I've recently gotten small-car fever; recently purchased a 3 1/2 year old Fiat 500 for my wife, and am considering a used Mirage, manual-shift for my future to replace a 2007 mid-sized sedan (Saturn Aura Green Line Hybrid). The Aura has been super reliable and a smooth ride and a fantastic engine braker due to regenerative braking, but it's got a lot of body roll at 3600 pounds; achieves less than 30 mpg in a very mpg-friendly commute situation. The Aura also has the GM transmission software issue where they design it to try and stay in a high gear all the time to trick the mpg estimate equipment but is aggravating for real-world driving; especially in hilly areas like where the wife and I live. Also, as empty nesters, a mid-size sedan really has little use for us these days.

Our original plan was to find one of these Fiat 500s used and sell the Aura, and that would leave us a near bare-bones, regular cab 2015 pickup truck that achieves up to 24 mpg (fantastic for a full size pickup, but not fantastic as a general commute vehicle) and the Fiat. After purchasing the Fiat, however, we're finding that we like having two cars and one truck, and we really do need a truck or a trailer, as we were constantly having to borrow a truck, and I'm no fan of hooking up and towing around and backing up trailers. With two subcompact cars and a pickup truck, we could use the late-model pickup for mostly pickup truck duties going forward and occasional weekend driving, etc.; and only rarely use it as a commute vehicle and maybe keep it forever. There is the added expense of insurance, maintenance, and registering another vehicle, but we have this unexpected emotion of liking the idea of two cars in our small fleet; but two small cars might be even better; especially if one of the two small cars had 4 doors and a hatch. Also, I recently sold a motorcycle that achieved 75 mpg commuting in the Summer, but I rarely rode it due to how our situation has changed as explained below and how impractical a motorcycle is for transportation as compared to how I envisioned it being when I bought it. So really, right now, we're back to three road vehicles total.

We live in rural, hilly, Upper Cumberland region of middle Tennesse; we each have a 54-58 commute along state highway routes, going through one small town with 5 traffic lights and mild traffic, which equates to speeds from 45-65 mph. No high-speed highway driving unless we travel out of our area. We commute probably two-thirds of the time, but sometimes, because our schedules don't exactly match up, we drive separately; especially during the Summer.

My rationale: I've always had a desire to achieve great mpg. The Fiat 500 has an mpg rating of something like 28 city and 33 highway, but, although we've yet to hand calculate, our first tank showed on the computer at or about 36.2, which supports my long-held theory that most small cars are underrated by EPA's system, whereas larger cars and pickup trucks are often overrated. The Fiat, for some reason, has a poor highway rating for the 6 speed auto, whereas the straight shift is 5 mpg higher for the highway rating. Also, since trading my 2006 VW Jetta TDI (diesel) for a needed pickup truck, I really, really miss driving a stick shift and I also miss really great mpg that the diesel returned for commuting. The diesel had 100 horsepower and weighed 3200 pounds, so I'm fine with slow-go, but did like the great torque of the diesel, which would not be available in a naturally-aspired gasser. Also, once I began shopping for a super compact car, I realized how the value of these things drop like a rock, and I'm thinking that a Mirage, thanks to it's poor professional reviews (that are contradictory to consumer reviews) could be had in a late model choice for not-too-many-$$$.

So if I purchase a three or four year old Mirage 5 speed and use it mostly for commuting in a rural area; mostly at speeds from 45-65 along fairly hilly terrain; would this be a good choice as a commuter and errand-running car; sort of a replacement for an impractical motorcycle you could say; but a car that I could drive 365; rather than a motorcycle that's more like 80 days a year unless ridden in uncomfortable situations, which I'm not a fan of. I realize that due to the value dilemma; much like it is with the Fiat, I can't think of such a purchase as an investment. It would be just something to drive until the wheels fall off, but I'm thinking that I'd be alright with that. Another option would be one of the Mirage competitors with low resale value, like another Fiat 500 or a Chevy Spark, but I think a 5 door might be a better second choice, and the next-larger Fiat weighs 800 pounds more.

Any suggestions, comments or ideas are welcome. Thanks for the site!