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Thread: Hello, becoming interested in the mirage

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    Hello, becoming interested in the mirage

    Hello. I’m from upstate NY and am in a position where I’m starting to consider replacing my current car (2004 Honda CRV) due to ongoing repair costs and fuel. Stumbled upon this forum while looking into ‘the worst car in America’ and I have to say, it is such a stark difference between reviewers and actual real-world owners. I’ve been enjoying all the commentary and tips/advice from everyone on this forum 😃



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    Senior Member AtomicPunk's Avatar
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    Welcome! You'll find a ton of great info on here to help with your decision.

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    Thank you!

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    Welcome to the group! I see you posted questions in another thread. Lots of helpful owners around here.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


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    Welcome aboard!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 40.5 mpg (US) ... 17.2 km/L ... 5.8 L/100 km ... 48.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Welcome, and if you read my comments about the CVT, dont get discouraged. I do alot of needless hand wringing, the CVT has been just fine.

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    Junior Member Suzandy's Avatar
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    Hi there! What information could help you decide that this is, or is not, the car for you?

    Since comparisons can give helpful perspective, I'll tell you about my dearest friend. She recently moved with her 3 young children, from here in Albuquerque to upstate New York, and replaced her old used car once she was settled in her new home. She makes solid decisions, but I was worried when she decided to needed to spend sooooo much money on either a used CR-V or Rav4. I think her decision was at least partly influenced by how much cheaper cars are in your area than here in Albuquerque. She wasn't looking at the value of cars overall, just looking at how much less she could spend on cars she already liked. When something we've always wanted suddenly comes within reach, it's hard for any of us to stay cautious. (Lest I sound judgy, she's had the same justified concerns about my relationship decisions when I've failed to exercise caution for the exact same reason. Human nature. )

    About a month after she bought it, she had to dump the remainder of her savings into repairs. Not a small blow for a newly single mother who's just moved across the country. I would never say "What you ought to have done is this..." but I can't stop thinking how the Mirage would be more than suitable for them. Her repairs were all related to corrosion from road salt. In addition to the powertrain and bumper-to-bumper warranties, Mitsubishi offers killer corrosion protection, which was a huge reason I love the Mirage - winter conditions can be deadly in the mountains of New Mexico, just as in upstate NY, and our roads are likewise salted heavily.

    If someone really has to have more car, there's always the Outlander. From what I understand, the only conditions that make a Mirage truly difficult to live with don't much exist in upstate NY, unless you're very tall or have a large (in numbers or height) family. My friend and her kids are all 4 petite girls/young women who could very comfortably fit in a fully-warrantied Mirage.

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    It’s a situation where I don’t necessarily want a mirage (I drive as a hobby and would rather have something sporty.) However, financial circumstances dictate that it may not be feasible to continue with the running costs of my current crv (a 2004, just put nearly $3,000 into it for major repairs, unfortunately before really discovering the mirage.)

    The way I’m looking at it is that if my car were to need more repairs, realistically I’m better off going for a mirage. The savings in fuel alone would probably make up for the car payment. While I enjoy tossing around the crv on the backroads and occasional dirt road, I can’t help but think the manual mirage with a sway bar would be more fun (maybe minus my stupid runs up the mountain roads in snow storms.)

    The other cars (that I would rather have) would be the Mazda Miata or the Honda Civic Si. However up here the Miata really isn’t a good choice for an only vehicle. I think I’m in a situation similar to your friend, and I unfortunately discovered the mirage (and this forum) right after making the repairs to my CRV. Local used cars were too expensive/in rough shape for the money, and if I knew about the mirage I honestly would’ve just hunted one down at the time (I honestly discounted it years ago when shopping for a Honda Fit due to critic reviews, which I now realize are based on msrp and not real world prices, as well as unfair comparisons to cars that cost 50-100% more.)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Slayer7.62 View Post
    ItÂ’s a situation where I donÂ’t necessarily want a mirage (I drive as a hobby and would rather have something sporty.) However, financial circumstances dictate that it may not be feasible to continue with the running costs of my current crv (a 2004, just put nearly $3,000 into it for major repairs, unfortunately before really discovering the mirage.)

    The way IÂ’m looking at it is that if my car were to need more repairs, realistically IÂ’m better off going for a mirage. The savings in fuel alone would probably make up for the car payment. While I enjoy tossing around the crv on the backroads and occasional dirt road, I canÂ’t help but think the manual mirage with a sway bar would be more fun (maybe minus my stupid runs up the mountain roads in snow storms.)

    The other cars (that I would rather have) would be the Mazda Miata or the Honda Civic Si. However up here the Miata really isnÂ’t a good choice for an only vehicle. I think IÂ’m in a situation similar to your friend, and I unfortunately discovered the mirage (and this forum) right after making the repairs to my CRV. Local used cars were too expensive/in rough shape for the money, and if I knew about the mirage I honestly wouldÂ’ve just hunted one down at the time (I honestly discounted it years ago when shopping for a Honda Fit due to critic reviews, which I now realize are based on msrp and not real world prices, as well as unfair comparisons to cars that cost 50-100% more.)
    I always thought a Mazda Miata would be fun to own, but I could never give up the cargo space a small hatchback gives you. In my case, hunting gear, dog, or whatever else would never work out with a Miata. Heck most trips to Walmart to buy dog food, groceries, etc... would be challenge with Miata.

    I can relate to your story. I sort of consider the Honda Fit (130 hp) as the benchmark in small hatchbacks, & I totally disregarded the Mirage for a quite some time. It took some research on my part to discover what this car had to offer, too.

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    Junior Member Suzandy's Avatar
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    Slayer7.62, in that case, you may well LOVE the Mirage with a manual transmission. It's insanely fun to drive.

    - The drive-by-wire is minimal and non-intrusive (hill start assist excepted). This is key for anyone who remembers when driving was more than experiencing your car's cascading software errors interact as you rolled down the road.

    - It feels a lot like being in a shifter kart. My first thought when I took one out. My son is only 12 so all his driving experience is in race karts, and he had the same impression when he first got in as a passenger.

    - That one righteous person who drives unreasonably slowly in whatever lane they please, causing dangerous traffic problems? They speed up when they get passed by a Mirage. Traffic smooths out. You, Mirage driver, are the hero of rush hour.

    - Other people's reactions. They will stop and talk to you about it, particularly people who are caught up in the Ford transmission class action lawsuit and need something else cheap and reliable. On the downside, it can get tedious having little children point and stare on long road trips.

    - To the point about not being able to fit reasonable stuff into other small cars, yeah, I have had a couple of moments when I pushed my giant cart out of Home Depot having totally forgotten that I was not in my big pickup that day. Did manage to get everything into the car and have more interesting conversations with strangers in the process.

    - I live on a mountain road where we get heavy snows and the plows get here when they get here. Looking forward to putting the Mirage through that this winter though I do expect to have to change the tires. I also routinely take it down the washboarded dirt crap that passes for state highways in NM. You do have to be careful not to bottom out the shocks but it's just fine.

    - The only caution I'd add is more like a sum up of all these other points. To enjoy a Mirage to it's fullest, you need to be a very good driver, have a lot of confidence and a good sense of humor.

    It's hard to take other people's car opinions seriously when you're a serious car person. So, still on the comparisons, I drive as a hobby too. My whole first marriage was predicated on messing around with cars, and going to SCCA and Porsche Club of America events. My daily commute is on a substantial stretch of Route 66 that on weekends is packed with collector cars and motorcycles - it's that fun and scenic.

    I've owned various imports like the Acura RSX-S and Porsche 951, as well as motocross bikes. The only time I've even been pulled over by highway patrol was for going 105 mph in a 35 zone (no ticket.) My current "normal" car is a sleeper hot rod Chevy pickup. Seriously, the Mirage is insanely fun to drive.

    I also briefly reviewed cars professionally. People who get paid to review cars are twits. You can disregard everything they have to say about the Mirage.



  11. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Suzandy For This Useful Post:

    Cobrajet (08-09-2019),inuvik (08-09-2019)

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