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UPDATE, March 28, 2013 - Our estimates were close, and now the guessing game is over: Mitsubishi has annouced a class-leading combined rating of...
- 40 mpg (US) combined
- 37 mpg (US) city
- 44 mpg (US) highway
That's for the CVT/automatic, and it makes it the best fuel economy for any non-hybrid.
The Mirage 5-speed manual EPA ratings are:
- 37 mpg (US) combined
- 34 mpg (US) city
- 42 mpg (US) highway
See also: 2013/2014 Mitsubishi Mirage mpg / fuel economy ratings by country (Space Star also)
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Let's speculate... We do know that at the recent Canadian debut of the Car, Mitsu said:
(See also: 2013/2014 Mirage mpg / fuel economy ratings by country (Space Star also) )"... will rank as one of Canada's most ... fuel efficient new cars"
"... expects the new car's fuel economy to be among the best for gasoline-powered cars in Canada."
For instance, these are the "combined" fuel economy numbers for numerous similar vehicles in Australia (all numbers converted from l/100km from GreenVehicleGuide):
Car Engine US MPG L/100km km/L Toyota Prius C 1.5L 60 3.9 25.6 Smart ForTwo (with auto Start/Stop) 1.0L 53 4.4 22.7 Mitsubishi Mirage (no Start/Stop)
1.2L 51 - 48 4.6 - 4.9 21.7 - 20.4 Chevrolet Spark / Holden Barina Spark 1.2L 45 - 41 5.2 - 5.8 19.2 - 17.2 Kia Rio 1.6L 42 - 39 5.6 - 6.1 17.9 - 16.4 Toyota Yaris 1.5L 41 - 35 5.7 - 6.7 17.5 - 14.9 Ford Fiesta 1.6L 39 6.1 16.4 Hyundai Accent 1.6L 39 - 37 6.0 - 6.4 16.7 - 15.6 Honda Fit 1.5L 37 - 35 6.4 - 6.7 15.6 - 14.9
According to the Australian mileage testing, only the Smart ForTwo (with start/stop) and Prius C (a hybrid) beat the Mirage out in fuel economy. That is a heck of a good start.
Sadly, the Australians don't get the Scion/Toyota iQ which currently holds the Canadian and U.S. title for having the best combined fuel economy rating for a non-hybrid (EPA: 37 mpg US combined). So we don't know yet for sure if Mirage will wear the MPG crown in the North America.
But we're going to keep digging.
Update Feb 25, 2013:
from: Speed vs. mileage/fuel economy chart - Mirage 1.2L 5-spd