Brief test drive: Mirage CVT and 5-speed (Donnelly Mitsubishi, Kanata/Ottawa, Canada)

[MetroMPG]

might as well ask now, if you knew a mirage was gonna be under the Christmas tree this year. What tranny would you want it to have?

It would be the manual, but with a taller/eco 5th gearset or final drive ratio. Because I know Santa's elves are capable of doing this.

I prefer to shift my own gears, and in my hands the manual's fuel economy will definitely outperform even my most attentive CVT driving abilities in sub/urban driving. (I'm going to write up the results of my comparison this morning.) The highway is still another question... thus the special request for the elves to offer the option to improve the gearing!

For big city dwellers: the clutch action is very light -- it should not be a reason to avoid the manual if you face stop and go driving. It's easy to drive and shift smoothly, and is not going to wear you out.

Having said all that, after driving the CVT, I would definitely NOT send it back if one was left underneath my tree by mistake. But some other economy cars with conventional stepped-gear automatics would drive me mad, and I would send those back.

New Zealanders and Japanese Mirage owners: my experience with the CVT has changed my outlook, and I no longer feel sorry for you, as I used to -- because the CVT is the only transmission available in NZ. (And in Japan.)

[MetroMPG]

I removed the rear headrests and keep them in the trunk. They lift out and slide back in easily.

I don't have any problem with rear view as i only need to look if someone's gonna bump into me when i brakes hard or not :-)

Yes, actually the stock mirrors are just fine for keeping track of other cars around you while driving in traffic.

My comment came after having to reverse the car down a fairly long, narrow aisle of cars at the dealership, and back into a space to turn around and drive out. That's when I thought the headrests were a bit of an obstruction.

Context: this was literally the very first bit of driving I did in the first Mirage: strange new car, unfamiliar parking lot full of shiny new cars, under the watchful eyes of a sales person, so I was being overly cautious. Probably the car's rear vision is one of those things you adapt to in your new car, and you don't notice after a while. But the rear view isn't as clear as my current car.

[m4v3r1ck]

oh i definitely agrees with you that other cars has wider rear view clearance. I think it's not very important as I use my left and right rearview mirrors much often. The dead angle in my car is covered by the 40 cm long inside rearview mirror lol ;-)

[MetroMPG]

(With sincere apologies if you find varying shades of white/black interesting, as opposed to actual hues.)

I forgot to mention: the dealership I went to had four cars. One manual, 3 CVT's.

Colours?

White
Black
Grey
Grey

Bleh.

Where did the fun colour palette go? For a car that is somewhat aesthecially challenged in the first place, and one that is meant to appeal to women, this strikes me as a big mistake. Almost all the reviews to date have commented positively about the colour choices, which liven up the (some say) otherwise plain styling.

Seems to me other members have been reporting the same thing at local dealerships in the U.S.

[grsupercity]

"Well, probably, eventually... one day..." I know this was not the answer he was hoping for. I was up-front that a purchase wasn't on my near term radar, and I didn't want to waste his time if he had other things to do.

Haha ohh. Your one of them

[MetroMPG]

Yep, sorry!

If I'm not actually shopping, I won't pretend to be just to get a test drive. The sales person gets my full disclosure, so it's completely up to him/her whether to spend time taking me for a spin.

[m4v3r1ck]

Oh they will give you test drive in holland, it totally don't matter if u want to buy the car or not

[MetroMPG]

FYI, full details posted here: Gas mileage/MPG test: 2014 Mirage CVT vs. 5-speed (sub/urban Ottawa route)

[jamiec]

Where did the fun colour palette go?

They came to Australia

[spacester]

(With sincere apologies if you find varying shades of white/black interesting, as opposed to actual hues.)

I forgot to mention: the dealership I went to had four cars. One manual, 3 CVT's.

Colours?

White
Black
Grey
Grey

Bleh.

Where did the fun colour palette go? For a car that is somewhat aesthecially challenged in the first place, and one that is meant to appeal to women, this strikes me as a big mistake. Almost all the reviews to date have commented positively about the colour choices, which liven up the (some say) otherwise plain styling.

Seems to me other members have been reporting the same thing at local dealerships in the U.S.

nice colors :P

i dont think the car is somewhat aesthecially challenged
looking at the new nissan or old nissan micra i call that somewhat aesthecially challenged
i like a car that does not turn heads... i want to blend in not stand out.
the car is nicely earodynamicly designed, i like it!