New Mirage Owner

[LarryNJ]

2019 Mirage LE

My 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX Sport Wagon finally hit the end of the road. It needs a new engine, which I may or may not move forward with. I'm the original owner.

I need a car for my Wife, so I went shopping and found a Mirage.

After 3 days of ownership and with her putting most of the mileage on (The car only has 33,000 miles) I am impressed.

My AWD WRX was/is considered a "rice-racer" high-performance car, and it is (was, anyway).

The handling, performance, acceleration, and comfort of the Mirage impresses me. It is tight, drives GREAT, and has plenty of room and basic comfort, and even too many tech features for a senior like me.

I don't get the bad reviews- "Sluggish, tinny, bumpy, etc". I don't. This car seems like a winner, even after owning/driving a Rally-inspired car like the WRX.

I'm trusting it will be reliable, and I already know it is super fuel efficient.

Time will tell, but so far- Very Good.

Seeing as this forum exists, I guess I'm not alone in the love for this model.

So Hello, and nice to find that this forum exists.

[jonesboro]

Welcome to the forum Larry!

The WRX is a fine machine, sorry to hear of your engine troubles. The Mirage/Space Star is seriously underrated, you're right. Quite possibly the last affordable "decent car" on the market and very simple to maintain!

Do you have a pic of your new Mirage?

[Mark]

Welcome to the forum!

Many here share your view of the Mirage.

It's affordable, reliable, and economical to drive/own.

[Johnny Mullet]

Welcome aboard!

[LarryNJ]

Welcome to the forum Larry!

The WRX is a fine machine, sorry to hear of your engine troubles. The Mirage/Space Star is seriously underrated, you're right. Quite possibly the last affordable "decent car" on the market and very simple to maintain!

Do you have a pic of your new Mirage?

No pics yet,but will provide when I can. It's Black (LE Edition) with red interior trim and seat cloth pattern

And thanks for the welcomes!
I happen to think its very cool looking vehicle, but that's just me! (NOT!)

[Fummins]

Welcome! Most people that bash these cars have never driven one. I'll admit they're no race car but they're pretty durable and easy enough to fix/maintain.

[LarryNJ]

Welcome! Most people that bash these cars have never driven one. I'll admit they're no race car but they're pretty durable and easy enough to fix/maintain.

I admit to not having any real amount of time behind the wheel (My Wife uses it to commute to work) however-
After 20 years driving my WRX, I have a very good feel I think for a car's performance.

As an example, I took a Hyundai Kona for a test-drive (I got a $50 Mastercard for doing so!) and with no disrespect to Hyundai owner/lovers, I DID NOT like that car at all. It felt sluggish and clunky- to me anyways.
Not my experience driving the Mirage.

The Mirage won't hug the road like the AWD Turbo WRX did/does, but it accelerated surprisingly fast IMO.
(BTW-the Subaru DID have a bit of turbo lag) Did I mention that it uses a Mitsubishi-made Turbo?

After turbo lag diminished and-it was slight, the Subie took off like a rocket.

The Mirage probably won't be like that, but I have got it up to say, 60 mph, from a start, and- It goes pretty good.

It feels good, handling-wise as well. It takes turns nice & tight, stops and starts well, the brakes feel responsive, and I even feel the kick from the DS mode on the CVT.

Of course it's not an M-series BMW, who would think it is? (Directed at the Reviewer/Haters).

But I'll still say- The Mirage is fun to drive, it has a good ride, and the only thing I'll eventually change in time is to put some wider tires (wheels too I guess) on. I think that would make a nice difference, guess I'll see in a while- The rubber seems brand new.

All-in-all- I'm pretty happy with my choice.

[jonesboro]

It feels good, handling-wise as well. It takes turns nice & tight, stops and starts well, the brakes feel responsive, and I even feel the kick from the DS mode on the CVT.

Of course it's not an M-series BMW, who would think it is? (Directed at the Reviewer/Haters).

But I'll still say- The Mirage is fun to drive, it has a good ride, and the only thing I'll eventually change in time is to put some wider tires (wheels too I guess) on. I think that would make a nice difference, guess I'll see in a while- The rubber seems brand new.

All-in-all- I'm pretty happy with my choice.

Great to hear you're enjoying it. My Mirage may not be a BMW but I love it like a Rolls Royce because for what it was designed to be: it excels! The only real ride quality-affecting mod I've done is adding a rear sway bar as the Mirage does have a bit of body roll. Some people prefer theirs that way but I like to take corners swiftly with a hatch full of cargo so reducing body roll was essential.

As far as your WRX goes my dream car is it's rival: the EVO. For now the Mirage is my baby EVO. I will probably boost it when it's paid off and hoon this thang.

[Fummins]

I'm not afraid to take corners(or do pretty much anything at this point) with mine. Reducing body roll takes sport out of it. If you want a track car there's a thread about that.

[jonesboro]

I'm not afraid to take corners(or do pretty much anything at this point) with mine. Reducing body roll takes sport out of it. If you want a track car there's a thread about that.

Congrats. I put a lot of small boxes in the back that like to avalanche from side to side when I took corners with stock suspension setup lol. I had some end up in the front seat and decided on the sway bar. Now it isn't a problem.