Almost bought a Mirage

[mainertodd]

White masks dirt and scratches and is cooler in summer.

I don't know how well this color masks dirt (it was pretty filthy after one week), but I'm really hoping it masks scratches. As you may or may not be able to tell from the pictures, my driveway is heavily bordered by plants (my partner is an obsessed botanist). My Soul is absolutely covered in scratches...hearing the plants scrape along the side of my car every day is maddening. :-)

Fuel economy in the Rio seems to be good, based on three days of driving. My commute is pretty awful urban DC traffic. I only get about 23 MPG in my Soul, according to the onboard computer (1-2 MPG below the EPA's city rating), but I've gotten a consistent 31-32 in the Rio (3-4 over the EPA city rating). That's nothing compared to a Mirage, of course, but I was pretty impressed.

In terms of driving, I like the Rio, but not as much as my Soul. It's softer than the Soul, with more body lean and lighter steering, so it's not nearly as fun to toss around the few corners than I encounter on my commute. It absorbs bumps about as well as the Soul, though. I think the transmission does a good job of keeping you in the power band when you need it; it's busier than the Soul, but that's probably because the Soul has another 50 horsepower. The Rio's reasonably quiet, apart from some tire noise and engine noise when accelerating. Overall, it's a pleasant, but not thrilling driving experience--perfect for a city car.

A few other small things: there's a surprising 8" of clearance at the front bumper, which is important because I have a sharp dip at the bottom of my driveway and cars scrape easily. The stereo sounds very nice for a basic 6-speaker setup, and the infotainment is the same excellent unit found in most Hyundais and Kias. Hatch space is nice and deep for a small car. Visibility is decent; the view out the rear hatch is low (i.e. you can't see the faces of people in SUVs), but otherwise blind spots aren't bad.

[Fummins]

Here we go with all the dog piling on the CVT7.......sucks there's not more confidence for CVT owners on this forum.

I haven't had one blow up this month. So that's good news lol.

I think I'm gonna have a new record breaking highest mileage Cvt soon. It's coming up on 302k kms?187k miles for the lazy's and/or people reading this on a phone. I think the highest mileage one we had crapped out at 304? I'm too lazy to look back.


My "partner" aka ol'lady/fiance/parole officer/dishwasher/future ex wife had a kia optima when we met, I driven it now for the last year. It's no crazy,obnoxious, lifted,car crushing,loud, smoke billowing dually diesel ricky rig rocket that I've been accustomed to for the previous 10 or so years but it is kinda comfortable and quiet.

[Dirk Diggler]

I haven't had one blow up this month. So that's good news lol.

I think I'm gonna have a new record breaking highest mileage Cvt soon. It's coming up on 302k kms?187k miles for the lazy's and/or people reading this on a phone. I think the highest mileage one we had crapped out at 304? I'm too lazy to look back.


My "partner" aka ol'lady/fiance/parole officer/dishwasher/future ex wife had a kia optima when we met, I driven it now for the last year. It's no crazy,obnoxious, lifted,car crushing,loud, smoke billowing dually diesel ricky rig rocket that I've been accustomed to for the previous 10 or so years but it is kinda comfortable and quiet.

Dude you need to write a motivational book on how to not have a CVT crap out on you early. "Small Torque, Big Heart: observations of idiots who cannot handle basic maintenance but can handle these nutzs." By Sir Fummins

[Mark]

Dude you need to write a motivational book on how to not have a CVT crap out on you early. "Small Torque, Big Heart: observations of idiots who cannot handle basic maintenance but can handle these nutzs." By Sir Fummins

I think changing your CVT fluid & filter every 30,000 miles while driving like a normal person would give you the best shot for a long CVT life. Beyond that, I would buy a 5 speed manual next time!

If you go a little above & beyond on maintenance and treat your car nicely, what else can a person do? Life is to short to spend it worrying about a car. When they wear out, you buy another one to replace it. As Scotty Kilmer would say, some cars are "endless money pits"! Personally, I don't think you own one of those!

[Fummins]

I still think it's just a weak link. You will have better odds of making it last with oil changes and not reving it to 6500 all the time. I'd like to just pull that high mileage one out, replace that thrust washer/input shaft assembly and see if I can get another 300k out of it.

[MetroMPG]

Thanks for the update, mainertodd



A friend of mine picked up a 2017 Accent about a year and a half ago - mechanically the same car as the Rio.

We only test-drove manual cars (she really wanted a stick -- most of her cars have been manuals), but the deal on the left-over 2017 automatic was too good to pass up.

She would have considered a Mirage, but there's no local Mitsu dealer, and she needed a car ASAP as her old one (2003 Suzuki Aerio) had been deemed unsafe to drive by her mechanic due to underbody rust. (She said the steering started pulling, and when he put it on the lift, one front control arm almost fell off!)

On her first tank she reported 6.1 L/ 100 km = 39 MPG US (on the car's computer, I assume) without trying too hard. Optimal conditions though - mostly rural back roads driving. Not bad for a slushbox -- I was only able to average 35 MPG hypermiling the crap out of her 5-speed Aerio.

Hope you enjoy the Rio!

[Dirk Diggler]

I still think it's just a weak link. You will have better odds of making it last with oil changes and not reving it to 6500 all the time. I'd like to just pull that high mileage one out, replace that thrust washer/input shaft assembly and see if I can get another 300k out of it.

Im for an oil change for sure after putting 3k uber miles on it so far. The CVT fluid Ill change out in about another 20k miles the aux filter Ill probably not do that if the Mitsu dealership is going to charge me more than $100 bucks to do it. I know, Im playing with fire. Even with highway driving, I dont think Ive ever reved it past 4000 rpms, so I got that going for me.

[Dirk Diggler]

I think changing your CVT fluid & filter every 30,000 miles while driving like a normal person would give you the best shot for a long CVT life. Beyond that, I would buy a 5 speed manual next time!

If you go a little above & beyond on maintenance and treat your car nicely, what else can a person do? Life is to short to spend it worrying about a car. When they wear out, you buy another one to replace it. As Scotty Kilmer would say, some cars are "endless money pits"! Personally, I don't think you own one of those!

Ive checked the oil and CVT fluid after every 8 hr uber shift I do as a side hustle. So far the CVT7 has performed admirably!

[mainertodd]

On her first tank she reported 6.1 L/ 100 km = 39 MPG US (on the car's computer, I assume) without trying too hard. Optimal conditions though - mostly rural back roads driving. Not bad for a slushbox -- I was only able to average 35 MPG hypermiling the crap out of her 5-speed Aerio.

I got about 44 MPG (according to the car's computer) on the 35-mile drive back from the dealership, mostly highway miles. The Rio's a bit different from the 2017 Accent (both cars were updated in 2018 with new body styles and an engine modified for better fuel economy), but they're closely related. I strongly considered a 2015 Accent back when I got my Soul--they still offered the top trim with a manual back then, and it was tempting.