Question to ex-Metro owners

[MetroMPG]

I still would have been interested in the Mirage if it had a 4-cyl that was as efficient as its current 1.2L triple.

But the triple has a ton of character, and I like the car more because of it. It used to be a triple was pretty unique, too, but that's no longer the case: Fiesta, Focus, Mini, BMW (i8), Mirage. (Did I forget any others in the U.S. market?)

I still have my 1998 3-cyl, 5-speed "Metro" -- Canadian market badge engineered Pontiac Firefly -- and a '91 convertible waiting in the wings for restoration.

[inuvik]

I had sold my last Metro in 2003 and really missed having a ultra efficient econobox. Between my wife and I we had owned Sprints/Metro's almost continuously since '87 until 2003. Spent the period between 2003-2010 buying bigger more expensive cars. About 5 years ago my wife became very ill and we had to reboot our life so to speak. So it was time to replace our old vehicle which had a bunch of miles on it. I lurked for a long time on this forum weighing different options, different vehicles. I owned a '87 Colt in the past and it was very reliable. After reading exhaustively on issues with the Spark & Versa I always gravitated back to the Mirage. I enjoy a 3 cylinder engine sound because it has a deeper growl than a 4 banger. For the money, even a base Mirage is light years ahead of the Metro's and I get a grin every time I drive this car. Love it!

[cyclopathic]

I still would have been interested in the Mirage if it had a 4-cyl that was as efficient as its current 1.2L triple.

That is interesting question! The conventional wisdom the 2.0L GT will have lower MPG rating, but if they reduced final drive ratio, it could end up making up for at least portion of it. After all 4B engine has x2 power and x2 torque, so with tall gearing in light car you can get pretty good MPG