975 miles: Mirage or LS 460L...

[7milesout]

FOLLOW UP REPORT

Before to I get to the bull you guys DON'T care about, just notes on the car. It performed well. I was comfortable enough. Not like I would have been in the Lexus, but good enough. I covered 1,036 miles. And achieved 40.8 mpg, AVERAGE. Which is pretty spectacular, considering I didn't go slow. I didn't blaze the roads but I certainly wasn't trying to go slow for mpg. I used the A.C. very little.

I'm glad I took the Mirage. Because I did wind up doing some visiting with my cousins and the Blueberry was one of the discussion points. So if I had driven the Lexus, I would have been looked at in a different light. But, I had a good visit, those are some really good people, Jerry Springer or not.

I drove down from 9 am on Thursday. And by Friday at about 4:30 pm (eastern) I was heading back. And back by 12:20am Friday night / Saturday early am.

I had the left side windows down most of the time. I did listen to the radio (Pandora), but the fidelity wasn't great due to all the road noise. However, it got the job done. The car got coated with bug splats, mainly in the LA area (lower Alabama). So for that reason I'm glad I didn't take the Lexus.

One last thing. I have a cousin (Jerry Springer to the max) who also owns a Mirage! She, owns a 2018 with a CVT. She argued with me that her car has a turbo. I tried nicely to explain that it does not. She said her mechanic said it does. So I said, "you need a new mechanic." Then she said her mechanic was her son-in-law. So I let it go. Her's is the red / purple color. She also bragged about her purchase price, payment, that she had gap insurance, and that she's "only got ~$9,000 left on her loan ... AFTER 5 YEARS!" I didn't have the heart to tell her about my deal. Let's just say, her deal was nearly double of Mark's deal!

[Dirk Diggler]

FOLLOW UP REPORT

Before to I get to the bull you guys DON'T care about, just notes on the car. It performed well. I was comfortable enough. Not like I would have been in the Lexus, but good enough. I covered 1,036 miles. And achieved 40.8 mpg, AVERAGE. Which is pretty spectacular, considering I didn't go slow. I didn't blaze the roads but I certainly wasn't trying to go slow for mpg. I used the A.C. very little.

I'm glad I took the Mirage. Because I did wind up doing some visiting with my cousins and the Blueberry was one of the discussion points. So if I had driven the Lexus, I would have been looked at in a different light. But, I had a good visit, those are some really good people, Jerry Springer or not.

I drove down from 9 am on Thursday. And by Friday at about 4:30 pm (eastern) I was heading back. And back by 12:20am Friday night / Saturday early am.

I had the left side windows down most of the time. I did listen to the radio (Pandora), but the fidelity wasn't great due to all the road noise. However, it got the job done. The car got coated with bug splats, mainly in the LA area (lower Alabama). So for that reason I'm glad I didn't take the Lexus.

One last thing. I have a cousin (Jerry Springer to the max) who also owns a Mirage! She, owns a 2018 with a CVT. She argued with me that her car has a turbo. I tried nicely to explain that it does not. She said her mechanic said it does. So I said, "you need a new mechanic." Then she said her mechanic was her son-in-law. So I let it go. Her's is the red / purple color. She also bragged about her purchase price, payment, that she had gap insurance, and that she's "only got ~$9,000 left on her loan ... AFTER 5 YEARS!" I didn't have the heart to tell her about my deal. Let's just say, her deal was nearly double of Mark's deal!

Did she buy new? What was her APR? 60 months?

[7milesout]

She did buy new. When she told me her $9k balance, I didn't want to explore into it. Some intellects would detect that those questions (from me) would be being asked under the suspicion of something being not right. I don't know if hers would have detected that, but I wasn't going to risk another "discussion." I had to just let sleeping dogs lie. This was after the turbo "discussion."

She had a sister there too. And her sister was the only blood relative who was operating on all cylinders. There was some fully functioning in-laws too. But her sister is also aware of her sister's mis-firing on more than one cylinder and made efforts to distract her to simpler things. Which I detected and was appreciative of.

This other sister I mention, is the monetary nucleus of a large automotive dealership (which I didn't know prior). Smart sister and I talked a lot. Smart sister explained that not 1 vehicle transaction in or out happens at her dealership without it coming across her desk. She's no joke. And she's going to keep a sharp eye out on a good deal on an FRS or 86 ... for one of my sons.

My wife was rear ended in her Matrix, on Wednesday before I left on my trip. Not too bad. The liftgate still opens, it has only slight bending (repairable). Bumper, EPS and LH brake light are shot. Maybe the bumper beam too. The idiot Geico insurance of the other driver asked my wife if she wanted to proceed with salvaging the car ... AND THEY HAVEN'T EVEN LOOKED AT IT! Idiots. They'll probably want to pay her $150 for the car. They're about to get a foot in their, well you know where.


7milesout

[Dirk Diggler]

She did buy new. When she told me her $9k balance, I didn't want to explore into it. Some intellects would detect that those questions (from me) would be being asked under the suspicion of something being not right. I don't know if hers would have detected that, but I wasn't going to risk another "discussion." I had to just let sleeping dogs lie. This was after the turbo "discussion."

She had a sister there too. And her sister was the only blood relative who was operating on all cylinders. There was some fully functioning in-laws too. But her sister is also aware of her sister's mis-firing on more than one cylinder and made efforts to distract her to simpler things. Which I detected and was appreciative of.

This other sister I mention, is the monetary nucleus of a large automotive dealership (which I didn't know prior). Smart sister and I talked a lot. Smart sister explained that not 1 vehicle transaction in or out happens at her dealership without it coming across her desk. She's no joke. And she's going to keep a sharp eye out on a good deal on an FRS or 86 ... for one of my sons.

My wife was rear ended in her Matrix, on Wednesday before I left on my trip. Not too bad. The liftgate still opens, it has only slight bending (repairable). Bumper, EPS and LH brake light are shot. Maybe the bumper beam too. The idiot Geico insurance of the other driver asked my wife if she wanted to proceed with salvaging the car ... AND THEY HAVEN'T EVEN LOOKED AT IT! Idiots. They'll probably want to pay her $150 for the car. They're about to get a foot in their, well you know where.


7milesout

I'm glad your ole lady is OK! Time to get her into a Mirage G4 lol. You'll have to get her the SE top trim with the proximity key and LEDs so she feels better about losing all that HP. I also can't stress enough the faux-leather steering wheel is quite nice for an econobox. That's the number 1 thing my wife loves about her Black Edition G4. You'll also appreciate having the sedan version as well for long road trips as it feels more planted and has better blind spot visibility with that skinny back pillar.

[7milesout]

I already have a back-up hooptie she can drive. No need to buy.

[7milesout]

FOLLOW FOLLOW UP REPORT

I noticed that one time on this long drive, leaving a gas station, when I turned sharp out of the pump area to leave the lot, that the traction control light came on. I stopped, restarted and it went away. Then just today, I busted a Uie and the light came on again, this time the ABS, trac and trac control light all 3. Started thinking I'd need to get that checked by the stealer, then realized I had my ODI-II connector plugged in the whole time during the trip and today, and remembered reading about you guys mentioning that some of those connectors would cause the occasional light on the dash. I pulled it out, no big deal.

The mpg graph here on the forums, I still give a lot of credit to that chart. I've said it before that I'm surprised with its accuracy. I'll say it again, I think it is very accurate. I've seen a lot of those types of graphs on vehicle forums I've been on. But I don't think I've seen any as accurate as the one we have for the Mirage...

Coolant temperatures: One of the apps I have (Torque App I think) can read coolant temps. No matter the environmental conditions ... hot, cool, hot with the A.C. on, etc. As long as I was rolling down the interstate, that coolant temp was solid. It only varied between 192.8°F and maybe 195.0°F. Meaning, the cooling system if in good working order is very adequate for this vehicle. I wish I had watched those coolant temperatures when I towed the ATV a couple months back. That would have been interesting. I have to believe, it probably didn't get much warmer than the temps I just noted even while 'heavy hauling.'

A.C. mpg loss. I don't take these numbers lightly. I don't publish this with any intent to exaggerate. I used the A.C. maybe 20% of the time on this long trip. But I did use it in 1 strategic way in order to get a very good estimate of mpg delta. I estimate that AT INTERSTATE CRUISE SPEEDS, using the A.C. reduces fuel mileage by ~4.5 mpg. I bolded the speed statement because I think that mpg delta will be less in more urban driving. Meaning, in downtown stop and go driving conditions, it may be only a 1 mpg difference. "City" driving maybe 1.5. And then "Suburban driving" like most of what I drive, it might be about 2.5 mpg lower with the A.C. It is when the A.C. is used at continual / steady loads that it maxes out the mpg delta. Honestly, it feels like my A.C. cycles on and off as I'm steady cruising the interstate. I don't know that because I can't stick my face down near the compressor while on the interstate. But that's what it sounds and feels like. There's no way in Chicago putting all 4 windows down will reduce mpg as much as the A.C. compressor. I don't care what a certain tv show said. Besides, I only roll down my 2 left side windows and leave the right sides closed. More comfortable that way.

[Dirk Diggler]

FOLLOW FOLLOW UP REPORT

I noticed that one time on this long drive, leaving a gas station, when I turned sharp out of the pump area to leave the lot, that the traction control light came on. I stopped, restarted and it went away. Then just today, I busted a Uie and the light came on again, this time the ABS, trac and trac control light all 3. Started thinking I'd need to get that checked by the stealer, then realized I had my ODI-II connector plugged in the whole time during the trip and today, and remembered reading about you guys mentioning that some of those connectors would cause the occasional light on the dash. I pulled it out, no big deal.

The mpg graph here on the forums, I still give a lot of credit to that chart. I've said it before that I'm surprised with its accuracy. I'll say it again, I think it is very accurate. I've seen a lot of those types of graphs on vehicle forums I've been on. But I don't think I've seen any as accurate as the one we have for the Mirage...

Coolant temperatures: One of the apps I have (Torque App I think) can read coolant temps. No matter the environmental conditions ... hot, cool, hot with the A.C. on, etc. As long as I was rolling down the interstate, that coolant temp was solid. It only varied between 192.8°F and maybe 195.0°F. Meaning, the cooling system if in good working order is very adequate for this vehicle. I wish I had watched those coolant temperatures when I towed the ATV a couple months back. That would have been interesting. I have to believe, it probably didn't get much warmer than the temps I just noted even while 'heavy hauling.'

A.C. mpg loss. I don't take these numbers lightly. I don't publish this with any intent to exaggerate. I used the A.C. maybe 20% of the time on this long trip. But I did use it in 1 strategic way in order to get a very good estimate of mpg delta. I estimate that AT INTERSTATE CRUISE SPEEDS, using the A.C. reduces fuel mileage by ~4.5 mpg. I bolded the speed statement because I think that mpg delta will be less in more urban driving. Meaning, in downtown stop and go driving conditions, it may be only a 1 mpg difference. "City" driving maybe 1.5. And then "Suburban driving" like most of what I drive, it might be about 2.5 mpg lower with the A.C. It is when the A.C. is used at continual / steady loads that it maxes out the mpg delta. Honestly, it feels like my A.C. cycles on and off as I'm steady cruising the interstate. I don't know that because I can't stick my face down near the compressor while on the interstate. But that's what it sounds and feels like. There's no way in Chicago putting all 4 windows down will reduce mpg as much as the A.C. compressor. I don't care what a certain tv show said. Besides, I only roll down my 2 left side windows and leave the right sides closed. More comfortable that way.

Good write up. We need more long distance posts on here. Mark puts up good info on this too. I do multiple road trips from Atlanta to Charleston SC to help out with my father and my numbers are consistent. If I put my CVT 2021 hatchback @ 75 mph on CC, with the AC on 73° but with lowest fan speed on, I can net 38 mpg HWY, all the way. I'm very impressed with the OEM CC on these cars. We had a Rostra CC added to our old 2017 G4 and it was terrible, very jarring and choppy.

[Fummins]

Agreed on the rostra comparison. I hated the Rostra cruise that I had on my previous Mirage. The stalk was positioned out of sight behind one of the spokes of the steering wheel. I never used it enough to memorize which buttons did what.
With the oem cruise I can come to a stop then once I hit 40kph I hit resume and it nicely gets up to the previous speed without flooring it. I don't think I have the self-control/ability to accelerate as gently as the oem cruise can and not have the rpm rise over 3000, without taking much longer to do so. If that made any sense?

[7milesout]

I cancel cruise then use my foot to gently bring my speed to back to the set speed or maybe 1 mph under it, then press resume. Because the ******* cruise is too much of a drag racer for me. But yes, I do think the cruise works well. This is how I operate the cruise on all my cars. Habit.

[7milesout]

My wife was rear ended in her Matrix, on Wednesday before I left on my trip. Not too bad. The liftgate still opens, it has only slight bending (repairable). Bumper, EPS and LH brake light are shot. Maybe the bumper beam too. The idiot Geico insurance of the other driver asked my wife if she wanted to proceed with salvaging the car ... AND THEY HAVEN'T EVEN LOOKED AT IT! Idiots. They'll probably want to pay her $150 for the car. They're about to get a foot in their, well you know where.

The adjuster came out. He was a GREAT guy. Knew his stuff real well. He did his thing then came back and said, "well, they're going to fix it. Do you know how much that car is worth?" I said, maybe $6,500 - $7,000. He said, "$8,300. And the repair is about $3,100." It's already being towed off to a local body shop. So, no Enduro race car from that car. And no need to worry about buying the wife an alternative hooptie. We paid $4k for it about 3 years ago.

I can't believe the idiot on the phone suggested starting the salvage process. As Bugs Bunny would say, what a maroon.