US: Mirage review - Driving the Highest MPG Car in America* (Gas2.org)
* (That’s Not a Hybrid)
This is one straaaange review.
(Note that it's posted on a site that considers fuel efficiency to be a good thing.)
The piece opens with a defense of Mitsubishi against Ford, which recently announced that the Fiesta Ecoboost gets the "best mileage" among non-hybrids in North America. (When in fact, Ford only beats the Mirage's highway rating, not its combined rating.)
But while testing the CVT car, the reviewer announces: "in D mode, the Mirage is absolutely miserable to drive." Why? Because it "upshifts" aggressively to reduce engine RPM under light to moderate loads.
Well, surprise! That is the major reason why the Mirage CVT has the best combined fuel economy rating among non-hybrids.
So our reviewer decides to spend the bulk of his test drive with the transmission in "B" mode, driving around at 4000+ RPM. He loves the car in B mode! (Review is mostly city driving; he puts it back in "D" on the highway.)
Sure, yes, that's more fun. Unfortunately, it also has a predictable result: 28 mpg US = 8.4 L/100km = 11.9 km/L in city driving. Yikes!
Yet, in the end he likes the Mirage enough that he says he's shopping for one. (Though it also sounds like he was a bit of a Mitsu fan before the test drive.)
I just hope he gets a manual transmission, because he seems to miss the main point of the CVT!