Thanks for the info on after market cruise controls; I did not know about them.
I've got a vehicle with a rear camera that came standard on that vehicle, and I almost always forget to look at it when I back up lol.
So true about liking the new/changed 2019, as I love new automotive technologies; could care less about the other tech; but really there are many cars I'd prefer over the current Mirage in many ways, but for some reason getting something late model or new for very cheap and with good or great mpg seems to be my new mantra even if resale value is next to nothing, as I like to keep vehicles a very long time. And I hate the Nissan Versa for some reason, and the Spark just seems like the value is not there due to it's very small amount of space for basically the same or more money.
The pre 2017 model Mirage worries me some due to the negative reviews about how it handles on the highway, as I'd drive it almost exclusively on the highway, albeit under 65 mph. I've never test driven an older model so those reviews may be exaggerated or unfounded, but I can't imagine anything about a new design beyond the 2017 that would make me think it's a must have; unless it comes standard with a 1.0-1.2L turbo engine with better mpg and not much more money, or they find a way to lower the drag to the point that it gets 3-4 more mpg on the highway, or they make it a 3-wheeler for less money with equal or better mpg.
I've found that more and more, I've become a cheap skate when it comes to considering a new vehicle or late model vehicle. Back in the Fall of 2015, I researched and sought out a pickup truck configuration that almost no one wants these days. I wanted it to be as basic as I could find but with cruise control and good low end torque and power glass; the latter feature only because such a vehicle would be too wide to reach the passenger's side window from the driver's position. I would settle for nothing more than either a full size regular cab short bed or an extra cab mid-sized truck with a 6' bed (mid-sized don't come in regular cabs since Toyota dropped the option on the Tacoma); either minimally equipped. I ended up getting a full size for around $27.8K with the median price of a full size pickup sold in North America these days being at or about $45K. I decided on the F150 over the mid size, because the only mid size I could find with good low-end torque was a Colorado or Canyon diesel, and to get that option in that truck one has to take a whole lot of truck for a whole lot of bucks, with a bunch of unneeded towing features standard; and that was a non starter for me. There is also the concern for the reliability of diesels due to the complexity of the exhaust treatment systems that's used to make them "fuel neutral" emissions compliant. All other brands of full size and mid size did not have power trains offered that I liked for the money. Ford offered this small turbo gas engine for just an $800 premium and available down to the very lowest trim and configuration. MPG estimated at 19/26/22 but with reviews stating it was much lower. I took a chance knowing that I was getting the lightest and smallest version of this truck available and thought if I drove it easy, I could get at least 21 mpg. Well 36,000 miles later, and my average is 24.1; my worst is 21.7; and my best tank has been 26.5, but with 90% of the tanks coming in between 23 and 25.
I feel like I've become even more cheap skate these days than even three years ago, and if I were shopping today for a new truck, I probably would have opted for the very old-designed Nissan Frontier with a 4 banger, extra cab and 2WD (another type of truck almost no one else buys) and get a deal under $19K even though I'm probably getting better mpg in my full size truck with 375 ft-lb torque than I would with the old tech Frontier with less than half that torque that is also smaller and less capable, and almost certainly the refinement is much better in what I'm driving. But even with all of that, $9K less would mean that it'd be paid off right now and it be the same age with the same mileage and mpg would probably be only around 1-2 less, and it'd have my preferred manual shift transmission. It is nice though getting 24 mpg in a full sized truck that has gobs of good torque and was inexpensive even as it is gas powered. The last pickup that I owned was configured the same way as my new one, but had only 150 hp and got 18 mpg no matter how I drove it. The bad part of my strategy though is having vehicles with almost no book value, because they are vehicle that hardly anyone else would want. I've got a 2007 Saturn Aura that's worth about $2K; a 2015 Fiat that's worth about $7,000; and a 2015 F150 that's probably worth around $14K; Hope I don't wreck or have to sell any of them.