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Thread: Decided to gamble on the little car that every reviewer hates

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    Senior Member Dodge Aries K's Avatar
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    Decided to gamble on the little car that every reviewer hates

    I realized I made this way too long... so TLDR: Bought a 2019 Mirage ES 5 speed and hoping it's decent.

    Hey there! I'm the next new guy here I guess. Took advantage of a "We will pay $4000 for any trade in" and got rid of a derelict rusted out dying 1989 Dodge Spirit and purchased a brand new 2019 Mirage ES 5 speed hatchback. I've looked at them with various amounts of intrigue since they came out back in 2014 and test drove a couple of them (one new one with a CVT which I didn't like, and two used ones with manuals that were very very trashed) and then forgot about them except when I would see the hot pink one drive by that lives near me. Anyway, I spent some time looking at the reviews of the car and by god does it seem that everyone that reviewed it couldn't stand the thing! But it didn't seem their complaints really made too much sense to me because they hated on it for being cheap and basic when it's SUPPOSED to be cheap and basic. Same thing happened with the Toyota Yaris which I've owned quite a few in the past (and still have two here) and they're bulletproof.

    Anyway, speaking of the Yaris, Toyota was stingy on the 2012 redesign and you could only get the stick shift with the 5 door if you bought the SE model which cost almost as much as buying a Corolla. Makes no sense really. Plus now, they've pretty much cancelled the Yaris hatchback in the USA so I can't buy one anymore. They have that Yaris sedan now, but it's a crap Mazda with lots of problems. No thank you.

    I recently purchased one of the new 2019 Corolla hatchbacks that just came out and love it but it wasn't terribly cheap and the inside of it is really nice leather so I didn't want to use it for carrying nasty car parts and my Shiba Inus. Plus we have terrible road salt here in Illinois so I didn't want what I'm hoping is a car that I'll have for the next 20 years or longer getting full of rust and paint chips from winter so it's stored in the garage until spring. I decided to do a search again for what the cheapest new car is on the market and came up with the Versa, the Spark, and the Mirage. Nissan I hate so that had to go, same as the Chevy which is Daewoo trash. Toyota abandoned the Yaris hatchback so that was out of the running as well. So, looked into the Mirage again. Found what I hope was a decent deal at a dealer in Madison Wisconsin and drove the ol' Spirit up there and came back home with a new Mirage in a dark gray color. No more bright green or hot pink which sucks! Anyway, the dealer adds on a 30 year 300,000 mile powertrain warranty which helped convince me to buy the thing because that alleviated my worry about the engine dying or doing what the old Mitsubishi V6's I've owned in various Chryslers and burning lots of oil. So yeah, the Mirage is the part/dog/salt runner. Here's hoping it lasts to the end of that powertrain warranty!

    Two things I'd like to improve or change as soon as possible. One, the stock radio sucks and it is nowhere near loud enough to combat the road noise going 75-80 MPH on the highway. I saw the Rockford Fosgate accessory online for under $500. Is it worth it? The second thing is adding the fog lights mainly because of the switch that's there that doesn't do anything. Total departure from the Toyotas which have lots of blank plates for options you don't have hahaha.

    Thanks for having me!



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    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dodge Aries K View Post
    I realized I made this way too long... so TLDR: Bought a 2019 Mirage ES 5 speed and hoping it's decent.
    Hello Dodge Aries K and welcome to the forum.

    I don't think you are taking a gamble at all. The Mirage is built for a purpose, as you have already pointed out. So long as you use it with that purpose in mind, I think your Mirage will give many miles of service. And judging by your forum name and past vehicle history, you pretty much know what you are getting into, so no surprises there. And by the way, the Mirage is a far cry from the Chrysler K platform, don't you agree?

    I bought my 2015 Mirage new in 2016 when Mitsubishi offered big rebates and have appreciated it's reliability. This forum was influential in my decision.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dodge Aries K View Post
    Two things I'd like to improve or change as soon as possible. One, the stock radio sucks and it is nowhere near loud enough to combat the road noise going 75-80 MPH on the highway. I saw the Rockford Fosgate accessory online for under $500. Is it worth it? The second thing is adding the fog lights mainly because of the switch that's there that doesn't do anything. Total departure from the Toyotas which have lots of blank plates for options you don't have hahaha.
    The value in these two accessories lies in the individual. For me, the Mirage was a way to cheap, reliable transportation that I didn't have to wrench on or throw any more money at. With that as my goal, I save my money for other things and enjoy it for what it is. I find the factory radio perfectly adequate, though I have replaced the speakers. I have the factory foglights, but find I rarely use them and don't see the point of even having them.

    Let us know if you have any other questions about the Mirage and we'll do our best to help you find what other's have done and shared here.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dodge Aries K View Post
    Thanks for having me!
    Welcome!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member Dodge Aries K's Avatar
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    Well, the audio quality itself seems adequate but the volume just isn't enough. It apparently can be turned up to 45 on the display and that seems to be the "middle" setting on my various Toyotas. If putting in that Rockford Fosgate thing solves that issue, I'm totally for it. Just hoping to hear from someone who has it first before shelling out the bucks for it since it isn't cheap. Same as the fog lights, it's mostly because the switch is already there so may as well have it functional and they're pretty cheap anyway.

    But yeah, I was much happier in the mirage than that God awful Dodge Spirit. I will always have love in my heart for the old K based cars (I have a LeBaron that has a Mitsubishi powerplant as well) but that Spirit is a good example that time is not on those old car's side.

    Plus, reading through various things here I saw that the cable I have for my Toyota will also work on the Mirage so that's a nice bonus. I'll have to enable the temperature readout and the instant miles per gallon with the software as well as do the homelink mirror retrofit since I have like 4 of those in my garage awaiting homes. Tomorrow should be a fun day.

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    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Forum members who have the Rockford Fosgate sound system like it, though my inner sceptic wonders how much of that can be attributed to confirmation bias.

    If I recall correctly the Rockford Fosgate sound system for the Mirage is designed specifically for the Mirage and includes an amp, mounting hardware, speakers, and requisite cabling & connectors.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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    Here's a link to the complete kit from an online Mitsubishi oem parts dealer:

    Mitsubishi Parts Warehouse: Mirage Audio Kit, Rockford - Mitsubishi (MZ314908)

    Quote Originally Posted by MitsubishiPartsWarehouse
    List Price: $645.00
    You Save: $199.95 (31% off)
    Sale Price: $445.05
    Looks like they dropped the price since I last checked this out. I recall it was listed at over $500 online. Since your Mirage is new, you ought to ask your dealer about pricing for this kit. They might include installation as well. It doesn't hurt to ask.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member Dodge Aries K's Avatar
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    Yeah, not a bad idea. I have to take the car back up there soon for the rust proofing and interior protection garbage that was part of the deal with the overpricing on the trade in (I'm going to try like hell to get out of that somehow since it wasn't applied to the car already but I have a feeling I don't have a choice in the matter) so if/when that happens I'll have to talk to the parts department about it. I should have pushed for them to include it with the car but there was almost nobody there by the time I was done wrapping things up.

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    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    Welcome aboard! You might be the first 2019 Mirage owner on this forum? These cars never seem to break (I have 110k on mine), but a 300,000 mile powertrain warranty might be kind of nice!

    I had the same problem with the Yaris when I was shopping it in late 2014. My buddy had a couple of them and was pleased, so that is what I shopped first. ALL I wanted was a base "L" 2-door hatch, red, with alloy wheels, manual trans, and fog lights. If I wanted the "LE" with alloys and fogs, I couldn't have the manual. If I wanted the "L" manual, I couldn't have the alloys and fogs. Unless I bought the top-spec car, which was overpriced.

    And they wouldn't paint a base model RED??

    Had Toyota been willing to build me one, I probably wouldn't be here. But I could get a manual 2015 Mirage, red, with alloys and fog lights. Had to make due with two extra doors, though! Too bad I can't get the same car now...

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    Senior Member Dodge Aries K's Avatar
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    I actually had a 2016 Yaris L that I bought new which I should have never traded in. It was a 2 door 5 speed. I put aftermarket wheels on it and was going to order the fog light kit and install those on it as well. I added factory remote entry which nobody else had done at that point, added cruise control to it since it didn't come with it, added power mirrors from a wrecked LE model, and it was pretty much perfect at that point minus the fact that I really needed a 4 door which you couldn't get with a manual unless you got the SE. It was a really cool car, especially after some of the mods and stuff I did to it... Really should have kept it.

    And yeah, Toyota is brutal about wanting to order things a certain way. A few years back I lusted for a Prius V but I wanted it in the sparkly bright green they painted the Prius C which was made in the same plant. It was a $40,000 car and I told them I'd love to buy one if they could paint it that color. I was told to order a white one and have someone else paint it, so I told them in a mean way no thanks.

    Also, from what I saw the 2019 Mirage with a stick is only on the basic "ES" model. There's a fog light kit which is cheap enough and I can get alloys from a wrecked one at some point if I really need them (probably, I hate wheel covers) but it would have been nice to be able to just buy it that way. Not to mention the lack of funky colors. If I was more excited about the Mirage I would be more upset about that but at least this one is not fleet white or every car silver. But it seems they really want to push the more expensive CVT automatic if you want nicer things which is common practice anyway.

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    Administrator Daox's Avatar
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    Welcome to the site!

    If you're looking for a basic, reliable and efficient little car you've purchased yourself a good car.
    Custom Mirage products: Cruise control kit, Glove box light, MAF sensor housing, Rear sway bar, Upper grill block

    Current project: DIY Nitrous oxide setup for ~$100

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 47.2 mpg (US) ... 20.1 km/L ... 5.0 L/100 km ... 56.7 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member stevedmc's Avatar
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    I don't know much about the 2019 models but my 2014 is a crappy little car that sure is reliable and gets good on gas. I've got 230k miles on mine and haven't had to do any major repairs. I am even on the original clutch. Other than routine maintenance, I think the only repair I have made was replacing the AC compressor after 100k miles.

    These cars aren't very nice, but for cheap transportation it sure is a dependable little car.

    Welcome to the madness of this forum.



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