"2020 Spark is terrible but at least its better than a Mirage" - CR /Motor Biscuit

[ProDigit]

I remember test driving a Spark in 2016 (prior to test driving the Mirage). And all I can say about the Spark is that its a total piece of sh1t. I was test driving an automatic because Chevy dealer had no manuals on the floor.

Spark had a really pretty touch screen display radio. But the actual "driving" was a joke. The car was completely underpowered, I mean to the point it felt dangerous. Im not even a leadfoot but that Spark did not have enough torque to get out of the way in an emergency. It felt like a toy car.

Have you ever ridden a 50cc Chinese scooter like the ones they rent out at the Beach (Tao-Tao)? Well same scooter had more "get up and go" than the Spark did.

You probably felt the CVT, rather than the actual car.
The actual car has more power than the mirage. And the manual actually drives really good!
I love the 1.2 long gears, one of the reason I wanted to buy an older version.
But a CVT gives you the impression that it's slow, but it's not.
It often time is actually faster than a geared car, because no acceleration pauses when shifting.
I haven't driven the CVT, but the 1.2 manual drove just perfect for me. The Manual Mirage on the other hand, drove extremely bland!
Nothing about it I liked.

[ProDigit]

I test drove a 2019 Spark and wasnt impressed with the interior space at all. I can see why Uber allows Mirages and not Sparks. I also checked out its engine bay.....whoa there isnt hardly any space in there at all! The Mirage bay looked like the grand canyon in comparison. The Spark seating position was more comfortable though IIRC. The salesman didnt even know it had a CVT transmission either lol.

In terms of trunk, both spark and Mirage have about the same trunk space. The G4 has more.
In terms of driver space, the Spark actually has more, because as a tall person, it irritated me, that I could not shift without my left leg being stuck between the clutch and the steering wheel (even with steering wheel set to highest position).
I can't remember if the spark had telescopic steering, but even if not, my leg never hit the steering wheel.
Also, I had more headroom in the spark than in the Mirage.
Had the front seat been on a rail, rather than on an elevated piece of metal stool, the seat would have dropped a good 3" further, and that would have been perfect.
But as is, a tall person like me (6'4"), can't be driving the Mirage comfortably.

[Mark]

In terms of trunk, both spark and Mirage have about the same trunk space. The G4 has more.
In terms of driver space, the Spark actually has more, because as a tall person, it irritated me, that I could not shift without my left leg being stuck between the clutch and the steering wheel (even with steering wheel set to highest position).
I can't remember if the spark had telescopic steering, but even if not, my leg never hit the steering wheel.
Also, I had more headroom in the spark than in the Mirage.
Had the front seat been on a rail, rather than on an elevated piece of metal stool, the seat would have dropped a good 3" further, and that would have been perfect.
But as is, a tall person like me (6'4"), can't be driving the Mirage comfortably.

You should be on a Spark forum. They would appreciate you slamming the Mirage more!

[7milesout]

I actually think he should stay on the forum, buy a Spark and let us know how it goes. And I hope it would go well. I like the Spark. I think it is pretty sharp. But from all indications it is not reliable long term. PD could prove us wrong. I think the Mirage is the overall superior choice at least by T.C.O. But there are things about the Spark I think are better than the Mirage.

Having someone with a competitor vehicle on our forums would be a good thing.

[Dirk Diggler]

I actually think he should stay on the forum, buy a Spark and let us know how it goes. And I hope it would go well. I like the Spark. I think it is pretty sharp. But from all indications it is not reliable long term. PD could prove us wrong. I think the Mirage is the overall superior choice at least by T.C.O. But there are things about the Spark I think are better than the Mirage.

Having someone with a competitor vehicle on our forums would be a good thing.

I agree, variety is the spice of life. I'm very interested in hearing about the Mirage's only true class competitor.

[Mark]

I agree, variety is the spice of life. I'm very interested in hearing about the Mirage's only true class competitor.

Mirage's only true class competitor's lifespan in the States is coming to an end soon. Time is running out!

"Chevrolet has made the decision to drop the Chevy Spark after the current 2022 model year. General Motors, Chevy's parent company, will officially cease production of this subcompact, low-priced hatchback on August 31st of this year." Apr 3, 2022

This is old news!

I have nothing against the Chevy Spark. If someone wants to own a Daewoo Motors vehicle, that's up to them. It's probably made better than some other vehicles on the market these days. If it were a true GM product, I wouldn't feel any better about it. Approximately, 100 hp (Spark has 98 hp) is the sweet spot for small economy hatchbacks in my opinion. I sort of like, but never owned the Mazda2. It was also rated at 100 hp. Likewise, the Toyota Yaris was about 106 hp before it disappeared from the market.

If you live in an area where you are going to use A/C a lot and have to merge on to highways quite often, the extra 20 hp would be well received. If I lived in that environment, I would probably own something like the 130 hp Honda Fit instead of the Mirage.

At 6" 1" I feel like I just fit in the Mirage. I am not crazy about the sitting position or visibility out of the car. It's the worst I have ever owned. I have no doubt someone taller than myself would not find it comfortable. Then again, I was much slimmer back in the day of owning cars like my 1978 Honda Civic wagon, 1989 Plymouth Colt Wagon, 1990 Ford Festiva, 1997 VW Golf, etc...

I really like the 5-speed manual, 3-cylinder charm of the Mirage. I wish 5th gear was a bit taller for speeds above 65 mph. That would be a vast improvement to the car. I wish the driver's seat could be lower and further back. The 6-way adjustable driver's seat does very little to improve the sitting position of 6'+ drivers. Having said all that, I feel better in my Mirage than our 2016 Ford Focus driver's education cars. I feel claustrophobic when I am in those cars.

If there was a perfect vehicle, I would own one. The Mirage does what I want it to do while being affordable to purchase (under $10,000 OTD new at the time), reliable (along with a good warranty), and very economical (40-50 mpg during most of my driving situations). The biggest appeal, however, was the pricing for me. If new Honda Fits were selling for even $12,000 OTD back in 2017, I would have one in my driveway instead.

I've learned to be more content with what I already have over time. I hope to drive my Mirage for 15+ years. Since I got it so cheap brand new, I have little concern about its reliability, & it's the most fuel efficient non-hybrid, I don't see myself wanting anything else on the market any time soon!

I have no doubt the Spark sits better, surely has more horsepower, & most likely handled better, too. Being a Daewoo Motor product, I never even bothered to look at one. Spark owners of the newer models do seem happier about them.

I was somewhat joking about being on a Spark forum. I bash the Mirage as much as anyone, but I am so thankful to own one these days! It's one of my best vehicle purchases of all time!

[MetroMPG]

Mirage's only true class competitor's lifespan in the States is coming to an end soon. Time is running out!

The Mirage's days are numbered too (as a Mitsu-designed & built vehicle). It just happens to be the last man standing because Mitsu milks its platforms longer than most!

[Mark]

The Mirage's days are numbered too (as a Mitsu-designed & built vehicle). It just happens to be the last man standing because Mitsu milks its platforms longer than most!

It will be interesting to see what Mitsubishi will do in the next few years. Will they produce any new models, or will they just become an extra vendor for Nissan or Renault products (depending on where you live in the world)?

The popularity of the Outlander (shared platform/powertrain of the Rogue) may help push that trend?

The Nissan Frontier had a 17 year run before it was changed recently. That may be wishful thinking for a Mirage. The Mirage may already be dead, but they aren't announcing it like the Spark. White Bear having zero new Mirages in stock for quite some time now is a huge red flag!


How do the Mirage sales compare to other Mitsubishi models (U.S. & Canada appear different on that)?

For example -
The Eclipse Cross was never well received in the States. Only 8,946 were sold in 2021. By comparison, 22,743 Mirages were sold last year. Unless things change soon, I suspect Mirage sales will tank. How can they sell cars that don't exist?

An argument could be made that the Eclipse Cross was better received in Canada. 4,521 Eclipse Cross vehicles were sold in 2021. Whereas only 909 Mirages were sold last year.

Bergstrom Automotive carries 36 brands of vehicles in the Green Bay & Fox Valley area in my home state. They haven't displayed a new Mirage in stock this year. The Mirage may still be here in theory, but I already sense it's done! I hope that I am wrong, but how can you buy something that doesn't exist?

White Bear didn't just keep a few Mirage & G4 cars in stock in the past. Having 50-60 of them in stock was very common. That's no longer the case!

Maybe the Mirage was seen as a threat to the sales of electric cars, & the government has secretly shut down the sales of them in the North American?

Kelly Blue Book tells us that there will be a 2023 Mitsubishi Mirage, but my question is "where are the 2022 Mirages?"

https://www.kbb.com/mitsubishi/mirage/2023/

I don't like messing with people & I don't like starting rumors, but where are the 2022 Mirages? It really feels like the car has been discontinued already!

What theories do you guys have? How long can we blame COVID for everything? Mirages aren't being built in Urkraine are they? Are Mirages unworthy of computer chips?

[MetroMPG]

Even the "new" Frontier is still on the old platform. Sheetmetal facelift and a new engine?

[Fummins]

I don't like messing with people & I don't like starting rumors, but where are the 2022 Mirages? It really feels like the car has been discontinued already!

https://www.kijiji.ca/b-cars-trucks/...irage/k0c174l0
https://sanantonio.craigslist.org/ct...497941169.html
https://kpr.craigslist.org/ctd/d/ken...487202937.html

I agree, there aren't many around. Things have been a gong show for the last 2 or so years. My buddy just bought a new $80k Silverado a few months ago, the heated seats don't work because(allegedly) they didn't install a harness from factory because of parts shortage(the flu?). The dealer promised they'll install it and have them working when parts are available. It has the buttons on the dash but nothing happens...https://www.detroitnews.com/story/bu...es/8593376002/
I wouldn't want to buy a new vehicle then have some flunky at a dealer try to jerry rig the wiring after the fact. Nothing ever goes back together the same, guaranteed some piece of trim will get damaged and not noticed til months later.