2000+ Round trip just done
Just had Zero on a 2000+ mile jaunt thru nearly all KS (east to west), eastern CO, eastern WY and southwest South Dakota, with my 2 teenage kids along, and hatch mostly full with all our 'luggage.'
Trip was a wonderful time.
If you see my other posts I am definitely a 'speed' guy (I've had Zero on the track!) and one's first impression for me owning this car would seem to be a WTF - and it kinda is... I mean 74HP, *really?* Nonetheless, circumstances lead me to the Mirage (I am a motorcycle racer and also own an S2000 - so they feed my speed need - though Zero comes thru as a DailyDriver in the most delightful ways!, OK enough digression)
Zero held up fantastically. My overall trip MPG was 33.5, right inline with my lifetime overall. I routinely go the 9+ over the speed limit (was loving WY's 80 MPH limit, though there was doing only about 7+). I once passed a row of about 8 cars stacked behind an RV in WY; I couldn't believe no one else was making the pass - so I did. It was *wide* open and a slight down hill, I definitely felt like a champ - (safely) motoring past everyone in the least horsepowered vehicle. The Mirage, if driven spiritedly (up to the high side of the RPM range), makes short work of most peoples' driving norms. The whole "only has 74HP" is semantic, when driving with some oomphh Zero is rarely (if ever) the slowest car on the road.
So, with 1 adult and 2 teenagers (+ luggage) in high altitude settings too, the Mirage did great. My only complaint was that I don't have cruise control, western KS and eastern CO & WY can tire out the leg... But that's an option I just don't happen to have. I am 6'3" too, while the Mirage is definitely a compact car it wasn't (isn't) something that bothered me. I wouldn't hesitate to go on another multi-thousand mile roadtrip in Zero again. My chief complaint actually is all the other behemoths out there... in a tangle I fear that the Mirage would fare worst, but I drive to avoid that - and - the 7 airbags are a reassurance.... On this note: it makes me wonder *why* everyone has these monstrosities for vehicles, if it's for "safety" than it's nothing but an ignorant 'arms race,' - just keep getting bigger than the next guy, if everybody went to a sensible size we'd all be just as 'safe' from one another.
Car has: wider wheels (&tires) and a rear anti-roll bar from UltraRacing, as well as their strut tower brace. Car still rolls thru turns more than I'd like, but compared to stock it's a sports car now. I couldn't imagine having the Mirage sans these basic modifications.
Oh yeah - and all of this was with the AC on! Though for some passes I clicked it off in conjunction with the downshift.
ゼロ
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 33.4 mpg (US) ... 14.2 km/L ... 7.0 L/100 km ... 40.1 mpg (Imp)