Thank you Mark,
I am right in the middle between 30 and 40
. Being aware of the add-ons being the most costly part of a new car, I stuck to the ES trim. The warranty was probably the only thing I didn't need, but having read this forum, I am surprised how many more things are standard on the 2019 compared to the 2014 Mirage, the latter which had no AC on the base. I only tried cruise control a couple times but I think it uses more fuel uphill since it tried to match the speed rather than letting go of the acceleration to keep the RPM low. Also, the feature I enjoy most is the Rear backup camera, which helps me spot things with the wide-angle lens. I still turn around to check what the camera doesn't see, like behind a parked adjacent car, but it is still a huge upgrade compared to a simple radio knob.
It seems like they are still adding features to the newer base models, like climate control. One thing I wish though, was that the Tire Pressure monitor had 4 tire indicators instead of one. I only had the indicator on a couple days this week, since the temperature dipped below 10 degrees F. Which is not typical, but it has been about a month since the tires were last checked, so that could be 34 PSI or 29 PSI. After driving 30 minutes, the light turned off yesterday. And this afternoon it didn't turn on when the starting temp outside was 30 degrees. So I might not need air just yet. Though this winter likely has 2-3 more sub 15 F days, so I might need to check my pressure soon.
I am very happy with my Mirage. I use Top Tier fuel 90% of the time, and try to drive it less than 60mph unless keeping up with traffic. I haven't wanted to treat a car like a baby as much as this one since I know it can age quickly if I don't. It needs a crib too ( a garage)- hoping I won't have to park it outside overnight in a year or so when I look for a house.