0 camber and toe.

regards
mech

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I had seen 1yo 2015 Notes coming from rental with 38-46k for ~6k. Warranty aside, 4k will buy you a whole lot of gas to cover the difference, even when it goes back to $4/gal.

Not really a Nissan or Mitsu fan, don't have a dog in the hunt.

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Originally Posted by cyclopathic

I had seen 1yo 2015 Notes coming from rental with 38-46k for ~6k. Warranty aside, 4k will buy you a whole lot of gas to cover the difference, even when it goes back to $4/gal.

Not really a Nissan or Mitsu fan, don't have a dog in the hunt.

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But you do like the simplicity of the mirage and the fuel economy anyway :)

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Originally Posted by fc321

Mitsu could have introduced the Mirage sedan in 2014 and if they had done that I think they would be way ahead in the numbers. They should have known the aversion that USA has to hatchbacks and they are way behind in that regard.

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I hear what you're saying about the U.S. preference for sedans.

But officials at the company were never sure that U.S. buyers would even accept the 74 hp 1.2L 3-cyl engine in the hatchback, never mind in a bigger sedan! Their concern was always the engine. I bet the uproar in the U.S. motoring press would have been dramatically worse if they'd started out with a 74 hp, 3-cyl sedan.

If you read quotes from Mitsu execs, there was a lot of hair-pulling over whether they should even bring the hatchback across the pond. From what I've read, it seems the only reason this car is on sale in Canada/U.S. is due to the fact that the company had nothing else in the product pipeline at that time and the dealers were screaming for ANYTHING new to sell.

The Mirage was a stop-gap measure for North America, but it happened to sell better than they expected. So now they're giving the sedan a shot. I bet if the company's lineup had been better rounded 3 years ago, we wouldn't have the Mirage here at all.

The Mirage was a stop-gap measure for North America, but it happened to sell better than they expected. So now they're giving the sedan a shot. I bet if the company's lineup had been better rounded 3 years ago, we wouldn't have the Mirage here at all.

This. You're right on, Darin.

I know this doesn't address the question of what might happen in the U.S., but it appears the Philippines is another country that vastly prefers sedans over hatchbacks:

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... monthly sales of the Mirage variants so far this year was around 1,500, of which around 500-600 are accounted for by the hatchback.

“Last year we’ve done 12,000 for the sedan and 6,000 for hatchback”

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Source: http://www.bworldonline.com/content....2017&id=126834

So THAT'S why the Versa's monthly sales numbers are so astronomical...

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According to Polk/IHS Automotive, of the top 10 rental vehicles to enter fleets in 2017, four of them were Nissans. The following numbers are good through the end of October:

Attachment 10632

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Source: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/201...ericas-fleets/

38,000 Versas into rental fleets in less than a year! That's nearly 2x the sales of all Mirages.

Nissan will sell about 110k Versas in 2017, so 35% of them went to rental companies ... and that's assuming they didn't sell any to Hertz in November or December!

I would love to know the Mirage's rental sales ratio.

I believe those numbers. When we flew into Denver last year, you take a bus to the rental lots which are insanely massive and boy oh boy altimas and versa all over.
We ended up with a accent hatch though but in CA we had a versa.

I read Mits makes small car for Nissan. What do they make? Notes? I'd feel more confident driving a Mits made Nissan than a Nissan made Nissan.

Mitsubishi will not sell as many Mirages as Versas, at least not in North America. The Versa is quite a bit bigger, and Americans like bigger vehicles (even on the small side). Plus, with Nissan's much larger dealer network, it's bound to be more popular.