Test drove a 2014 Mirage DE manual transmission today - ordered one (U.S.)

I test drove a 2014 DE manual transmission today. I thought it was a light, pleasant, quiet driving car, and it has more power than my 94 civic vx (with 230,000 miles) does.

I was impressed with the car except for 2 things. I didn't like the headrest. With the driver's seat set to where I am comfortable (I'm 5'8", 140 pounds for reference), my head often brushed/bumped the headrest cushion no matter how high/low I set the headrest. The cushion is quite thick and leans a little forward. My solution was to flip it around so it leans backward, which proved to be more comfortable for me.

The second issue I had was a slight crunch when shifting into reverse from gears other than first, but not every time. The salesman replicated the crunch, but the consensus around the dealership (between 1 manager, 1 mechanic and 2 salesmen) is that this is a normal sound, and it does not crunch when the shift into reverse is gentle. I have no problem with this, as my civic does the same thing unless I shift into first gear before going into reverse.

Bottom line is that I liked it a lot, so I made arrangements to pick it up on tuesday.

Welcome fifteenwindow please let us know how you get on with your new mirage after you pick it up. What colour are you getting?


Cheers Jamie

excellent window! there is a thread on our first page that ask buyers what they paid for there Mirage. If you feel comfortable with telling us please do so.

Hi fifteenwindow - thanks for posting your review. (Hope you don't mind I moved it to a separate thread.)

That's the first I've heard of the reverse gear change issue. I usually go to first before reverse out of habit, just because I've driven a lot of worn out old cars. :)

You're going from a classic fuel economy champion to a new champion. What are you going to do with your VX? You could probably sell it without much trouble on EcoModder. (Lots of VX aficionados there.)

Did you consider any other cars?

Sorry - lots of questions. Welcome to the forum!

PS: I noticed you made a garage entry, but deleted it. Can you tell me why you deleted? More than a few users have done that, so I want to make sure it's not a problem with the software.

Thanks, folks. You are a super friendly bunch. Its great to be a part of this.

Last things first: I didn't delete my garage entry. I don't know what happened to it.

I'll be keeping the vx for a while to make sure that the mirage is for me. Then I will likely offer it up to the ecomodder folks first. I've learned Tons of Great Information from that site. I owe them a debt of gratitude.

I researched other fuel efficient cars, but nothing came close to the mirage's combination of mpg/price/standard features/manufacturer rebates. I didn't test drive anything else, except for the mirage cvt last weekend.

I'll surely post to the thread on what I'll be paying for it, Kal. I'm interested to see what deal other folks get.

I'm getting the silver one, Jamie. I wanted blue, like my vx, but I guess there won't be any colorful ones coming out for a few months or so, says the salesman I spoke with. This is the only DE manual in my region, so I am not going to be picky. I've been driving to McHenry, IL to test drive these cars (90 miles one way). I also heard from the salesman that around 90% of the mirages coming to the U.S. will be cvt. I feel fortunate to find a manual one.

Looking like manuals will be hard to get in the USA. At least you are able to get one quickly. Are you going to be driving it for max fuel economy and see how good you can get it?

Cheers Jamie

Yes, Jamie. I feel lucky about that. I am hoping it gets better mileage than my vx, which is regularly in the mid 50s. I would be Thrilled to get 50mpg with A/C.

Cheers

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Originally Posted by fifteenwindow

The second issue I had was a slight crunch when shifting into reverse from gears other than first, but not every time. The salesman replicated the crunch, but the consensus around the dealership (between 1 manager, 1 mechanic and 2 salesmen) is that this is a normal sound, and it does not crunch when the shift into reverse is gentle. I have no problem with this, as my civic does the same thing unless I shift into first gear before going into reverse.

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It's typical for manual transmissions to have an unsynchronized reverse. Since the forward gears are synchronized, engaging a forward gear before sticking it into reverse synchronizes the input shaft with the car's speed (i.e. it stops the input shaft) and prevents the grinding noise. "Gently" easing it into reverse also gives the input shaft the opportunity to slow down a little before the transmission slips into reverse.

Our Honda Jazz (Fit) owners manual does describe this behavior and suggests either the forward gear trick or waiting a few seconds after disengaging the clutch before moving the shift lever into reverse (Our Jazz is a CVT model though). No mention of it in the Mirage manual or that of my 2002 Toyota Revo, but they both have unsynchronized reverse gears and thus I've already developed the "first gear-reverse gear" trick into an almost instinctive reflex. Our 1992 Daihatsu Charade's reverse is synchronized!

Welcome the site fifteenwindow. Congrats on the purchase. I bet you can't wait to take delivery. I'm anxious to see how well the Mirage does with an ecodriver in my climate and region even. :)