US: About.com doing a long-term Mirage test - top spec CVT

[MetroMPG]

This may be interesting... it's the first U.S. long term test I'm aware of (aside from Consumer Reports, which buys all its cars outright... and we haven't heard a peep from them since they trashed the Mirage in their early report)

About.com writer Aaron Gold sees himself as a bit of an expert on "cheap" cars. (His article about the least expensive cars in the U.S. market is the site's most popular.)

He was also wondering if the Mirage's mileage numbers would stand up to a longer term test (he saw 38-45 mpg on multiple cars when he attended the "first drive" press event). Mitsu is confident in the Mirage's fuel economy abilities, so it gladly agreed to lend him a long-term car.

UNFORTUNATELY... it's the top-spec CVT model (SE in the USA). This is the one that gets the most negative press (about the CVT driving experience plus the value-for-money argument).

We'll see what happens. When he first tested the Mirage, he gave it a fair review.

You can read his long-term intro here: http://cars.about.com/od/2014-Mitsub...troduction.htm