fantastic
Excellent and thorough initial impressions. I like that you've driven some of the competition and can make comparisons.
Originally Posted by
festiboi
It didn't feel overly strained going over grades or merging.
Really? Why do you figure that's mentioned so often in CVT reviews? Is this a case of perspective, where you're used to a 3-cyl Charade, and they're used to driving around in BMW's?
The first few curves were met with squealing tires, oversteer, and tons of body roll. Where a Ford Fiesta begs for more, the Mirage says "
I'm going to kill you!"
Funny. Double-check please: "oversteer"?
-fuel economy took a nasty nosedive with some desert winds
To be fair, this is true of any car. You can't over-rule physics!
It also represents how far minicars have come since the days of the Charade, Justy, and Metro; the Mirage is downright civilized compared to them
I agree. Yet reviewers keep making the comparison. (Because their reference point is their memory alone... whereas I still own one, as do you.) The only similarities is the number of wheels, cylinders and the fact that it's an entry level car that's cheap & gets good fuel economy. Technically, and in terms of features, the Mirage is worlds apart.
impressed with the level of equipment on the DE. "Are you sure this is the base model?" he kept asking.
Yeah, I've read similar comments in a couple of reviews.
Maybe, but there's just an appeal to the Mirage that the others don't have
There's no doubt the Mirage has a quirky appeal -- the activity level in this forum is proof of that (remember, those Spark forums are much less active than we are, even though the Chevy sells better and has been out longer).
Nice photos and really looking forward to part 2! This'll be going in the 'featured threads' on the home page for sure.
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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)