US: Rotten Rental Car Review: 2013 Mitsubishi Mirage (Hooniverse)

[MetroMPG]

Here's another review from a performance/enthusiast perspective. I always find these interesting.

You'll be forgiven for assuming from the title and the opening paragraph that this is going to be an all out attack on the car, because the writer gives the car its due for the things it does well. However, engine noise (CVT, surprise!) is the highlight and recurring theme here.

Yet the reviewer finds the car is just quirky enough to be appealing:

It’s a dull car – you know that going in – but somehow, it has enough character and quirk to make it likeable.

And...

[The engine] tries so hard that you can’t help but admire it.

There are a few good good one-liners, too:

-- "At first, the car was unimpressive, then it continued that way."

-- "The engine-noise-to-acceleration ratio on this car is the highest of any car I’ve ever driven."

-- "the controls are exactly where the controls would be if you took an average of all the controls on all the cars."

Lots of reader comments under the review as well.

Read the full review: Rotten Rental Car Review: 2013 Mitsubishi Mirage

[ToXiQ]

Still waiting to get my car (hopefully within 2 weeks), I am now driving a Toyota Yaris 1.3 Executive from 2006. I never before drove a car before buying it ;-) and because of the complaints about a noisy CVT I did 2 test drives. I think those testers never drove a Toyota Yaris 1.3 :-). Will come back on this when I have my own Mirage :-) CVT 1.2. Great to see all those complaints ;-)

[MetroMPG]

I think you're quite right - they've never driven anything like it before!

The North American market is pampered -- not used to light, small displacement, low power vehicles with CVT's. They rev high when power is demanded. Revs are noisy.

Also, they got the year wrong. There are no 2013 Mirages in North America. Small detail.