Mitsubishi Mirage vs. Chevrolet Spark comparison

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Originally Posted by Speedracer

Both my son and I own 2013 Chevy Spark manuals. Real world fuel consumption is 40-42 mpg in the city without hypermiling. Traveling on interstate the at 75+ mph it drops to 38 mpg or so. The curb weight for an LT manual is 2269 lbs.

At the time we bought Chevy Sparks because the Mirage wasn't available in the US yet. That being said, I really like the Mirage and am probably going to purchase a 2017.

I think the biggest advantage the Spark has over the current Mirage is a firmer handling chassis. We modified our Sparks with an airbox mod, throttle body half shaft mod, muffler delete and shortened shifter. It gave a noticeable boost in power and with two resonators and a cat, the exhaust tone has a pleasant but subdued growl and is still quiet. I am anxious to find out if airbox and throttle body mods would give a similar boost to the Mitsubishi 1.2 three cylinder.

The updated front bodywork and firmer suspension along with a 4 horsepower bump on the 2017 model looks promising. I haven't driven a Mirage yet, but a lot of people have said the suspension could be a bit firmer, so it seems Mitsubishi has been listening to consumer feedback.

The 2016 Chevy Spark has a new 1.4 liter engine (versus the old 1.25) with 98 horsepower and a 1.6 inch lower roof line. Looks good on paper, but the engine is a newly designed GM ecotec with direct injection and variable oil pressure. With ethanol fuel I don't think any of the auto manufacturers have satisfactorily addressed the problem of gunked up intake valves caused by direct injection. The fancy variable oil pump sounds like a over complicated gimmick to me. I trusted the all Korean made (Daewoo) Spark and it has ran perfect for 69,000 miles so far.

No thanks ecotec, hello tried and true designed Mitsubishi!

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I read review of new vs old Spark, and it was mixed bag while he appreciated improvements reviewer wasn't happy about space loss and fact that you can't even put rear seats down without have to move fronts forward first. We had considered Spark for my son, but end up buying Mirage. Price was the same Mirage won on MPG and more rear/trunk space. Handling is the weakest point of current Mirage, suspension is tuned for going straight over potholes at speeds under 35 MPH. Tires were chosen for MPG only and do not have lateral grip to speak of.

My GF recently got rid of a Daewoo based Suzuki Reno/Forenza. It was a total POS junker and always had some other problem. I basically gave her no choice but to get rid of it when the head gasket let go. If it had been just that, it would have been one thing but there were a ton of other issues that needed to be handled so the cost of the repairs exceeded the value of the car. I told her it was a Daewoo and she thought I was using some slang term to say her car was crap. I had to explain but by the time she was done with the car she hated the word Daewoo. It was nothing but problems.

She also didn't like the fact that her old car used a timing belt. This was something I insisted on replacing soon after we started dating when I began researching her car. Her old timing belt was just barely hanging on so we got another year and a half out of the car before it finally died. She would always comment that she liked the looks of the Chevy Aveo hatchback and I had to explain this was yet another Daewoo with lots of issues related to the timing belt.

So she wanted a small efficient hatchback. I am a Geo Metro guy and she used to have a Ford Festiva. She picked a Mirage in the Sapphire Blue as it matched her old Festiva.

Then a week or so later a cute little Spark pulled up as we were eating at restaurant. She asked me why I didn't bring this one up and I told her it was another Daewoo. She got a disgusted look and that was that. No more discussion or questions about that car!

I like the Mirage and she likes the Mirage so we are both happy. The new Daewoo based cars may be great but the one we dealt with was a nightmare! Something was ALWAYS going wrong. The thing was a piece of junk if you ask me. She now has a nice little reliable Mirage with a timing chain.

Conor

Heres a review Spark 2016
https://youtu.be/JK8GdfZGzuQ

i kinda like the front but not all features
he also said 41mpg on the highway
the back look more like of a Kia Picanto

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Originally Posted by cwatkin

My GF recently got rid of a Daewoo based Suzuki Reno/Forenza. It was a total POS junker and always had some other problem. I basically gave her no choice but to get rid of it when the head gasket let go. If it had been just that, it would have been one thing but there were a ton of other issues that needed to be handled so the cost of the repairs exceeded the value of the car. I told her it was a Daewoo and she thought I was using some slang term to say her car was crap. I had to explain but by the time she was done with the car she hated the word Daewoo. It was nothing but problems.

She also didn't like the fact that her old car used a timing belt. This was something I insisted on replacing soon after we started dating when I began researching her car. Her old timing belt was just barely hanging on so we got another year and a half out of the car before it finally died. She would always comment that she liked the looks of the Chevy Aveo hatchback and I had to explain this was yet another Daewoo with lots of issues related to the timing belt.

So she wanted a small efficient hatchback. I am a Geo Metro guy and she used to have a Ford Festiva. She picked a Mirage in the Sapphire Blue as it matched her old Festiva.

Then a week or so later a cute little Spark pulled up as we were eating at restaurant. She asked me why I didn't bring this one up and I told her it was another Daewoo. She got a disgusted look and that was that. No more discussion or questions about that car!

I like the Mirage and she likes the Mirage so we are both happy. The new Daewoo based cars may be great but the one we dealt with was a nightmare! Something was ALWAYS going wrong. The thing was a piece of junk if you ask me. She now has a nice little reliable Mirage with a timing chain.

Conor

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How's it running? CVT holding up well?