Last year I bought a 2014 Mirage ES, CVT. Previously, I drove a 2013 Nissan Sentra SV for 11 months. The Sentra was comfortable and provided good gas mileage. I got about 37 MPG, mostly driving at 40-60 mph back-roads with red lights approximately every 3 miles (averaging here stop 6-7 times, both early morning and night time). My commute is 22 miles each way.
I had heard and read about the Mirage in multiple places, with particular interest in its fuel economy. My wife and I decided to take a look at it and test drive it. I did not mind much for looks or acceleration/performance so I went ahead with the purchase with little support from my wife (all major financial decisions are jointly made), the car appeared small and we had 2 little ones.
The Mirage fuel economy has been as follows: a) For driving to work (as described above) the car get 41-42 MPG in cold weather and 47-48 MPG in warm weather. I have taken the car to a few trips 1) To Ann Arbor, MI in Sept 2014, I drove (by myself) most of the way 70 mph and got 42-43 MPG, on the way back drove 75-80 mph and got 40 MPG; and 2) similarly, I drove to Kansas Dec 2014 round trip with wife, 2 kids, luggage (total about 450-475 lb) at 70 mph and got 42 MPG, on the way back (another 50 pounds or so of extra stuff) I drove faster 80 mph and got 37-38 MPG. I find the trip computer MPG to be near actual values obtained at the pump, some of the members here say 2-4%. The most fuel I have ever put is 8 gallons.
Surprises with the Mirage: First and foremost, we have no issues of space our 2 kids (car seat and booster) fit just fine, and their cousin fit just fine between them - The Mirage flat 2nd row allows for good use of space. Moreover, we are expecting a third child and I have been able to manage to fit a 3rd car seat. This, however, may not be a good idea because it is somewhat labor intensive. I have not had the time yet, but I should do it again and post the picture in car-seat.org.
Problems with the Mirage: Mechanical, I had one issue with the Mirage engine light, not sure what it was but it was taken care off by the dealer. The Bluetooth work until I changed phones. I have a Samsung cell phone and the Mirage doesn't take it. I have read the manual and followed the instructions without success. Mitsubishi has a disclaimer that not all phones are compatible - Unfortunately, this was not discussed and I never brought up the issue at the time we purchased the car. I have not approach the Dealer or Mitsubishi Corp about this, but this is the only issue with the Mirage. Had I known this, I would have bought the Mirage DE.
So far, I find Mitsubishi to be reasonable with their maintenance cost: complementary 7,500 mile oil change; 15,000 mile oil change and tire rotation was just over $70. I will have to do the 22,500 mile check soon. Has any of you done a 30,000 mile maintenance at a Mitsubishi Dealer yet? If so, how much did it cost?
I am sure some of you would agree that the Mirage is the best value out there. Having said that, the 2016 Mazda-2 and the 2016 Toyota Yaris will likely come close (MPG wise) to the Mirage, but the Mirage will likely keep a financial edge (~ 2-3k lower $)
2014 Mitsubishi Mirage ES
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