An Article Where The Mirage Isn't Hated

This appeared on the website Autoweek today. It's a discussion of which car will be the last to offer a 5 speed manual. The Mirage made the list and the reviewer actually appreciates the Mirage for what it is.

https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/a3...-speed-manual/

I think are a few other cars (like the G4) that the author missed but the point is still the same.

Murilee Martin has written other articles favorable of the Mirage:

2014 Mitsubishi Mirage: Econobox road trip!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Autoweek.com | By Murilee Martin | Jan 29, 2014

We took a look at the 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage a few months back, and judged the brand's new city car to be a perfectly competent -- but unexciting -- cheap-but-honest commuter. Having done far more than my share of marathon road trips in cheap little cars over the last three decades, I decided it would be interesting to take Mitsubishi's latest on my most-traveled long-haul drive: Los Angeles to Oakland via Interstate 5. This trip in, say, a '75 Honda Civic or a '90 Toyota Tercel EZ or an '03 Kia Rio, becomes something of an endurance test; you turn up the scratchy AM radio to drown out the wind noise and struggle to pass 18-wheelers.

But this is 2014 and even inexpensive cars are pretty good these days, right? Let's find out by making the drive in Mitsubishi's least expensive North American offering:

...

The verdict after all this driving and errand-running? The '14 Mirage ES offers absolutely nothing to the car enthusiast -- handling is alarming anywhere near the limit, 74 horses is pretty weak regardless of all the CVT magic you throw at it, and the shape is virtually indistinguishable at a glance from that of the Versa, Sonic, Fit, Yaris, et al -- but it handles transportation duties with admirable efficiency and comfort and comes with a not-at-all-painful price tag. My real-world, calculated fuel economy after 649.4 total miles of no-attempt-to-conserve-fuel mixed highway and city driving came to 34.78 overall mpg, which is about exactly what my bouncy, noisy, cramped, no-power-anything '92 Civic Denver winter beater gets. I'm sure many Mirage owners will come to love their cars over the years, and lovable is what you look for in this sort of car.

---

Race Organizer Review - 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage GT

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Autoweek.com | By Murilee Martin | Sep 16, 2016

When this Race Organizer heads off to work at a 24 Hours of LeMons race in some far-flung corner of the country, sometimes I drive a powerful sporty coupe, sometimes I drive a honkin' big Warlord Grade truck, and sometimes I drive an eco-friendly electric machine. Once in a while, though, a real-world test of a bargain-basement econobox is in order, and for that reason I drove a 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage GT to the Arse Sweat-a-Palooza race at Northern California's Thunderhill Raceway.

I reviewed the base-trim-level Mirage ES back in 2014, driving it from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and I thought it was a perfectly serviceable transportation appliance. This was in stark contrast to the opinions expressed by most reviewers, who seemed to feel that tumbling down a spiral staircase inside a 55-gallon drum full of fire ants would be preferable to even being seen with a Mirage. The 2017 Mirage has been revised quite a bit, with horsepower up to 78 from 74 and lots of gadgets added, and I'm going to continue to say that the Mirage is yet more evidence that we are living in the Golden Age of Cheapo Econoboxes.

---

Looks like he still likes them. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by inuvik

This appeared on the website Autoweek today. It's a discussion of which car will be the last to offer a 5 speed manual. The Mirage made the list and the reviewer actually appreciates the Mirage for what it is.

https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/a3...-speed-manual/

I think are a few other cars (like the G4) that the author missed but the point is still the same.

---

All good stuff! If I had to put my money on the last manual being offered in the States, it would be the Mazda Miata. The Miata didn't make the list, because I would guess they are all 6-speed manuals now.

This article was focused on 5-speed manuals being a dying breed, however. I find that funny, because 5-speed manuals are the only vehicles I have ever owned (except a Ford Tarsus given to my daughters to drive by my former in-laws). My 1978 Honda Civic (first car) may have been a 4-speed manual, but everything else has been a 5 speed (including a 1999 Ford Explorer).

I really like 5-speed manuals. This article makes me feel like I may be a dying breed, too! :)

If new cars with manual transmissions disappear, we have 8+ years of Mirages being sold so far. That's a pretty good pool of used cars to pick from.

I hope some little old lady in the south (no salt on the road area) owns my future 5-speed manual Mirage. Where she just drives it to church & the grocery store once a week! If it's a 2019 ES manual with factory cruise & manual climate controls, I will be even happier. What's the odds of finding that 10-15 years from now? :)

Thanks for the article post, inuvik. The reviewer's right, Mirage in base 5 speed form, is one of the last simple, no-nonsense appliance vehicles out there.

Car for the proletariats of the world indeed. Myself included. Too bad more people didn't wake up to fiscal sense, and not spend all their money on expensive cars. 5 speed is where the bargain's at.

By the way, I think the 2021 Hyundai Elantra, @ around $17,500 Canadian, is one of the last manual base cars you can get north of the 49. Pretty sure it's a 6 speed, and comes with luxuries like AC. No cruise however!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dspace9

By the way, I think the 2021 Hyundai Elantra, @ around $17,500 Canadian, is one of the last manual base cars you can get north of the 49. Pretty sure it's a 6 speed, and comes with luxuries like AC. No cruise however!

---

Your are right. For Canada, that car is a really good value for the money. 5 year full warranty too.