Thinking about buying a mirage

[Drewster2016]

I need a new car for commuting, my 98 civic just finally died.
When searching for cars I stumbled upon the mirage, and they seem like decent commuting cars, good on gas which is a plus. I have not went to look at one yet.
For those who bought one and commute 30 plus moles each way with them. How do you like them?
Any issues?
I’m looking for a used 18-19 to save some money over buying new unless it’s really worth it to buy new.

[Eggman]

I need a new car for commuting, my 98 civic just finally died.
When searching for cars I stumbled upon the mirage, and they seem like decent commuting cars, good on gas which is a plus. I have not went to look at one yet.
For those who bought one and commute 30 plus moles each way with them. How do you like them?
Any issues?
I’m looking for a used 18-19 to save some money over buying new unless it’s really worth it to buy new.

Hello Drewster2016 and welcome to the forum.

We had a 97 Civic and I find many similarities between the two. Both five speeds.

The current Mirage is designed as a efficient city car which I think makes a great commuter. I use mine in urban stop-and-go routes and don't usually get on the highway.

Take one for a test drive and you'll get a better idea of how it'll work for you.

[Drewster2016]

I’m trying to this week. My commute is Highway a good portion of the commute home is stop and go for the most part. The other thing I need to do some research in is how they do in the snow with snow tires. As i live in New England we get snow and lots of it usually

[Eggman]

I’m trying to this week. My commute is Highway a good portion of the commute home is stop and go for the most part. The other thing I need to do some research in is how they do in the snow with snow tires. As i live in New England we get snow and lots of it usually

Personally I think the Mirage does fine in the snow and we get our share of snow here in the Cleveland snow belt.

Sunday mornings are usually slow on the forum. I expect that in the next few days you'll get lots of input from forum members. If it's just me, I say get yourself one but you're talking to the peanut gallery here so keep that in mind - we're pretty enthusiastic about these little cars.

[Go4th]

I stumbled upon the G4 last August while taking a walk. I test drove a nicely optioned ES with a CVT, and a less optioned ES with a manual. Enjoyed both. Wound up buying the nicely optioned ES. It had a MSRP w/options just shy of $18k, my loan out the door was just shy of $12k, with $900 for my trade. As far as buying new or used, if you can snag a deal on a new, I'd go that route. As far as commuting-I delivery for Amazon Flex with my G4. I bought it with 39 miles and will have put on 18,000 miles in the past 7 months I've had it. No issues other than a one time very random morning it wouldn't start. Driving to my warehouse is about 18 miles of up/down, fast/slow, stop/go and I average 40-45 mpg routinely. I drive an average of 100 miles a day for work, and have few complaints. The seat could be more comfy, the car is light so it gets blown by cross winds easy, while it does get great MPG it's also very sensitive to using AC, hills, Sport mode, etc. I think my absolute worst tank has been in the high 20's...AC usage, idling, and lots of hills. I average about 35 mpg by the time I'm done for the day. The off line the acceleration makes you plan out crossing busy highways and roads better, but when you are driving in the engine's sweet spot, this car is surprisingly fun and willing to have fun. I use the 'sport' mode daily-it's a 1000 RPM downshift if you need it quickly, or maintains a higher RPM if you leave it in Ds. The car is surprisingly roomy, the turning radius is insanely good, as is visibility. Mine came with the 15 inch rims (handle much better than the stock 14), radio with Apple Car Play/Android Auto/CD player, arm rest/storage, fog lights-all of which I'm glad I have. Oh! I have also been in 4 minor accidents, two with other vehicles, one with a pole and one with a pile of rocks. The first vehicular accident a FORD Edge and I merged into each other at about 35 mph. She had scrapes on her fender, and I had a dent in my fender, and scrapes where the door meets the fender and on my mirror. No other damage, car drives fine. Then shortly after, I backed into a utility pole. I was going slow enough that I heard a pop and stopped. I'd scraped the bumper and the right side popped out. I just popped it back in. Second vehicular I was rear ended by a Dodge Journey going about 30 and I was stopped. I saw him coming. Cracked and scuffed my bumper, but bumper stayed intact. Trunk is fine save for a broken latch. Taillights fine too. You still have to be an alert driver in this car, but you've got a lot more safety than your Civic. I've also seen (in person) a couple of Mirages in offset headon's and the interior cell was intact. I also love the EBD. It helps modulate the brakes for much smoother stops and makes the ABS kick in less. Traction has been could, I've only seen the traction light up a couple of times. I think this would be a good car for you!!

[Dodge Aries K]

My wife went from a 2012 Yaris automatic to a 2020 Mirage ES CVT. She enjoys the Mirage a lot more.

I have three Mirages, two cvt and one with a stick. The stick one is more fun to drive. The automatics are fine but just aren't as engaging.

As for the new versus used arguement, the 10 year 100,000 mile powertrain is for new vehicles (and CERTIFIED Used) only so saving a grand or a little more off of buying a new one I think is a really bad deal especially since you usually get a slight insurance discount for new car versus used, better interest rates on a loan, and then you aren't buying someone else's repo which to me is a big deal.

[Fummins]

I’ve maintained a fleet of almost 40 mirages for over 5 years now. They are surprisingly reliable and tough little cars. The ones I work on are used strictly as delivering car parts, some just in town and others on out of town routes on highway or country gravel roads. Our highest mileage car has over 400k km/250000 miles. The only major repair was replace the cvt at 304000kms. I’ve had to replace a few other cvts with varying mileage. But overall they seem to be the least problematic(reliable) cvt you can get in a small car right now, in my opinion.. I also maintain a handful of 2012-13 Sonics that have similar mileage to the mirages. They all leak oil and coolant from everywhere you can think of. None of our mirages leak a drop. Overall the Sonics are nicer to drive, have more power and handle better but I still wouldn’t buy one, they’re junk when you look underneath one. We had a 14 spark too for a few years, sold it for cheap as soon as warranty ran up after having the cvt replaces 2-3 times(covered).

Overall maintaining a Mirage is easy, spark plugs are right on top easy to get to, oil changes are easy and don’t require pulling plastic or removing wheel to get to the filter. I’ve never had to change a ball joint or strut yet. Only Mechanical problems Over the years have been a few starters, battery’s,wheel bearings, and cvts.
I finally bought a used one in November myself. I was driving the wife’s 15’ Optima that got traded when she bought a new suv. I know bad idea but she’s stubborn and it’s her money..
I briefly drove our 04 armada while looking for a commuter car and came across my 2014. So far the mirage is doing what it’s supposed to do, save me money and not need constant repairs like most of the other cheap junk I’ve owned over the last 20 something years.

Car reviewers hate this car and believe everyone should drive suvs and cuvs instead. I don’t care what my neighbor drives and don’t want a $40-50000 commuter car that will cost more to fix than it’s worth in 10 years. The mirage is slow and doesn’t handle like a corvette but I don’t care. Though it did take a little getting used to but I have no problem doing 70-80mph on the Highway if need be.

I didn’t get service records with mine and wasn’t concerned about that as I haven’t had any engine problems with the fleet cars at work before and the mileage was low enough that the cvt still hasn’t needed a cvt fluid change yet, but I do have an engine noise that I’m not of. I haven’t been bothered to look into it and don’t care for the nearest dealer to even attempt to get their opinion and be denied warranty for lack of service records.

I haven’t heard of too many engine complaints But they are out there. There is a forum
Member in New Brunswick who works at a Mitsubishi dealer who has a bunch of Mirages having the engines replaced under warranty. Not sure why or what years.

[Dodge Aries K]

Those engine replacements are probably for the 14-15 Mirages under that service campaign. They'll reflash the ECU but if the motor is noisy from a piston slap they're supposed to replace it. I'd imagine most dealers would love to replace the engines as it's a free program to the owner and the dealer gets to make a decent amount I'd imagine changing them out.

[Fummins]

I’m trying to this week. My commute is Highway a good portion of the commute home is stop and go for the most part. The other thing I need to do some research in is how they do in the snow with snow tires. As i live in New England we get snow and lots of it usually

I’m in central Alberta we have snow, I bought some cheapo snow tires and I’ve been happy with it. Stability control works ok and straightens the car out of you take a corner too fast and the ass try’s to kick out. It also kicks in driving in deep slush and sounds like you’re high centered and scrapping the floor.

[905mirage]

Everyone above pretty much hit the nail on the head. As a commuter car its is fantastic. My wife commutes almost the same as you. She went from $240/month in gas (previous car) to under $100/month in the mirage! Off the line the 3cyl is a little rough and you won't win any stop light battles, that's for sure! But it does get there no problem and once up to speed the engine smooths out nicely and maintains speed with no issues. A lot of the Youtube experts say it struggles to keep up or pass traffic but we haven't found that to be the case at all!

A left over 2019 will save you lots of money over a new one. We picked up a left over 2019 ES with the CVT and they come nicely equipped. Good luck on your car shopping. Keep us posted with what you decide on!