2015 Mirage

[Bluemitsu]

Hello mirage forum. Bought this beauty new in Dec of 15. Did quite a bit of research online including this site before pulling the trigger. Had a scion xb 5 speed and soon as it sold I knew what I wanted to get a blue 5 speed mirage. Was looking for a used one but couldn't find a blue 5 speed speed in my area at the time. I called up 5 local dealers with their best price out the door and ended up going 80 miles down to Bloomington to pick this bad boy up. I've looked around and have seen there were better deals after I bought it in Feb but still got a pretty good deal at 11.2k with plates title and tax. Almost have 10k on it now and couldn't be happier.

[MetroMPG]

Welcome to the forum!

What year was your Xb? They're neat machines. What was it about the Mirage that caught your interest?

[Bluemitsu]

The Xb was an 05, that's the first gen with the 1.5l had only 33k on it, was dark blue. I dabble in buying and selling cars. I have also had 3 yaris' 5 speeds as well. They are great cars. What caught my eye on the Little Blue Mitsu was the mpgs, price and color. I've seen a few of them on the road and thought they were pretty cool looking for an econobox. Then started my research, watched a lot of the reviews online, most were negative but I had to disagree with them as most didn't weigh the price heavily enough in my opinion or what cars have become in the last decade. Most new cars are another mortgage payment that they are not going to see any return on their investment with 4x4 that most never use. Plus some were saying that there was no way you can fit 3 people in back. I think they were just looking for negative things to say as I drive all over and only see one person in a SUV all the time, plus the Little Blue Mitsu normally only sees one driver with the occasional passenger. Is it tight in the back seat with 3? Yes. But this was not designed for a taxi or shuttle service. I was able to buy the car in cash which saved me quite a bit plus all the rebates. The car is also rated at 42 mpgs which is outstanding, looks like a lot of people are doing much better. Best tank so for is 41. But its driven mostly in the city. From an engineering stand point its pretty state of the art with aluminium block and head, dohc with vvt, fly by wire throttle, drag is minimal and weighs less than a ton! Also what was surprising to me was the standard features that came with the car, keyless entry, power windows with one touch on the drivers side, power mirrors and all trim is color matched. I can remember the DX civics in the 90's that they had black handles and mirrors. Us Americans are spoiled and bigger is always better. It always keeping up with the Jones with their flashy new car. They just need to have a reality check and look at the big picture, I need a reliable vehicle that gets me from point A to B a piece of mind with a great warranty is just a plus. So all the little things added up and I pulled the trigger!...did I mention my favorite color is Blue!

[Eggman]

Great post. Sums up the economics of these little cars nicely. Your post reflects most of the reasons why I bought my Mirage.

You have a good point in how Americans view automobiles. I really do believe the auto industry is playing on the consumer's ego in their transportation decisions, and profiting handsomely from it.

[Bluemitsu]

Thanks! Yes I totally agree, it's all a game and I don't blame the manufacturers, they're a business and the bottom line is making that dollar. Mitsubishi doesn't have the following like Honda or Toyota except maybe the evo, maybe they can turn that around. They are a huge company world wide but their market share in the US is pretty small compared to the bigger names. I hope they are able to stick around, I think they make a great product, only time will tell as to how reliable these cars will be in the long run. So far no complaints.

[Bluemitsu]

Thanks! Yes I totally agree, it's all a game and I don't blame the manufacturers, they're a business and the bottom line is making that dollar. Mitsubishi doesn't have the following like Honda or Toyota except maybe the evo, maybe they can turn that around. They are a huge company world wide but their market share in the US is pretty small compared to the bigger names. I hope they are able to stick around, I think they make a great product, only time will tell as to how reliable these cars will be in the long run. So far no complaints.