Taking a road trip (in a rental Mirage)

[cinder]

Geesh . Not everyone can drive a manual .

[grsupercity]

I like the low rpm of driving a cvt down the highway (which my whole drive is) But my personal taste is driving a manual

[Canoehead]

The Car:

Perfectly acceptable - I found the stability to be just fine, the steering to track arrow straight, and the effect of wind/passing trucks buffeting the car to be negligible. There is a bit of fore/aft bounciness when going over big bumps (it is spring, and our highways have suffered a lot of frost damage over the winter). For fun, I did a bit of weaving back and forth prompting my passenger to say "quit it - you're going to tip us", but there was no danger of that. It is a bit wobbly, though, if goofing around like that.

Noise is there - a bit louder on all counts - wind, mechanical, road noise. Not an issue for me, and not obtrusive. At one point there was a bit of a low whistle - again it was faint and not a problem. It seemed to be coming from the front A-pillar area.

Efficiency - I managed 4.9 calculated, 5.1 on the ScanGauge and 5.0 on the iMid. Take all of these with a grain of salt. Strangely, when the fuel gauge suggested I was over 3/4 full, I still was able to put in 16L! I stopped there, thinking it might be overflowing through some sort of vent. On the return, I put in the same - maybe the fuel gauges is wrong, or the filler hose is big - anyway it was inexact measurement. Likewise I couldn't re-set the scan gauge and the iMid at the same time/after each stop. Temperature was -6C to start with little wind - and +6C at the end with perhaps a 20km/h wind. Route was from Winnipeg-St Claude-Treherne-Gladstone-Portage-Winnipeg. Few hills of note, but the one we climbed with cruise went fine.

*edited to add - the picture below of 90km/h was atypical - 90% of the time I went the limit of 100km/h

CVT - Works well. I warmed up to it and actually appreciated it in traffic. I am not used to any auto, though, so I really couldn't comment. That braking thing I mentioned is apparently just an auto trait.

Comfort - we were over 4 hours in the seats with few breaks. My passenger and I probably approached 500lbs total. No issues with leg, shoulder, or head room, no complaints about the seating surface comfort. Lumbar support was very nice. Another passenger didn't like how the headrest made the head tilt forward, so we flipped it around - problem solved.

Bakeries:

Chasing cinnamon buns is a red herring - these bakeries have much more to offer, including apple strudels, lemon danish, bread/buns, and best of all - pies. Gladstone bakery was the best of the bunch, and the busiest.

Worth the trip.

[MetroMPG]

It is a bit wobbly, though, if goofing around like that

Wobbly enough that you'd go for the rear aftermarket stabilizer bar?

Nice review -- thanks for the detailed writeup. I'm going to copy your impressions over to the "test drives/owner reviews" section too.

PS: whose Festiva is that??

[Canoehead]

Wobbly enough that you'd go for the rear aftermarket stabilizer bar?

...
PS: whose Festiva is that??

I would probably not bother. While it was a bit disconcerting to "wobble", it did not feel at all unsafe, the tires stuck to the road, including pushing through some wet yield lanes at a good pace. For typical driving, I would have no need for the sway bar. I spend little time weaving through pylons, and in traffic, the top of the car catches up to the bottom in plenty of time. That said - Mitsubishi could do themselves a favour by adding one - if only to reduce the comical nature of the weeble-wobble.

The Mazda 121, actually (can't believe you thought it was a Festiva! Totally different! ) belonged to the rental shop employee, who has owned five of them, and who also shared this bit of wisdom: "For me, safety means not getting hit". We discussed how that car (I've logged some miles in a Festiva too) got blown around on the highway and felt very close to the road compared to the Mirage.

[cinder]

Excellent report thus far . We had some Festivas with the 1.3ltr. engine .Two were with the 5 speed manual and the other with the 3 speed auto . They had the engine from the Mazda 121 . Great engines . Keep us updated , appreciate your effort . Anyone who enjoys baked goods can't be all that bad .

[cinder]

What's the gas mileage of the rental MIRAGE in U.S. numbers ? 40 something ?

[Ares]

Just found out how to use the mpg for the B setting. Current "all time" combined is 37 mpg. That includes all the ruthless 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear redline shifts.

[Canoehead]

What's the gas mileage of the rental MIRAGE in U.S. numbers ? 40 something ?

http://bit.ly/1lJkkQp Looks like between 46-48mpg mostly highway - no effort to eco-drive at all.

[cinder]

Very good . That includes 2 people . Luggage too ? How many pies ? . I wonder if the whistling could be the antenna ? Wipers ?