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Thread: Micra or Mirage... can't decide

  1. #1
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    Micra or Mirage... can't decide

    I like Mirage 's look better, but Micra seems to have more advantage over Mirage, better reselling value and such..

    I test drove both, and I must admit that the Fuel saving on Mirage is amazing, but the noise of the CVT is quite annoying. Performance-wise, both Micra and Mirage are about the same. (i am not very technical, it's based on gut feelings).. but as soon as i hop back on my Yaris, i have the feeling the my Yaris is more powerful...

    After a full stop, if i press on the gas a bit harder.. it seems that the Mirage "choked" for half a second, The salesperson explain that this is because of the CVT. is this normal? the car shakes a little too much while on park as well..

    I live in Canada with rough winter, which car would be easier to handle?


    All my friends tell me not to buy Mitsubishi... but should i worry with 10 years warranty?



    Coming from a Yaris 2008 RS owner...



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    I got to rent a brand-new 2014 Yaris for 1 week about 2 months before I purchased my Mirage.

    I would have to agree on one thing, the Yaris seems to have more power. I'd say maybe 25% more power. It's only 105HP or so, give or take, but the weight to power ratio makes things much much more even.

    As to the "choke" the salesman has no idea what's he talking about. That choke is existent on almost ALL ECM cars today that are drive by wire. It's called a safety pause. In the event, you decide to smash you're throttle, the ECM will wait, anywhere from 100-800 MilliSeconds (0.1-0.8 seconds) until it decides to give you that power.

    There was at one point, a possible class-action against this "safety" practice, as some argue, it's far more dangerous than safe. The idea, the automotive industry tells us, is that if you "accidentally" stomp on the gas, instead of the brake, you'll notice and let off sooner. Pure BS in my opinion, and in the studies I've read too.

    Now, on that 2014 Yaris I rented, it too would "chke" for a good solid 0.5 seconds if I stomped on it. The Yaris was not a CVT. But it is, drive by wire.

    If I had to go back and do it again, I'd still take the mirage: I feel, you get more for the penny. And gas savings does help.

    Now, you can still get some good gas savings in a Micra or Yaris, if driven like you want that gas savings. I managed 44 MPG highway in the Yaris. and I only manage 51 MPG in the Mitsu Mirage. Not too big of a difference.

    Comfort wise, I personally feel like the interior is better in the Mirage, and the handling is better in the Yaris.

    I've never seen, or driven a Micra but I imagine it's handling is better than the mirage by far.

    This comes down too:

    Cheap McScrouge and Better MPG = Mirage
    Better Handling, Still Good Gas, Still Cheap = Micra

    If I could have my hands on a Micra, loaded in a similar manner as my Mirage, I'd be hard pressed to not take it.
    The only thing that worries me about it, is that it's manufactured to inferior qualities, as it's an Indian hand-me-down. Thailand, is worlds better than India when it comes to manufacturing. The Mirage is from Thailand.

    Warranties are virtually the same for Nissan / Mitsu.

    Quote Originally Posted by andrew2080 View Post
    I like Mirage 's look better, but Micra seems to have more advantage over Mirage, better reselling value and such..

    I test drove both, and I must admit that the Fuel saving on Mirage is amazing, but the noise of the CVT is quite annoying. Performance-wise, both Micra and Mirage are about the same. (i am not very technical, it's based on gut feelings).. but as soon as i hop back on my Yaris, i have the feeling the my Yaris is more powerful...

    After a full stop, if i press on the gas a bit harder.. it seems that the Mirage "choked" for half a second, The salesperson explain that this is because of the CVT. is this normal? the car shakes a little too much while on park as well..

    I live in Canada with rough winter, which car would be easier to handle?


    All my friends tell me not to buy Mitsubishi... but should i worry with 10 years warranty?



    Coming from a Yaris 2008 RS owner...
    Last edited by BRagland; 01-27-2016 at 03:42 AM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 51.7 mpg (US) ... 22.0 km/L ... 4.6 L/100 km ... 62.0 mpg (Imp)


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    Micra is from India?? well i guess that pretty much settle my mind.

    The dealer at Mitsubishi was nice enough to give me the rear camera with navigation display option for free.. this is not even an option in Canada.

    My 15 inches snow tires on my Yaris are 1 year new, do you think i can keep them on my Mirage?

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    The Micra for the US, Canadian, and some European markets is manufactured in India. The Micra for the Asian Market, and some European Markets (I.e. the Indians themselves, the Japanese, the Croats) is made in Thailand. Who would have known? They sell crap to us, but the better stuff to themselves haha.

    Having visited both nations, I can tell you they're both fairly poor to our standards, but technically speaking, Thailand's GDP is about twice that of Indias, and there people live much much better lives. They're stuff tends to be of better quality as well.

    GDP Per Capita with PPP:
    India: $5,500
    Thailand: $14,000

    Micra Manufacturer Location: India : http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/in...ave-sunderland

    As for your Tires, the Mirage has 14in rims. Depends on what your tire size on that 15 inch rim is. I don't recall if the Yaris was 4 or 5 bolts either. But the Mirage has a weird tire:

    14 inch rims
    4 bolt pattern
    165R65/14 sized tire

    You're tire will need to be around that size.

    Used to be made in UK up until about 2010. Shame on Nissan, though they did create more jobs for the brits at the end of it.

    Quote Originally Posted by andrew2080 View Post
    Micra is from India?? well i guess that pretty much settle my mind.

    The dealer at Mitsubishi was nice enough to give me the rear camera with navigation display option for free.. this is not even an option in Canada.

    My 15 inches snow tires on my Yaris are 1 year new, do you think i can keep them on my Mirage?
    Last edited by BRagland; 01-27-2016 at 04:09 AM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 51.7 mpg (US) ... 22.0 km/L ... 4.6 L/100 km ... 62.0 mpg (Imp)


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    On which rims? The bolt pattern and offset are the same, but Toyota uses 54.1mm center and Mitsubishi 56?

    If rims aftermarket then will if not no

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 46.4 mpg (US) ... 19.7 km/L ... 5.1 L/100 km ... 55.7 mpg (Imp)


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    Hey thanks for your responses.

    I like Mirage 2015 better, but my wife find Micra "cute"... We both don't really care about the quality of the cars, as long as i don't have to spend thousands per year repairing it. For Mirage, i especially like the cargo compartment, it looks much larger than it seems, appears to be even bigger than my Yaris.

    I am getting the SE trim.

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    The compartment is for sure bigger than the yaris. It's perhaps the largest compartment out of the entire category of sub-compact hatchbacks I've ever seen. I just recently traveled with huge full-sized suit-case back there, laying flat, without the seats folded down, and 3 more smaller bags on top of the suit case, plus a blanket, and pillow. it's world's bigger than the yaris, which barely fit my carry-on suitcase.

    Quote Originally Posted by andrew2080 View Post
    Hey thanks for your responses.

    I like Mirage 2015 better, but my wife find Micra "cute"... We both don't really care about the quality of the cars, as long as i don't have to spend thousands per year repairing it. For Mirage, i especially like the cargo compartment, it looks much larger than it seems, appears to be even bigger than my Yaris.

    I am getting the SE trim.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 51.7 mpg (US) ... 22.0 km/L ... 4.6 L/100 km ... 62.0 mpg (Imp)


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    well, I hope i can finalize the purchase this week, and be a proud owner of Mirage!

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    Well that's good. Just remember to test drive them all, and listen to the spouse

    I will warn you on one thing, I wish I had known about before purchase: The Mirage is a slow bumbling car. Don't be too shocked if one day you realize it's slow haha. The Yaris is slow too, but not as slow.

    The other thing: there's been some issues with the rear axle being mis-aligned. And it has to be replaced to be corrected. It would seem to be affecting fewer and fewer people as time goes on, and chances are you won't be burdened with it, as the Canadians have very few cases of it, and they will replace it under warranty. The replaced axle is usually perfectly fine, but I'd ask them to do an alignment check on it before so, and not let them fool you into thinking it's not a big deal, as these axles cannot be adjusted, and will eat tires if it's out of specs.

    All cars have issues though, the Mirage has them, and so will the others. Sometimes you get a perfect car, and sometimes a lemon. A good, thorough review, research, and looong test drive generally weed out the bads from the good fairly fast no matter make, model, year.

    The Mirage is still worth every penny to me so far, and I DID have a bad rear axle, which was replaced, and is now perfect.

    Quote Originally Posted by andrew2080 View Post
    well, I hope i can finalize the purchase this week, and be a proud owner of Mirage!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 51.7 mpg (US) ... 22.0 km/L ... 4.6 L/100 km ... 62.0 mpg (Imp)


  12. #10
    Welcome, Andrew2080!

    I've examined both cars extensively. Some points:

    1) Not that it matters much, but the Canadian Micra comes from Mexico (not India), where it's built along with the North American Versa. (Aguascalientes assembly plant.)

    2) The 'pause' you experience from a stop with the CVT may have been the brief delay re-engaging drive from neutral. The CVT uses Idle Neutral Logic to save fuel when stopped. You will notice this feature is not always seamless.

    Question: why are you considering the CVT? The 5-speed is both more fun & more efficient in the real world, despite what the official fuel economy ratings say.

    The Mirage 5-speed has the lightest, easiest to use clutch I've ever driven. NOT an issue at all in city driving.

    3) Both cars have had manufacturing defects reported by multiple owners: notably in the Mirage, some out-of-spec rear axles (as BRagland mentioned); notably with the Micra, some engine issues (rod knock).

    4) Both cars would be similar in winter conditions. The Micra has a standard block heater; Mirage's is an optional dealer add-on.

    Quote Originally Posted by BRagland View Post
    I've never seen, or driven a Micra but I imagine it's handling is better than the mirage by far.
    Yup. The Micra's steering and suspension is better sorted and more satisfying to an "enthusiast driver" than the Mirage's. EG: the Canadian market Micra is the only one that gets front and rear stabilizer bars standard from the factory. However the Mirage rides nicer (tuned softer). They have nearly identical amazingly super-tight turning circles.

    The Micra has much more power: 109 hp vs. 74. Despite the Mirage's lower weight, the Micra's power:weight ratio is still superior (near top of the class). Nissan even launched a successful Micra spec racing series last year that is expanding in 2016. There will never be a Mirage factory racing series.

    For these reasons (cheap to buy, decent handling, good power:weight) in the 80+ Canadian media reviews I have read about the Micra, all have been positive.

    Cheap McScrouge and Better MPG = Mirage
    Better Handling, Still Good Gas, Still Cheap = Micra
    That's pretty close to how I would sum it up. Micra is arguably more fun, but you pay for it in fuel consumption, especially if you must drive the automatic. The difference amounts to roughly $2000 more to drive the Micra over 5 years (the Micra's automatic is an old-school 4-speed vs. the Mirage's efficient CVT).

    Styling is subjective, but most people I talk to prefer the styling of the Micra over the Mirage. I prefer the Micra's looks, but the Mirage has a much better aerodynamic design. Which is more important?

    Both cars have plenty of character, but in different ways. EG: I love the character of the Mirage's engine, even if it's down on power (it's not underpowered to me). I love the engineering effort that went into making the Mirage so efficient. But I wish it had the Micra's steering & suspension. Fortunately, you can add an aftermarket rear stabilizer bar to the Mirage, and I probably would.

    Warranties are virtually the same for Nissan / Mitsu.
    Not even close. The Mitsu warranty is head-and-shoulders above Nissan's:

    Micra
    Powertrain: 5-year/100,000 km
    Bumper to bumper: 3-year/60,000 km
    Roadside assistance: 3-year/Unlimited km

    Mirage
    Powertrain: 10-year/160,000 km
    Bumper to bumper: 5-year/100,000 km
    Roadside assistance: 5-year/Unlimited km


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


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