Originally Posted by
Basic
After 10 years of Mirage ownership I can say with certainty, that gear ratios are 100% my greatest annoyance with these cars.
1)5th gear is wayyy too short. It essentially offers nothing over 4th. It either needs to be taller or have a 6th added.
1A)Reverse is wayyyyy too long. I don't need to go 30 MPH in Reverse! I need to be able to back up a steep incline with 80HP without slipping the clutch or stalling it.
These are easily correctable things that would have made the Mirage perfect.
I can live with 5th. Because at the very least, when you're rolling along in 5th at 80 mph, it's turning in the vicinity of 4,000 rpm. Which is max power rpm. So when hitting a big hill at 80 mph, it pulls it like it ain't no thang! That is impressive for a car with 78 hp! I sure as heck don't want to have to downshift. That and it has a pleasant purr / growl at 4,000 rpm. And the mpg is still excellent.
But reverse. Yes, it could be half as tall. I back up, uphill in my driveway. Luckily it's straight. I fully engage reverse ... I don't slip it going up that driveway. I have to gas it just a little above idle to prevent the engine from stalling. This causes me to be moving at a fairly good clip backing up my driveway.
There's little kids that play out in the road / cul-de-sac. I've seen their parents show caution when they see me backing up my driveway. It's that fast. It is totally unnecessary to be geared like that. Half the ratio would be great. BTW, I clutch and either stop or come near a stop at the end of my driveway. It levels off just before the road. So I near stop so that I can creep out carefully watching for cars or those kids. I LOVE THOSE KIDS OUT THERE screaming, yelling, banging, running, etc ... that's what kids should be doing! Not staring at screens.
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View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.5 L/100 km ... 51.0 mpg (Imp)