Review of my 2015 Mirage!
I want to start off by saying that I do not have bad credit (pretty good, actually) and I am a person that enjoys driving a car. I have read so many reviews that say people buy these cars because Mitsubishi will finance anyone with a pulse or do not care about driving and would buy anything. There are a lot of reasons why I chose the Mirage over other small cars and I hope that people in the market for a small car, will see these reviews and realize that they need to drive a car for themselves before making a decision about buying one. It is much easier for me to stay on track if I do my review in sections rather than long paragraphs.
Exterior
The exterior is something that the car reviewers love to hate. They say it's a 90's throwback, looks like a mid 90's Hyundai and so on. I could not disagree more with those opinions. No, this car does not have the alien bug-eye looks of the Spark, the euro flavor of the Fiesta or the I wish I was a Honda Fit looks of the Versa Note but it does look modern and fresh with aerodynamics as the primary focus. I purchased a Mirage ES CVT with the exterior appearance package in Sapphire Blue and I love the way it looks and I have already gotten compliments on it. The paint is very shiny and smooth and everything fits together nicely and neatly.
Interior
I heard the reviews on the interior and there are some things that I agree with and things that I do not agree with. First I will address the "interior made of plastic" comments. Yes the interior is made of plastic. In fact I do not think that any reviewer can name a car under $45 grand that does not have an interior made of plastic. If they are meaning that there is a lack of any soft touch plastics then yes that is true. For me, not having soft touch plastics on the door panels means that my dogs nails will not poke a hole in it while she looks out the window. I can care less about the dashboard because I am not sitting on it or touching it other than to wipe it down when I am cleaning the car. The things that matter to me are the things I have to touch and use everyday. The steering wheel feels great and has a very nice leather on the wheel. The buttons for the audio and cruise control feel like they come from a much more expensive car. The buttons for the automatic climate control feel premium and again, IT HAS AUTOMATIC CLIMATE CONTROL! The stalks for the turn signals and wipers have a nice premium feel to them and the window switches feel nice as well. The gauges are easy to read and everything is where it should be ergonomically. Yes, it is missing a center armrest. That is one improvement that I feel needs to be done although I will take care of it myself buy purchasing one aftermarket through EBAY. The seats are comfortable for me and I am a big guy (6' 2" and 300 pounds). There is plenty of head and leg room both front and rear. The fabric on the seats feels really nice right now but I am curious to see how it will wear. It does not feel extremely durable but only time will tell. Yes, you do hear noise while driving but it is no different than any other car I have been in that costs less than 25 grand. In fact, I would not say that it is much louder than our 2013 Town and Country while cruising. You do get a lot more engine noise when accelerating or passing compared to our van, but it is totally acceptable to me. Everything seems well put together and in general I am really impressed considering it's price.
Ride and Handling
This may be the part the the reviewers have the biggest complaints about and I can understand what they are saying but I again feel a bit different about it. The steering is responsive yet very dead feeling on center. It does not center itself after a turn. It is very easy to turn and has an amazing turning radius. Yes this car has lots of body roll around turns and the suspension is very softly sprung, but after driving a car where every bump felt like torture, this car feels so comfortable to drive. The roads in Cleveland are terrible and full of holes and ruts and this car just floats over most of them. I have managed to avoid the large holes so far so I can't really say how it will handle those and hopefully I can keep it that way for a while. I can see where a rear sway bar would really help out the highway handling. On the highway while on a curve you can feel the rear end wallow when you hit a bump. It feels like the rear springs are made of marshmallow. I know that this can be fixed in the after-market but it really is something that should be taken care of by Mitsubishi. It would really help with how the car is perceived. Other than that, this is the BEST riding small car I have EVER been in. People that have been in the car so far have felt the same way. It is so nice to drive to work and not feel every single bump. The ride is one of the main reasons why I bought this car. If you are buying this as a commuter or even for highway cruising the ride can't be beat. If you are looking for a car to tackle the twisties or hit a racetrack then you should look elsewhere or be willing to do some suspension upgrades.
Engine and Transmission
I do not think that most professional reviewers understand the point of this car to truly get the point of this engine and transmission. 3 cylinder engines are louder by nature and they will vibrate more. Is it annoyingly loud? No. Does it vibrate your teeth out? No. The engine has the right amount of power for this car. I can get onto the highway just fine and pass on the highway just fine. The CVT is smooth, although not as smooth as some CVT's you will find in a Nissan product or a Honda Fit. I read somewhere that the CVT in the Mirage is the same as some Nissans but maybe Mitsu tuned it this way for a reason. Because of this engine and transmission you will get AMAZING gas mileage. Even if you want to push the car I can't see you getting less than 35-37 MPG. If you are easy on it, I can see you getting closer to 50 MPG. The engine has an actual timing chain that does not require changing until 100,000 miles and oil changes are recommended at 7,500 miles. That alone will save a lot of money in the future.
Overall Opinion
Overall, I am glad that I picked this thing up. I love the way that it looks and rides and I am already loving the gas mileage. It will save our van from getting tons of miles on it and save us money on gas. I do want to do some upgrades on it but I think I will drive it for a year before doing anything. Probably some bigger wheels and tires and maybe a rear sway bar. Comfortable, cheap, good on gas and long warranty. What else can I really say? I am glad that this forum exists. It's such a great resource.
