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Thread: Test drive: 2015 Mirage ES vs. 2016 Spark LS

  1. #11
    Senior Member Mitsuman's Avatar
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    iA is a nice car but I would not buy one, at least until they bring hatchback. Sedan has lower roof line and anyone taller than 5'5" will have head clearance issues. Rear seat knee space at least 2-3” worse than on Mirage.

    Nice car otherwise, trunk is huge.


    Thanks for that information, cyclopathic. I will store it in my noggin for future use! Yeah, the Scion (soon to be Toyota) iA is not for everybody in the looks department but the front of the car's looks eventually grew on me - the same gaping maw that my '08 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS had but even more pronounced.



  2. #12
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    I frequent both the Chevy Spark forum and this forum. The Spark doesn't seem to have any more issues than the Mirage.

    I own a 2013 Spark with 72,000 miles and it runs like brand new, Daewoo did a good job. That being said, I'm tempted to get a 2015 Mirage, the price is down to $8500 new.

    Two things are holding me back though...

    Closest dealer is 180 miles away and the rear axle alignment issue. Can't imagine why Tucson (70 miles away, 1 million people in metro area) doesn't have a Mitsubishi dealer? Mitsubishi hasn't come up with a rear axle replacement/fix?

    This makes me wonder if it's wise to trade-in the all too often disrespected Daewoo for the Mitsubishi which isn't perfect either.

  3. #13
    Senior Member Mitsuman's Avatar
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    I frequent both the Chevy Spark forum and this forum. The Spark doesn't seem to have any more issues than the Mirage.

    I own a 2013 Spark with 72,000 miles and it runs like brand new, Daewoo did a good job. That being said, I'm tempted to get a 2015 Mirage, the price is down to $8500 new.

    Two things are holding me back though...

    Closest dealer is 180 miles away and the rear axle alignment issue. Can't imagine why Tucson (70 miles away, 1 million people in metro area) doesn't have a Mitsubishi dealer? Mitsubishi hasn't come up with a rear axle replacement/fix?

    This makes me wonder if it's wise to trade-in the all too often disrespected Daewoo for the Mitsubishi which isn't perfect either.


    Go Speed Racer, Go Speed Racer, Go Speed Racer Go!! Ha-ha. So you are a proud owner of a 2013 Chevy Spark, eh? I tell you, I have fallen for the 2016 Spark re-design and I have started to really want to test-drive one of them. How is acceleration on yours? Do you have the automatic tranny or the manual trannied-Spark? Is it pretty fun to drive? There are some at Thorobred Chevrolet in Phoenix that are selling for only $9998 that look pretty good to me.

    Hey, there's a job in Show Low, AZ, that I qualify for that would be cool ta get. Are you in Tucson? We lived in Willcox for 3 years and 8 months. I love southern Arizona. So we'll see.

    But you think that I'd be sound as a pound in a 2016 Chevy Spark as far as mechanical reliability goes? I like that Chevy has made the ride good over bumps and the car gets 31mpg city and 40mpg highway. And it sounds like they've added sound deadening materials so it's not so loud inside. Is yours that loud inside or is that just more enemy garble? Not really a big deal?

    More things about the Spark I love:

    - Clutch & shifter were excellent
    - Touch screen infotainment center is very nice in a base $10K car (this piece of standard equipment looks very nice)
    - Arm rest - although it was too high for my liking (that this small car even has one is cool)

    For me, I have one Chevy dealer right in Dodge City, KS, where I live, plus, there's another Chevy dealer in Garden City, KS, only 50 miles west of me. There they have a salsa red '16 5-speed Spark selling for $12,535, which includes a $1,000 manufacturer rebate. But the closest Mitsubishi dealer is Steven Mitsubishi, which is 150 miles east of me in Wichita, KS. That's a ways away but doable. I am also really interested in the 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage and G4, too.
    Last edited by Mitsuman; 03-08-2016 at 10:21 PM.

  4. #14
    Member ComputerAbuser's Avatar
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    I found the 2016 Spark very quiet and fun to drive. The fun factor more because I really liked the clutch and shifter. I guess overall it just drove better. It was quiet on the highway, smooth over speed bumps and handled great in corners. Things that I believe they improved on the 2017 Mirage. I can't wait to test drive one.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage SE 1.2 manual: 53.4 mpg (US) ... 22.7 km/L ... 4.4 L/100 km ... 64.1 mpg (Imp)


  5. #15
    Senior Member Mitsuman's Avatar
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    I found the 2016 Spark very quiet and fun to drive. The fun factor more because I really liked the clutch and shifter. I guess overall it just drove better. It was quiet on the highway, smooth over speed bumps and handled great in corners. Things that I believe they improved on the 2017 Mirage. I can't wait to test drive one.

    Thanks for the information, ComputerAbuser! Anytime you can think of an answer to someone's question about the 2016 Chevy Spark please chime in. You know the drill.

    Your answers are really keeping the "Spark" alive for me. Hee-hee.

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    I live in Sierra Vista, we have most of the mainstream car dealers. No Mercedes/BMW or Porsche here, and no Mitsubishi. I am still surprised no Mitsubishi in Tucson though, they have the others I mentioned.

    I love small cars, they are very engaging and fun to drive. I did my homework on the 2013 Spark before I bought it. It had been driving around in other parts of the world for two years, I found many instances of high mileage Spark owners that were trouble free so far. I also knew the engine had a timing chain not a belt.

    I got a five speed of course, a small displacement engine does much better in performance and economy with a manual. I did a few mods that made a difference. Opened up the airbox, did a half shaft throttle body mod, deleted the rear muffler and chopped down the gearshift lever. This gave the 84 horsepower motor a very noticeable improvement in pep. The suspension was nice and tight already, there is a little bit of body roll but nothing that discourages spirited cornering. I've been averaging 40 - 44 mpg, usually hitting 42 on nearly every tank.

    The stock size tires were 185/55 r15, kind of an oddball size that was a bit pricey. The Spark came without a spare, so I picked up 4 used Toyota Corolla 14" steelies ($30 for all four) and mounted 185/60 which was the same diameter and fit in the spare tire compartment. Gave one to my son, who has a 2013 Spark as well.
    They only issue was the center bore for Toyota is 54.1mm vs. the Spark at 56.5mm. A dremel and a hand file, and a lot of work later they fit perfect.
    When it was time to replace the rock hard stock Goodyear tires, I switched over to the 14" steelies and some generic Korean tires. They were cheap and handled smoother than the OEM tires. The two stock rims and tires with the most tread left are now doing spare tire duty.

    The only issues so far were a leaky coolant overflow tank and the recall for the PCV valve. The parts were cheap, I just fixed them myself. I changed the oil at 500 miles, then every 5000 with full synthetic 5w30, not the GM branded 5w20 the manual specifies. Changed the gear oil at 50k with Valvoline Synchromesh. My car has never been to the dealer, and I'm hoping it won't ever.

    There are a couple of things I don't like about the Spark. The interior plastic is a little cheap and scratches easily. The stock radio in the base LS model was pretty crappy. Other than that, I feel the car was a great value for the $12,900 I paid and the 2013 Spark was actually better than I expected.

    I still like the Mitsubishi Mirage's three cylinder engine and under 2000 pound curb weight. The Spark weighs in at 2260 lbs. I know if I put some Eibach springs on the Mirage it would be fun to drive too. $8500 new is an insane deal, and in spite of the rear axle alignment issue and lack of nearby dealer, I might buy one anyway.

    That being said, I wish the Suzuki Celerio would be rebadged and brought to the USA. 1.0 three cylinder and lighter than the Mirage with a similar power to weight ratio. The suspension is supposed to be nice stock, the gearbox slick shifting, base model well appointed and cheaper than the Mirage, Spark or Nissan Versa. 42 mpg for the Spark is great, but I'll bet I could average 50 in the Mirage. The Celerio tops all with 60+ mpg!
    Last edited by Speedracer; 03-09-2016 at 03:16 PM.

  7. #17
    Senior Member Mitsuman's Avatar
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    And Suzuki is no slouch as a carmaker, either. I almost bought a 2010 Suzuki Kizashi sedan but couldn't get the right deal, so I walked. But that is one very nice midsize sedan from Suzuki. The automatic trannied one I test-drove was flawless. I really tried ta tip one over on 'em trading my '08 Lancer GTS for a '10 6-speed red Kizashi but they were smart! The dealer was Courtesy Import of Henderson, NV. I really love the smaller cars - our '11 Kia Soul is great - I'd just like ta top the 25/30 ghastly mileage on the thing. Shouldn't be hard ta do!

  8. #18
    Member ComputerAbuser's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fc321 View Post
    Regardless of which car you choose you may want to get an ELM 327 bluetooth and leave it plugged in while you drive

    http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B...rch_detailpage

    I got one for $8 USD and used the free software called Torque to get real time miles/km per gallon. Its a nice device because it teaches you the best way to drive (in real time) to maximize your fuel consumption

    In addition it will read your error codes so you can google them instead of getting ripped of with a bad mechanic that sells you work you dont need
    I just ordered two dongles to try. Unfortunately, I have to pay a bit more in Canada. I wanted one with either a power button or auto-off technology. It seems most of these low cost Chinese units don't always power off and will drain your battery if left on.

    I purchased a Konnwei KW902 for $14CAD from Amazon. It has a power button, although it's not clear what it powers off; it may only turn off the LEDs. This unit has been popular with Nissan Leaf owners.

    I also purchased a Vgate iCar 3 off of eBay for about $16CAD. From reviews, it powers off after 30 minutes. Hopefully that's 30 minutes of inactivity over the OBD-II bus and not Bluetooth. I can often retain a Bluetooth connection from inside my house to where I park.

    The OBDLink LX would be my first choice if money wasn't a concern, but they are around $100CAD.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage SE 1.2 manual: 53.4 mpg (US) ... 22.7 km/L ... 4.4 L/100 km ... 64.1 mpg (Imp)


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