How does Mirage do on mountain passes?

[Cani Lupine]

The only way I've found to do that is press the Mode button so it shows the floor and defroster at the same time, but there's no defroster-only without the AC kicking on to dry out the air. The Off button turns off the blower, and you can still select between Vent and Recirculate.

[VespaGoGo]

I didn't understand what you were saying. I thought you meant AC in general. Regarding defrost, I've never had a car that would defrost proper without the conpressor on.

[ThreePot]

I didn't understand what you were saying. I thought you meant AC in general. Regarding defrost, I've never had a car that would defrost proper without the conpressor on.

I've never had a car that the A/C compressor worked on lol....
It's good to know that your Mirage needs the compressor on to defrost, because that means mine is normal.
If I'm alone in the car, once it IS defrosted I can keep it defrosted with heated air. (compressor off)

When you go to that dedicated defrost setting where all the air comes out the top only, the system automatically runs the compressor. It can not be turned off in this mode.(per manual)
This is where I would like to turn the compressor off.

When that compressor comes on, it's like I dropped anchor...

I'm tellin ya...knobs and sliders . . . .

[beerbelly58]

I still like knobs / sliders though..

Hi ThreePot
some euro trims still got knobs and sliders

[ThreePot]

I still like knobs / sliders though..

Hi ThreePot
some euro trims still got knobs and sliders

THATS IT !!! That's exactly what I want

[Ares]

There may be a few members either from or traveling through the mountain states. Would any of you care to comment on the Mirage,s abilities going up (and maybe down) the passes. Can it accelerate going up? How does it do from an on ramp? Is the cruising speed limited by the slope? Will the trans hold the speed down enough so you don't need to ride the breaks on the down slope? If there is slope gradient info available you might include it.

Thanks for your input!

Can't believe I missed this thread...

I have a 5mt. When entering the freeway, if I need power, I would generally be at 3k-5k rpms. While engine braking works, some places actually discourage this. Also, using the engine to supplement braking is better than using the the brakes to supplement the engine.

[palebeachbum]

I live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains in the southeastern U.S. Very hilly here. The CVT in this car makes hilly travel very pleasant for a small car. Engine revs are typically 2500-3500 to maintain speed at 55-70mph. Obviously the higher the speed, the higher the revs. This Mirage fares well compared to my 2012 Nissan Versa. That car had a bit more pep, but the horrible CVT was programmed to automatically increase engine revs to compensate for hill climbing, even without depressing the throttle more. It always felt like it over-revved the engine. Mirage handles the hills much better, but hills really kill the fuel economy in the Mirage. Running the AC REALLY saps the power. Don't run the AC if you don't have to. It hurts fuel economy quite a lot too because the engine has to work against the load created by the AC compressor.

[BeanSproutExpress]

I traveled north from Los Angeles in California over the grapevine. I was able to climb a 5% grade in 5th gear at 65mph no problem. 7% grade it struggled a bit to maintain 65mph, and I needed to drop to 4th gear to keep from putting the metal to the floor when passing. Overall very impressive. They did a good job with the power-to-weight ratio.

As everyone is saying, the AC is a huge power drain. I can feel the AC kick on before the electronic injection compensates ... the whole car kind of hiccups a bit. It took me a few days to realize there wasn't an engine problem. I almost too the car in to the shop ... LOL.

[palebeachbum]

I know that AC hiccup you describe all too well. But honestly, it's not too terrible in the Mirage. It's insanely pronounced in the Versa. I can't tell you how many times I'd be sitting at a red light with the AC on, when the compressor kicked on and the car jumped forward on me. Almost rear ended a couple of people it was such a severe lurch. Not the case with the Mirage. I notice it much more in the Mirage when traversing a hill and the compressor kicks on. It's like the car is suddenly towing a boat. Ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but the power does drop quite noticeably.

[Daox]

I haven't had to take the Mirage up any mountain passes, but I have tooled around with a full car (4 adults) when I had the Mirage for a week. It really wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. The CVT may have revved a bit higher, but it was just fine.