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Thread: GREEN CAR REPORTS: 2015 Honda FIT CVT test drive/gas mileage. Mirage competitor?

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    GREEN CAR REPORTS: 2015 Honda FIT CVT test drive/gas mileage. Mirage competitor?

    achieved . http://www.greencarreports.com/news/...-new-hatchback . Not to bad .



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    "(We doubt very much it'll be cross-shopped against the smaller, slower, noisier Mitsubishi Mirage, which is rated at 40 mpg combined with its own CVT.)"

    But they are wrong on that point. I have been a little bit obsessed with learning all I can about these two cars, and they are the top contenders for my next vehicle. True they are different ends of the class, but they are what I am considering, both being fuel efficient hatches.

    Here is why I am liking the Mirage today:
    It is big enough - I've lived out of a backpack and a kayak for weeks. If I cannot take it in the Mirage, I probably don't need it. Similarly it is fast enough, powerful enough, safe enough, comfortable enough, and has good enough "driving dynamics and new vehicle handling" if I even understand what those terms mean (it goes, it stops, it turns - everything I expect from a car).
    Much less expensive to buy - lower price, more flexible price (not as brand new), 0% financing, base models in stock.
    Much less expensive to operate - based on current fuel prices, my driving distance and EPA ratings, $2000 over 10 years, and more if I keep the car longer or drive more each year, or fuel prices go up in the next decade (I'll go out on a limb and say they will).
    Less expensive to operate part 2 - I assume that new Honda direct injection will be fine during the warranty period. I want to keep my next new car for 10 years at a minimum - ideally more like 15 or 20. I expect the intake valves will have issues eventually, and the fuel pump operating at that pressure will be more expensive to replace. The touch-screen radio system may work in the -40 around here, but I doubt it will work as long as a basic system. Honda's are legendary, but complex equipment is almost always less durable than simple. This is also the first model year for a whole new design. The Mirage is proven as a world car.
    Environmental responsibility Getting a car that is "more" than is needed leads me down the slippery slope to the soccer mom who "needs" a Yukon because she has 2 children. I don't want to be that person, and the environment is impacted by every step along the way (more steel mined and smelted, more oil extracted, refined, transported etc.) I take a car to go canoeing, I want nice rivers and lakes to canoe in for now and future. A Tesla would be better, but too expensive, and a bike is too slow.
    *Oh, and one beef with Honda - they added a 6th gear for the Manual but didn't improve the top gear ratio. 6 is the new 5, 4 is the same, and there is a 5th gear that they could have called four and a half! Not what I was hoping for.

    Here is why some days I favour the Honda:
    It is bigger. I could carry more stuff. I could always find more stuff to carry (though I never know if it is improving my life as I hope it will). I could also take 4 adults in comfort instead of 2 in comfort and 2 more in less comfort.
    It is more luxurious/comfortable, more powerful, safer, "better" and "more car" in many ways.
    I have a soft spot for Honda since my first mini bike and my Uncle's outboard motor - great company.
    The local Honda dealer has been good to my family for the past 13 years, I know nothing of the Mitsubishi dealer besides some mixed reviews on Google.
    The resale value will undoubtedly be higher (not planning to sell, but in an insurance write off it might matter)
    Available block heater
    Versatile use of space/folding seats
    Last edited by Canoehead; 04-14-2014 at 12:28 AM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE 1.2 manual: 45.0 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 54.1 mpg (Imp)


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    MetroMPG (04-14-2014)

  4. #3
    Canoe: I noticed that sentence as well -- and commented about it on GCR, as did another person currently cross-shopping both vehicles!

    Numerous members here have cross-shopped Fits against the Mirage.

    I think that statement says more about the reviewer than about reality: he really likes the Fit, and does not like the Mirage (I read all his reviews, and sometimes strikes me as the Tahoe-driving soccer mom type: he seems to want his toys, his power and his comfort despite their impact on efficiency.

    He can't wrap his mind around the idea that people would consider a vehicle he deems unworthy against one he deems a clear pick.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member IchabodCrane's Avatar
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    When I read the article I have to admit I was a little offended. Must be nice to be so self important.
    Canoehead... yours is the second or third posting that makes reference to the "unavailability" of a block heater and I'm wondering what's up? Mine has one.
    Will weld for beer.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE 1.2 automatic: 45.3 mpg (US) ... 19.3 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 54.5 mpg (Imp)


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    I don't pay much attention to most car reviews . It's in the taste of the individual . For each their own .

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    Good news about the block heater! Scratch that off the Honda advantages I guess. There is a video review saying they didn't have one, and a guy from Alberta bought one and there was no block heater option for him. Maybe Mitsubishi was just a bit delayed offering it? Or maybe your dealer just installed aftermarket heaters (they all are, anyway, I think - one company makes most of them).

    Funny about your ATV. I was at an electric vehicles show and some engineering students had made an electric ATV, but said it basically wasn't very useful at all, because ATVs need so much more power going through mud. I would much rather have a small car and a dedicated off-road vehicle than some of these compromise vehicles that aren't well suited to either the road or the bush (crossover SUV's with awd systems that are not balanced, have no locking diffs/hubs and limited clearance).

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE 1.2 manual: 45.0 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 54.1 mpg (Imp)


  8. #7
    Senior Member IchabodCrane's Avatar
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    Canoehead...
    The block heater is a dealer install for sure.. when I bought the car they scheduled pickup for the next day as they had to install it and wash the car.
    It (block heater) was on the option sheet though and I didn't have to ask for it.
    Will weld for beer.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE 1.2 automatic: 45.3 mpg (US) ... 19.3 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 54.5 mpg (Imp)


  9. #8
    Copied the block heater info to this thread:

    Engine Block Heater for 2014 Mirage?


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


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