Having owned one for a week, I will say the CVT is the most polarizing thing to me so far.
I understand how it works and why it does the things that it does, but I can really see it being a turnoff to the casual test driver who has a limited time to learn its quirks. My wife has said she feels like it "shifts" / changes its ratios to "high" too soon. It's fine if you give it a lot of gas off the line since it stays revved up and keeps the ratios low, but if you ease off like a normal person, then roll on the gas a little more after you're rolling, you kind of catch it with its pants down since it's already "upshifted" or whatever you call a CVT lengthening the ratio. I guess it's programmed kind of like those automatics that upshift to 6th by 30 MPH, then kick back down to 2nd or 3rd if you roll on to the gas a little.
So I guess I'm saying I would like to see slightly less conservative transmission programming, or maybe just a regular 6-speed automatic (unlikely, I know).
The ride is awesome on crappy roads but the amount body roll is a bit alarming if you're not expecting it. The handling and grip are fine, even with the modest tires, but I think a rear anti-roll bar should be standard. That would help with the body roll while not compromising the ride.
The other thing I'd like to see is a more standard tire size for more replacement options aside from the OEM Dunlops.
Having owned the Mirage for about a month, I have to say that I have been impressed with the CVT. I have never owned one before and find minimal difference between how it drives and a regular geared tranny.
I have driven a number of vehicles - owned and rented - and have to admit that I haven't found any of the transmissions to be irritating. Either I'm not driving the cars in a way that brings out transmission shortcomings, or I am just not sensitive to subtle differences in how they operate.
I was out today in the Mirage and did take a look at the rear wheels to check out the drum brakes.
I didn't even notice them, so to me this is not a big appearance item. Discs all around seem to be the norm, but I haven't found the actual braking action in the Mirage to be sub par at all. No panic stops as yet, but in normal driving they seem to do a solid job.
FYI, it actually does shift. There's a 2-speed auxiliary gearbox in there in addition to the pulleys.
Yup. That transmission is programmed for max fuel efficiency. If you want power, you have to unambiguously demand it! That's one of the things I actually like about the CVT (but I understand everyone has their own subjective likes/dislikes). The other thing is the quiet, relaxed, super low cruising RPM.I guess it's programmed kind of like those automatics that upshift to 6th by 30 MPH, then kick back down to 2nd or 3rd if you roll on to the gas a little.
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 62.4 mpg (US) ... 26.5 km/L ... 3.8 L/100 km ... 74.9 mpg (Imp)
I know about the gearbox aspect but wasn't sure of the term for the CVT part lengthening its ratios. I actually like it a lot better than other CVTs I've driven (Lancer, previous-gen Sentra) but still feel like it could be a little more responsive. It almost feels like the engine is lugging at times (weird feeling in an automatic)-- I guess because the torque converter locks up so soon.
It's totally fine on low speed surface streets or out in the country, but here in DFW people are generally pretty aggressive moving off the line and get all put out and ragey if you take too long getting up to speed -- what I like to do is start moving with very little throttle, then roll onto the gas a little and get up to speed fairly quickly once I've hit 10 or 15 MPH. That's much smoother than just gunning it off the line. But if you do that in the Mirage it has already shifted everything to "high" and feels a little flat-footed for a few seconds. It would be nice if it had a "power" / "economy" switch like our old '91 Galant that changed the shift points.
I absolutely love the low cruising RPMs. My Yaris turns 3000 RPM at 70 MPH (3500 at 80), and before that I had an '03 Civic Si hatch that turned 4100 RPM at 80 MPH (typical Texas interstate speed). It had great power but only got about 30 MPG on the highway.
I'm really attracted to cars like the 6-speed manual Cruze Eco that have 3 overdrive gears and super-tall 6th gears.
What I like about the CVT is that it instantly revs up when you hit the gaspedal and you have max power...
With the manual box I'm sometimes to slow shifting down in unexpected situations, which results in very slow accelerations sometimes
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View my fuel log 2013 Spacestar Invite 1.0 manual: 48.2 mpg (US) ... 20.5 km/L ... 4.9 L/100 km ... 57.8 mpg (Imp)
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View my fuel log 2013 Spacestar Invite 1.0 manual: 48.2 mpg (US) ... 20.5 km/L ... 4.9 L/100 km ... 57.8 mpg (Imp)
Add: Seat height adjustment on ALL TRIM LEVELS, cannot believe my DE didnt come with this, didnt even think to check. Armrests on seats, more storage
Lose: automatic climate control (ive had it for a few months and still havent gotten use to this)
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 44.2 mpg (US) ... 18.8 km/L ... 5.3 L/100 km ... 53.1 mpg (Imp)