I have to say I really regret buying this car (white '14 ES with the CVT).

The gas mileage was great (low/mid 40s around town without trying when it was new) but after about 30k miles and replacing the slide-a-thon Dunlop tires with some Michelins that actually had some traction and functioned when the road was wet it rarely went above 35-37 and we would be surprised when we got a 40 MPG tank.

Basically it started feeling old pretty quickly and got to the point where we didn't want to spend any more money on it. The A/C wouldn't hold a charge, the headlight lenses were starting to cloud up, the gray plastic trim on the doors was oxidizing, the seat fabric was getting loose and had butt prints on it (I weigh 145 lbs), the transmission was getting clunky when going into gear or when downshifting and we'd had enough of the suspension. The body roll was still fine with me, and kind of amusing to be honest, but the long-travel comfort that was so nice when it was new had turned into a harsh ride that sagged and clomped along on bad roads and crashed into the bump stops when there are three people in the car (450 lbs). The person who typically rode in the back seat was getting tired of having his head thrown into the headliner.

I could have probably put up with the issues if the dealer and Mitsubishi Corporate had been more responsive to the nonfunctional A/C (they blamed its needing a recharge at 25k miles, which I had to pay for, on the fact that we lived in Texas) but that combined with the dirty, shabby, threadbare, shorthanded facilities that take forever to do anything really started leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

My other car is a 2012 Toyota Yaris 3-door hatchback with a 5-speed and it has not had a single issue and still feels tight and new. The dealers are friendly, competent and have clean new buildings and overall the ownership experience has been a night-and-day difference.

So we went down to the Toyota dealer at about 6:30 the last day of November. I got hosed for $3k on the Mirage trade-in but I am so happy to be rid of it that I don't even care. I got the Corolla for $500 under invoice with 0% for 72 months so it wasn't too painful. It is so quiet and refined in comparison -- can't hear the engine under 3000 RPM, it doesn't vibrate like an automatic '80s Honda when idling, it doesn't slow down when you turn the A/C on, it doesn't bottom out on bumps or feel like it is going to roll over in turns and the transmission doesn't clunk or shudder. We've driven it about 200 miles so far and it is averaging 36-37 MPG with about 50/50 city/highway.

I paid $17888 + tax for it and really wish I had just spent the extra $2k on one in 2014. But I am kind of glad I ended up with a '17 because it has Bi-LED headlights, radar cruise control, automatic braking and corrective steering.

We had had some older Mitsubishis in the past (couple of '91 Galants and an Eclipse) and they were all super reliable and lasted a long time. But this one felt like it was 10+ years older and had 150,000 more miles on it that it did. So if anyone else is considering one of these vehicles, I would definitely recommend spending a couple grand more on a Fit or Yaris or Corolla or something. It isn't worth the little bit of savings you will see at the pump with the poor customer service, difficult oil changes, expensive insurance, nonstandard tires and battery size and hard to find consumables (air and cabin filters, etc).

Goodbye


Hello