Hi folks. I'm creeping up to my 1 year ownership mark and figured I would give my honest review. I apologize ahead - I am in America so all measurements listed are on our scale
2015 Mirage DE. Mostly factory - I changed out a couple inside bulbs for LED and changed the shift knob to a Blox, but that's about it.
Roughly 14500 miles
I'm a larger guy - 6'3", 250lbs, 13W shoes. I typically ride solo to work throughout the week and ride with my wife and kid on weekends for groceries and shopping, etc.
Negatives first:
- The car has plenty of leg room and head clearance with the seat moved all the way back. Most of my complaints come from the fact that I am a gorilla in a clown car.
- Knee room for an average sized individual seems like it would be ok. I get nervous with my knee touching the gear shift, but nothing that has caused any problems yet.
- My normal cheap shoes have no problem bouncing back and forth on the clutch pedal but my work boots are difficult to drive in due to the compact space on the top and bottom of the clutch. It's manageable but I have to pay more attention when wearing boots as they snag and drag the floor mats and console. No fault of the car, just a possible issue for larger folks
***EDIT*** to the above comment, I replaced my junk floor mats with the WeatherTech set, problem solved!
- I only found seat discomfort driving on longer trips. I seemed to get fidgety around the 2 to 2.5 hour mark. The seat itself is comfortable for normal trips below that
- Windshield mirror is too low for a tall guy. It creates a blind spot that has caused problems on the highway. I am able to spin it up/around as close to the ceiling as possible but there is really no way to alter it further. Another large person problem, no fault of the car.
- I live in the snow belt. Snow loves to build up on the factory wheels and throw the balance off. I popped off the hub caps and ran with the steelies so I could dig snow out better. Aftermarket rims are probably in my future
***EDIT*** to the above comment - I swapped the wheels for a set of 15" from a Mini, much better!
- I had the rear alignment problem. Mitsubishi took care of it under warranty with the rear axle replacement. Unfortunately I did not get a print out after the fix but they did show me the alignment on and it was good/true. They did handle the issue professionally
- Factory Enasaves do ok for what they are. I believe I will be due for new tires mid-summer which might be around the 20000-25000 mile mark. They are pricey to replace. I saw Walmart carrying some all season Goodyear's for around $50-60/each and will probably go something along that route.
***EDIT*** to the above comment - same as before,I swapped the wheels for a set of 15" from a Mini, much better!
- The factory 14 inch wheels work well for efficiency but good grief are they ugly. I like a lot of the 15" aftermarket tires other users have here. Really adds some aggressiveness
***EDIT*** to the above comment - same as before,I swapped the wheels for a set of 15" from a Mini, much better! Guess swapping the wheels solves quite a few issues lol
- I'm not going to complain about the power or performance of the car. I bought it fully knowing this was going to be my daily commuter. The only problems I have are passing on back roads which we know can be a challenge.
- Like any new car the value drops tremendously when it leaves the lot. I think I paid $10000 - $11000 new. I was curious to see what the trade-in value was only to be disappointed seeing the $4500-$5500 range. I planned on keeping the car until it died anyway but sucks knowing I don't really have a choice without taking a big loss. New car ownership, ah well.
- The stigma behind a subcompact. People will poke fun at you for driving such a small car (especially in America). That's to be expected. All of them have been just good old fashioned fun and teasing so far though. Once you tout the mileage and money savings they usually quiet down
- Wind can really toss the car around. It's lightweight so that's expected. You do get used to it
POSITIVES:
- All of the positives that everyone else says is true
- Amazing MPG. I average 38-40 mpg in winter and saw mid 40's all the way up to 65 mpg (it's hilly here) a couple times in the summer.
- I can never get over the fact that it only takes $10 for a week of gas
- The car can hold a surprising amount of cargo. The back seats fold down almost all the way. I stuffed a full load of camping gear into the car without any trouble (riding solo)
- It's peppy on the highway. It was kind of odd keeping up with traffic going 85mph+ with the car screaming away at 4k RPM, but it seemed to enjoy the higher speeds. Really wish there was a 6 speed!
- No mechanical problems so far (minus the rear misalignment)
- I really like the interior design and features especially considering I purchased the low end model.
- The USB and AUX ports are 100% fantastic. Nice and clean output on the factory low-end setup. AM/FM is horrible for some reason (low quality and volume?) but I don't use it.
- I get the oil changed every 7500 miles. My mechanic charges half the cost of my old SUV even though we need synthetic, because the car doesn't take nearly as much oil. Saved more than double the money on oil changes!
- The 14" Enasaves might be lackluster but do a surprisingly good job in the snow. I've only slipped a few times, even with 50% tread left
- Speaking of snow - the car manages very well in the winter. Heater, front and rear defrost don't take much time to get going. I rarely use AC but that's worked fine in the Summer as well.
- Even with my family of 3 (#4 coming soon!) and the rear full of groceries the car still gets us where we need to go, and still holds it's excellent mileage
- The factory headlights are pretty decent. I'm watching for good aftermarket LED alternatives, but the originals aren't bad
I'm sure there is plenty more good to say about the car but we all know that. I'll give another update when I hit the 2 year mark or when/if something breaks.
The Speed Bump
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