Scion/Yaris iA vs 21 Mirage 5MT

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this forum and I am very thankful for the outstanding community and contribution here from various users here.

Now, I am shopping for a replacement to the 06 Prius that I have sold. In other words, I'm looking to find a secondary car that practically does the opposite of my primary ie 05 Highlander V6 2WD. Driving the Highlander sucks in town big time.

So to help me narrow down my choices esp at my budget of 13k price point, it comes down to either the 21 Mirage 5MT or Scion/Yaris iA 6MT.

(1. Not a fan of hybrid power terrain and the Honda Fit is out of my budget. Supposedly it less reliable than Mirage? 🤷*♂️)

(2. The Prius is boring and it lack BT and Navi for example, can't stand the fuel bladder tanks plus I don't want to spend $3k on OEM high voltage battery down the road. I definitely don't miss it after 4 years of ownership)

That being said, I have the big itch to drive stick again. It is fun and I love to drive slow as 55 mph on the far right lane of the freeway. Scion Yaris iA serves this purpose really well and so is the Mirage.

I am certain to find a good deal between those twos though it just a matter of time.

Thought maybe I could get your inputs on those two cars that are somewhat different. 🤔 So I guess I should start by asking the question below:

What does the Mirage lack that the iA doesn't overall and vice versa?

My personal opinion, go for the Mirage. The Yaris iA is just a crap Mazda2 rebadge. I've heard from techs at my local Toyota dealer that the car is absolute garbage. If you could find actual Toyota made Yaris it's the superior vehicle but... good luck finding one with a manual.

There's a 6MT iA near me that I really like. I had test drive it and did love the 6th gear. Obviously it is used; not new. This is very debatable as far as deal and values for $.

Now I did went to see the Mirage ES 5MT in turquoise blue color (that's the only available at the dealership near me) and wow I like it. It is low as I'm 6.3 ft tall. I can see myself washing the car on the top easily! I sat on the front and back. It so different than the iA. Heck the shifter felt clunky (not sure if normal?) and the clutch pedal felt mushy and cheap. I can live with it with the $13k mindset. Seat comfort is alright but NOT so comfy in the back. I'm 280 lbs large torso guy. Trunk space is kinda disappointed too.

Ultimately I didn't test drive the Mirage but will do so tmw. I should like it hopefully.

On the other hand, I test drove the iA and it handled well, engaged very well, clutch felt good and shifter threw well as buttery. I like the telescopic steering wheels, Navigation, center control function for infotainment. The iA has quiet engine note when starting up the car and at the complete stop. Plus push button start too. Unfortunately the Mirage ES 5MT lack those features :(

The iA was able to achieve 44 MPG flat on hwy at constant 65 mph. Very interesting appeal there. Plus the trunk space and larger fuel tanks at 11.6 ish gallon versus 9 ish for Mirage.

I really hope the sticker price of $15k Mirage can be cheaper and most importantly can impress me tmw when I test drive it. Fingers crossed!!

Btw I wonder if I could order one for cheap since I find blue turquoise so-so? I want red and or black with 5mt and heated seat function. If those can be had then I'll be SOLD, assume the experience meet my expectation.

DT88 - If you were to order one, my guess is the dealer is not going to cut you such a great deal. I could be wrong. I don't even know if they have the ability to "order" one. Or if they would just "find" you one. You ask a lot of good questions. I don't know which car is "better." I'm a big Toyota fan, having worked as a design engineer for Toyota (and loved it). But I really don't know much about the iA. I know a fair amount about the Mirage.

Here is the Mirage as I see it: It is purpose built. It's purpose is: TO BE INEXPENSIVE. Various materials selected are just plain cheeeeep. Does that bother me? Heck no. Certain equipment on the car is about as inexpensive as it gets. The wheels and tires that come stock ... cheeeeep. Yea sure, if you buy the Dunlops as replacements they're not that cheap. But I bet Mitsubishi gets them for a price so low we wouldn't believe it. Does any of that bother me? No. I love the fact that the less I spend on the car, the upkeep, the care and feeding (gas), etc. the less I am paying to our big fat wasteful gobment (in taxes). Less gas purchased, less gas tax wasted. Etc. I would have bought a $2,500 Tata if that had ever materialized. Or a $7,500 Elio if that had materialized.

You mentioned the clunky shifting. Well yeah, that's a Mirage thing. Especially 1st to 2nd gear changing. The clutch, I don't really think there's anything wrong with the fact that when I go from driving my 3/4 ton diesel powered Ram with a 1,000 lb-ft clutch, to stomping the Mirage clutch pedal through the floor. I mean, the engine makes like 7 lb-ft of torque. Does that bother me? No, I think 7 lb-ft is excessive. Give me 6 lb-ft and 5 more mpg I say. That's what the car is for.

Whatever mpg you get with the iA, if you drive a 5MT Mirage under the same conditions, it will get better mpg. Do I wish it had one more gear ... oh that's a tough one. With the current 5MT, doing let's say 75 mph, the engine is capable of putting out ~95% of it's max torque at that rpm. That is a good thing in a couple ways. 1 - It pulls hills with ease, I've never had to shift down to pull a hill. 2 - I.C.E.s actually burn fuel very efficiently at or near their max torque rpm. That's a complex thing though, it could be that it is only efficient at or near max torque with a wide open throttle. In any event, my issue with giving it a 6 speed, I wonder if dropping too much rpm might create instances of needing to downshift to pull a hill. That would be very annoying. My wife had a 1990 Celica years ago. On the interstate it would turn like 4,000 rpm at 75 mph (5 speed). It was buzzy and annoying. But the 1.2L 3 cylinder, it has a very pleasant hum at 3,500 - 4,000 rpm. It is very pleasant indeed at that rpm. So for me, I'm fine with the 5 speed.

You have to be honest with yourself, which one are you going to be more satisfied with long term? Noone can answer that but you.

You can always order the model/trim/colour/etc car you want. Yes, dealers want to sell you the (loaded) car they have on the lot, partly to get rid of the customer in 1 day, and get rid of the car in 1 day.

In Europe, and increasingly in Canada, you order the exact car you want. That's what I did in 2014, I ordered my specific Mirage, I just had to wait like 3-4 weeks for it to arrive.

Mitsubishi dealers don't exactly want customers to buy the bare-bones base model, so they don't stock them, either.

They reel the customer in with the low base price in advertisements, but then have all of 0 offered at that price on the dealer's lots.

Car dealerships = ploys & plots.

It's nice to hear a car can still be ordered. The only one I "ordered" was my 2000 Dodge Ram. Got it Ed Zachery how I wanted it. The only thing I would have done different on my Mirage is I would have got it with the factory armrest and fog lights. Funny thing though, I thought I'd be in hell without the armrest. But in reality, I don't really need it. I catch myself driving down the road on long trips amazed that my right arm is fine with whatever I've been doing with it. If I had a automagic transmission, it might be different. But around town my right arm is busy anyway.

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Originally Posted by 7milesout

It's nice to hear a car can still be ordered. The only one I "ordered" was my 2000 Dodge Ram. Got it Ed Zachery how I wanted it. The only thing I would have done different on my Mirage is I would have got it with the factory armrest and fog lights. Funny thing though, I thought I'd be in hell without the armrest. But in reality, I don't really need it. I catch myself driving down the road on long trips amazed that my right arm is fine with whatever I've been doing with it. If I had a automagic transmission, it might be different. But around town my right arm is busy anyway.

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You can't rest your right elbow on the OEM center armrest & reach the steering wheel at the same time. If you really want an armrest to rest your arm on while driving, an aftermarket one would be a better choice (also less money).

There is something to be said about it not being in the way while shifting a manual. I do rest my right elbow on it, but you are not going to steer right handed & rest your elbow on it. Doesn't matter how/where you sit either. The armrest is stationary, and you can't change the distance between your elbow and hand very easily.

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Originally Posted by dspace9

Mitsubishi dealers don't exactly want customers to buy the bare-bones base model, so they don't stock them, either.

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I think that is a true statement for a lot vehicles, but not so much for the Mirage in the States.

Our base level Mirage is not that basic, & it may be their best seller. I haven't really researched that, but base level models with a CVT are quite common.

It doesn't matter if Mitsubishi is offering 4 trim levels or 5, the price difference between a base level Mirage & top trim level Mirage has been $2,000 (since the updated 2017+ models came out). That's comparing CVT trim levels. A manual would subtract another $1,200 from the price of the base level (ES).

Given the comments I see from forum members, I think Mitsubishi would be better off offering two trim levels (base trim & top trim), but also offer the manual/CVT option for both trim levels (ES manual, ES CVT, SE manual, SE CVT). I sense this would please more people, because some people do value features like push button start, heated seats, alloy wheels, fog lights, & more safety features.

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Originally Posted by Mark

You can't rest your right elbow on the OEM center armrest & reach the steering wheel at the same time. If you really want an armrest to rest your arm on while driving, an aftermarket one would be a better choice (also less money).

There is something to be said about it not being in the way while shifting a manual. I do rest my right elbow on it, but you are not going to steer right handed & rest your elbow on it. Doesn't matter how/where you sit either. The armrest is stationary, and you can't change the distance between your elbow and hand very easily.

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Mark - Being a manual transmission driver over the last 100 years, I rarely even put my right hand on the steering wheel. And due to that, I can hardly drive with my right hand. It's terrible. My left hand has the skill. The only time I knowingly put my right hand on the wheel is when I cruise through a zone of traffic where some idiot may make a move out in front of me. I can yank the steering wheel mo' fastuh with 2 hands. Soon as I clear the potential danger, the right hand goes back to ... well, I don't know where it goes. I think it either heads out for a happy meal, or grasps the shift knob.

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Originally Posted by 7milesout

Mark - Being a manual transmission driver over the last 100 years, I rarely even put my right hand on the steering wheel. And due to that, I can hardly drive with my right hand. It's terrible. My left hand has the skill. The only time I knowingly put my right hand on the wheel is when I cruise through a zone of traffic where some idiot may make a move out in front of me. I can yank the steering wheel mo' fastuh with 2 hands. Soon as I clear the potential danger, the right hand goes back to ... well, I don't know where it goes. I think it either heads out for a happy meal, or grasps the shift knob.

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You got me beat. I started driving manual around age 10, but I am only 58. I can't even claim 50 years of driving manuals yet! :)

I drive mostly left handed, but an OEM Mirage armrest is still not that spectacular.