We have a '11 Yaris 3-door/5-speed now and love it — it's been flawlessly reliable and gets 35± MPG in the city.
Two factors are contributing to the need to sell it and get something cheap with an automatic:
- My wife was recently diagnosed with some arthritis in her hip and the constant clutching is irritating it
- We have two teenage boys in the house and neither can get the hang of driving the Yaris (it has no torque and is very easy to stall out). It's to the point where I am worried about them putting some abnormal wear on the clutch.
Couple of questions --
• I looked for a purchase thread but didn't find it. What kind of deals are people getting on the Mirage? Are they dealing on them at all yet? I realize there isn't much room between MSRP and invoice, but you never know.
• I don't care for CVTs but since I will not be driving this car, it is not a huge concern. My main issue is with reliability. I have no concern with the engine or the rest of the vehicle (have owned Mitsubishis in the past) but am a little worried about the CVT. Has the Mirage's CVT been used in other markets, and does it last okay long term? I don't want to be facing a transmission replacement at 110-120k miles, like what's common in other brands that were early CVT adopters.