2020 Mirage 5MT 180 miles

[MirageRally]

Just bought my brand new Mirage and absolutely love it! Everything is so easy to service and am glad to have found this forum. l am a new member and am misunderstood by my fellow enthusiasts when they tell me that the Mirage is not a enthusiast car. If anyone loves their car-auto/manual, hatchback/coupe, etc...then they are an enthusiast. lt's only when they get in the car and realize these little cars get great fuel economy that l say "smiles per mile" in how much l save at the pump and that this car is my first manual/stick shift and it's a great first car to learn on. Hope to hear others regarding their vehicles. Have a great day

[inuvik]

Welcome to the forum! Glad to hear you are enjoying your Mirage. Most people don’t “get” the Mirage and trash talk it up. It sounds like you “get” the Mirage and will find that there are a lot of great people and info here. Post some pics when you have a chance.

[Mark]

Welcome MirageRally! Sounds like you already love your Mirage, & you will grow to appreciate this forum.

The Mirage is affordable, reliable, and economical. Sadly, many (not all) car critics miss those important points. Mirage owners, however, embrace those qualities.

I must admit that most people in my world don't see the value of the Mirage either. That's their problem not mine.

I find the Mirage easy to work on, too! I especially like the 5-speed manual powertrain. It's a fun little economy car that continues to grow on you over time!

[MirageRally]

Same, do you feel any hesitation while shifting? From 1st to 2nd l have to shift slowly...if l don't-it feels rubberband-ish...also still getting the clutch feel and still jerk sometimes on upshifting.

[dspace9]

Manuals take a while to brake in. My Mirage shifts way better now than the day I bought it 6 years ago.

[Mark]

Same, do you feel any hesitation while shifting? From 1st to 2nd l have to shift slowly...if l don't-it feels rubberband-ish...also still getting the clutch feel and still jerk sometimes on upshifting.

In my opinion, every manual transmission has a different feel to it. I go back & forth between my Forester & Mirage. Personally, I feel both shift smoothly. If I haven't driven one of them for quite some time, it feels a little awkward @ first. I thought my Mirage was a little clunky at first. Now when I go back to Forester, it feels a bit clunky. It's what you get use to driving. Between those two vehicles, the neutral position feels very different. I still notice that every time I compare driving the two.

The light clutch pedal seems a bit odd at first, but now I think nothing of it. Shifting into reverse can be a little clunker than some manuals, but I've never owned a manual that didn't have those moments. Most of the time shifting into 1st and then back to reverse helps.

There are times when I'll skip using 1st gear. If the road is a little sloped down or I sense not much power is need to take off/keep rolling, I will just skip to 2nd gear & go. Shifting 1st to 2nd seems to be the most clunky shift in pretty much every manual I have ever driven. The exception may be the old time manuals (3 speed on the column), but I haven't driven one of those in decades.

I think the 5-speed Mirage is fun to drive. I don't even consider vehicles that aren't manuals, but I'm not the norm on that. We do have a loyal manual crowd on the forum, however. Dirk makes an a noble effort to make some of us CVT converts at times. In my case, I am not willing to pay extra for something that I really don't care for in the first place. Ironically, I would pay extra for a manual.

Manuals are super easy to maintain (no filters). Steve "cheap plastic car" is approaching 300,000 miles on his Mirage (original clutch). He is the process of replacing his shifting cables one of these days, however. Normal wear items like brakes & tires have been his main expenses. The exception would be the new shifting cables he's planning to replace & an A/C compressor that he replaced some time ago. That's pretty remarkable for a cheap little economy car.

[MirageRally]

In my opinion, every manual transmission has a different feel to it. I go back & forth between my Forester & Mirage. Personally, I feel both shift smoothly. If I haven't driven one of them for quite some time, it feels a little awkward @ first. I thought my Mirage was a little clunky at first. Now when I go back to Forester, it feels a bit clunky. It's what you get use to driving. Between those two vehicles, the neutral position feels very different. I still notice that every time I compare driving the two.

The light clutch pedal seems a bit odd at first, but now I think nothing of it. Shifting into reverse can be a little clunker than some manuals, but I've never owned a manual that didn't have those moments. Most of the time shifting into 1st and then back to reverse helps.

There are times when I'll skip using 1st gear. If the road is a little sloped down or I sense not much power is need to take off/keep rolling, I will just skip to 2nd gear & go. Shifting 1st to 2nd seems to be the most clunky shift in pretty much every manual I have ever driven. The exception may be the old time manuals (3 speed on the column), but I haven't driven one of those in decades.

I think the 5-speed Mirage is fun to drive. I don't even consider vehicles that aren't manuals, but I'm not the norm on that. We do have a loyal manual crowd on the forum, however. Dirk makes an a noble effort to make some of us CVT converts at times. In my case, I am not willing to pay extra for something that I really don't care for in the first place. Ironically, I would pay extra for a manual.

Manuals are super easy to maintain (no filters). Steve "cheap plastic car" is approaching 300,000 miles on his Mirage (original clutch). He is the process of replacing his shifting cables one of these days, however. Normal wear items like brakes & tires have been his main expenses. The exception would be the new shifting cables he's planning to replace & an A/C compressor that he replaced some time ago. That's pretty remarkable for a cheap little economy car.

That's awesome to see someone go 300,000 miles...with the original clutch. Most of my friends are die-hard toyota fans...l keep reminding them that any car can get to 300,000 miles if you do proper maintenance....my automatic Saturn Ion went to almost 200,000 before the subframe cracked through due to extreme rust.

[dspace9]

That's awesome to see someone go 300,000 miles...with the original clutch. Most of my friends are die-hard toyota fans...l keep reminding them that any car can get to 300,000 miles if you do proper maintenance....my automatic Saturn Ion went to almost 200,000 before the subframe cracked through due to extreme rust.

I sound like a broken record on this piece of advice eh, but I would get your car undercoated with Krown rust Control, or something equivalent.

My 6+ year old Mirage looks brand new. Krown saved my Mirage from the effects of Ontario winter road salt etc. Worth the money every year. Only problem is that it stinks.

Cheers!

[TJ18CVT]

Welcome! I am new here too, got mine last month. I echo all you said, its fun and easy to maintain. I love them. Have fun and keep us updated on your Mirage!

[Daox]

Welcome to the site and congrats on the new Mirage!