Done any long trips in your Mirage yet? Comfortable? Good fuel economy?

[M-88]

The Watermelon 500 (Atlanta beltway) was ... interesting.

At the time, I was living new Utica, NY. Legally, the fastest you can drive is 55. So I was used to driving 55 or 65 on interstates.

I tried going 70 ... and was getting passed like I wasn't even moving. Fastest I could bring myself to go on the Watermelon 500 was 95 and I was still getting passed by anything and everything!

[Donut]

Just came back from my 1350 miles road trip around lake Erie with my fully loaded Mirage. We were four adults plus our luggage and a cargo rack mounted in the trailer hitch, with an estimated total payload of 700 pounds added to the Mirage.


See here the cargo rack with a wrapped back-pack. We had to move the number plate because it would have been hidden by the cargo. I've screwed a head flash-light onto the rack for the number plate illumination, because this seems required by law in many states.

My driving style was to respect the speed limits and to use faster trucks for drafting at safe distance. Despite the payload and the cargo rack, the penalty for fuel economy was surprisingly low. I've got values around 49 to 50 MPG with the Mirage fully loaded (AC on) versus 53 MPG alone (and without the rack mounted on the way back home, AC off, windows cracked open). For most parts of the trip the 74 HP were good enough, although we had to once use the emergency flashers on a steep ascent because the speed dropped below 45 MPH while fully floored. I believe I could have back shifted into fourth and revved the engine into high RPM, but I didn't want to sacrifice my average meter reading, which was at 51 at that moment. The Appalachian are pretty hilly and you have to really hit the pedal to maintain the speed. Downhill was ok for most parts, since a lower gear helped breaking, but with the added load, we had to sometimes use the brakes as well. I guess longer downhill trips should be more carefully planned to give the brakes some chance to cool down.

The suspension had to work quite a lot. Just the load deepened the Mirage by several inches and it almost looked like a sports car. Maybe this helped to reduce the CW value due to the smaller cross section (speculating...). Only the two rear passengers and the luggage, and the Mirage appeared to flip back. The front wheels and the springs were fully exposed :-)

The gas mileage dropped once we reached Ohio, mostly because of the higher speed limits of 70+ MPH and the lack of good trucks. Unfortunately, the road to Detroit was very bad in two senses: Firstly, the speed limit for trucks much smaller than for cars and you have to drive the Mirage in the fast lane all the time or squeeze in between two trucks at 60 MPH (bad idea). Secondly, the road has many pot holes between the lanes and makes the switching actually dangerous. We saw a lot of fresh tire bursts on our way downtown. This was maybe the most unpleasant part of the whole trip, because we were shaken around like beads in a rattle.

(Detroit was cool however, as was the Motel).


We then took the ferry to Canada and headed eastwards across some dirt roads, where the fuel economy rose again to around 50 MPG. The highway to Niagara Falls and then Toronto has a 100km/h speed limit and lots of good trucks for pulling. The roads are also comparatively flat and the ride was comfy for all the passengers.


The three passengers left in Toronto and I headed back via Buffalo to Germantown, MD. Since I could now time my own breaks I was able to do the whole trip (~450 miles) in 11 hours. The border crossing and toll boots were culprits for long delays; I've spent more than two hours with the engine idling and stop and go burps (people cannot seem to merge into one lane).

As to the comfort:
The trip was ok in terms of space, although we've really packed the whole thing with stuff. The passengers never complained and actually spent a large part of the time sleeping in the rear seats. For me as a driver, I would have loved cruise control and an arm rest. Also, the climate control was tricky. On the way from Germantown, via Detroit to Toronto we used AC, but it was really difficult finding the settings that pleased all the passengers. The rear passengers complained about draft and the front passenger about too high temperature. I advocated for cracked windows, but was overruled, of course.
The Mirage is also not very stable and one needs to constantly correct to track properly due to wind and uneven pavements. This is ok at low speed, but can become annoying to passengers at 65+. One can minimize this swinging with a little bit of experience, but for the part of the trip where the second driver took over, the people were feeling a bit sick due to the left/right swinging. Rear roof handles would have also been appreciated by my passengers.

As to the cargo rack:
This item was absolutely essential for the trip. The three additional passengers had their large back-packs, whereof only two fitted into the trunk. My gear was small enough to fill the vacancies, but the third back-pack would have burst the little Mirage into pieces. The rack was great for the backpack and our water supply. The cool thing was that we used the air flow to cool the water with wet towels. For storing the rack while taking breaks or resting, we have developed a routine where the rack was put it onto the rear seat so that we could lock our gear with the car. The cargo rack was a great help, although I would prefer a lighter one in the future. This one weights 50 pounds (http://www.etrailer.com/p-6500.html) that are subtracted off the 200 pounds total tongue weight rating of the Class 1 hitch. It has, on the other hand, the advantage of more ground clearance, due to the bent receiver bar.

In conclusion:
Very cool trip with the Mirage and impressive fuel economy for the payload. We need to think about some improvements for the comfort. We've used a total of around 46 gallons, i.e., paid only 170 $ for gas; a pretty good deal for such a distance.

[foama]

Just came back from a longer trip from Germany through the alps and back.

Went from near Frankfurt via München (Munich), Innsbruck, Brenner, Bruneck (Brunico), Badia, Corvara, Cortina d' Ampezzo, Cinque Torri, Arraba, Passo Pordoi, Passo Valparola, Lago Ghedina, Wolkenstein in Gröden, Colfosco, Pieve, and back to near Frankfurt, not necessesarily in exactly that order. That includes some of the probably most scenic and most remote parts of the western alps. Many of the alpine roads were very steep, narrow and curvy. The highways to and from the alps were multilane, often with no speed limits, but with many construction sites, etc.

Overall the Mirage handled well on the highways, with speeds up to 150kmh and above, but sometimes in traffic jams due to construction. Power on this 1.0L MT European specs is fully sufficient.
No problem with handling. Handling is typical of a light car. I was impressed by how it handled at high speed and strong wind. Most cars have either the front or back pushed to the side, but the Mirage remained parallel and was easy to keep on the road. Clearly better than my old Metro. It is also much faster on the highway than the Metro.
On the steepest climbs (15-20%) there seemed to be a too big jump from first to second gear. I could easily accelerate in first, but would fall back after shifting into second.

What I did not like was the uncomfortable driver seat. It gave me serious cramps in the back and the too far forward headrest got me cramps in the neck. I actually needed to consult a physician, have physical therapy, etc.
Meanwhile the seat including headrest has been modified, and has become comfortable.

I missed at least a minimum of noise dampening in the doors, the roof, and particularly the side panels. These parts acted like tin drums, and the normal movement on the roads made them constantly sound off. Meanwhile a minimum of asphalt noise deadening has been added, and it makes a big difference. Just as a guide, two pieces each half the size of a sheet of letter paper were completely sufficient for one door.

The steering actually handled well overall, but on my car the steering is a bit too sticky. When I want to apply minor corrections on a straight highway, it needs hard pushing, and the wheel jumps a fraction of a turn. in the end, it got me a case of tendonitis in both arms. I don't know how to get rid of the sticky steering yet, but I will definitely do something about that. Main problem is accessing the adjustment nut.

I noticed the front tyres were both warmer than the rear. Warmth coming from straight highway driving, not from the brakes. It has Bridgestone Ecopia summer tyres on, the ones it came with. The air pressure according to manual is obviously not optimal. After adjusting to 2.7 bar on the rear and 3.0bar on front, it seems optimal for long distance driving with these tyres. Maybe modern European tyres with low roll-resistance, a different rubber mixture and different carcasse design would require somewhat different pressure.

The average consumption for that trip including highway and alpine trails was noted at 4.3L/100km

[foama]

Just came back from another long trip on the autobahn, 11 hours drive in total.
Drove from near Heidelberg in Germany, north to Amsterdam in the Netherlands and back.

Left at five in the morning in a bit of a rush with almost no traffic on the Autobahn.
After a few hours of 140kmh and higher speeds, commuter-traffic slowly set in and speeds lowered to around 100-120kmh. Had some thick traffic and traffic jams in Holland, and arrived at downtown Amsterdam around 11 am.
Had a meeting that went to around 16:15 (a quarter past 4pm) and started heading back without delay.

Lots of heavy traffic in Holland, speeds usually around 80-90kmh seldom up to 120kmh. Commuter traffic began easing around 19:00 (7pm) upon entering Germany. Btw, you can't really tell nowadays where one European state starts and another ends, because there are no physical borders at all any more. In Germany drove just as quick as anyone else, speeds between 100 and 150kmh according to conditions. Lots of road-construction and many steep hills in Germany. Got back around 21:00 (9pm).

All in all it was one entire day of typical highway driving in Europe, and at the same speeds as most anyone else.

Average fuel consumption on my 1.0L MT with European gear ratios was 4.4L/100km

Hint for Mitsubishi: At highway speeds it repeatedly happens that I automatically grab the gear lever to change from third to fourth, but I'm already in fifth... A taller fifth would be a real advantage.

PS: No special tricks, no pulse and go, just "swam with the swarm" driving, thinking ahead to avoid unnecessary accelerating and braking, thats about it.
Probably could have reached about 3.9 L/100km (done that before on long distances) if I were less in a hurry and refrained from going faster than 110kmh...

[Donut]

nice fuel economy!

Are you using any special tricks, because the average MPG seems really low for the high speeds you posted.
Or, is the 1.0 really that nicer, then, I want one too... :-)

[Cani Lupine]

Yes, I much agree, a taller fifth or even a sixth or taller final drive gear is much needed.

[Ares]

Forgot to mention that I took the little car to South Padre Island recently. About 350 miles, 5hrs or so.

I wasnt driving economically, reaching speeds up to 90 at times. On the way up there, I had one passenger and a full trunk and half the back seat. On my way back, I had 3 passengers full back seat and full trunk.

I must note that my passenger was over 6 foot. He wasnt too comfortable, as one may expect. On the other hand, my back passenger was under 5 foot or so and fit well behind me. I move the seat up 1/4 or 1/2 way and I'm still good.

It does help to stop every 2 or 3 hours.

Fuel economy was 37.35mpg up and 35.71mpg down. I had the stock tires on and just did an oil change the night before so the car was as quiet as can be.

Cruising was great and power was always there because 3.5k-4k rpm.

[sunsetjim]

I recently took a short trip of 250 miles and got 46 mpg averaging 60 mph. A very comfy drive - I love my car !!!!!!!!!!!!

[m4v3r1ck]

@foama
How did you manage that? I went from The hague to Leeuwarden (500 km trip total) and droven not more than 140 km/hour (ok quite a lot of head wind but to expect on that speed) and my fuel consumption's 8.8 l/100 km!! Am on 1.0L as well .... weird

[Donut]

Inspired by fatcat's post of her Mirage in the colored woods http://mirageforum.com/forum/showthr...n-in-the-woods, I decided to finally take the trip south to the Shenandoah National Park http://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm.
I had been following the foliage evolution over the past weeks with the webcam http://www.nps.gov/shen/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm.

The park lies in the Appalachien East of Harrisonburg, VA, and points from Waynesboro in the south, to Fort Royal in the north. I left Thursday late in the evening and arrived at midnight in Staunton, VA, using the I-270 and I-66 highways. At the motel, the MID read 53 MPG, which included larger stretches at 70 MPH and some parts in heavy rain. I also had my front grille and half of the upper slit blocked. Since the air was quite wet I had to use the defogger from time to time and could really feel the compressor kick in and drain power from the engine.

In the morning I headed to the south entrance close to Waynesboro and started my trip along the Skyline Drive, which winds 100 miles along the mountain ridge and includes several steeper up and down slopes. The speed limit is 35 MPH and actually strictly enforced (as also stated on the park website). Sure enough, I saw a car getting pulled over by a ranger. The weird thing was that the ranger car was following this driver for more than 5 minutes, yet the driver still didn't slow down. Before that, I assisted a couple of tailgating cars to skip a ticket, since after a longer descent, the rangers had set-up a speed trap which kept quiet as we rolled by. It is a little curious: This park is intended for recreation, but people are still in such a hurry and tailgate the hell out of my little Mirage. Well, I let them pass at the frequent turn-outs anyhow and only thought about it a little while admiring the landscape.

In terms of comfort and power:
For the uphill stretches, the Mirage had enough power to handle most parts in 4th gear and only for some parts 3rd was the better choice, i.e., when slowing down to pass a cyclist or so. Most of the Skyline Drive could be driven in 5th gear, which is nice for low RPM and fuel economy. Engine braking in 4th on medium descents, and 3rd in steeper parts was enough to maintain speed at 35 MPH. Some times, I still had to use the brakes, but not as much as the cars driving ahead of me. Incidentally, they produced quite a smell, most likely due to their heated brake pads. It made me stop once to check whether the smell was coming from my car and I sniffed around in the engine bay without finding any clue...

The beauty of this drive was that I could progressively see the MPG numbers climb as I was heading north. The MID read 47 MPG at the entrance and 100 miles later my all-time high, a stunning 63 MPG.

To be honest, the topography was in favor of this number. I have checked the elevation at the entrance and exit at home and one looses around 219 m (719 ft) altitude.

Back at my place, the overall trip average was 61.8 MPG.

In conclusion:
No problem for the Mirage on this hilly road trip across the colored Skyline Drive. Again ~500 glorious miles added to the odometer.

Below are some impressions: