Eyeing 2020 or 2021

[inuvik]

Don’t worry about 3000 rpm. This little motor will happily purr along 3-4k all day every day. Just keep to the basic maintenance and the 3A92 will easily go past 200k miles. This engine has great longevity even when marginally maintained.

[PityOnU]

Im always around 3k to 3500 rpms going 70 to 75mph with bigger tires and Im netting about 37 mpg. Not bad.

Wow, the manuals have to rev that high for highway speeds? I'm surprised - my CVT keeps things way lower in the rev range than that. I thought the manuals had a lower ratio top end than the CVT?

[Dirk Diggler]

Wow, the manuals have to rev that high for highway speeds? I'm surprised - my CVT keeps things way lower in the rev range than that. I thought the manuals had a lower ratio top end than the CVT?

Mines a cvt.

[inuvik]

Wow, the manuals have to rev that high for highway speeds? I'm surprised - my CVT keeps things way lower in the rev range than that. I thought the manuals had a lower ratio top end than the CVT?

Previous generations of this car only had a 4 speed! It’s not exclusive to the Mirage either. My 5 speed Outlander Sport is turning 3k at 70mph in 5th. But the manual delivers far superior mpg’s.

[gregsfc]

I understand that most all manuals rev higher in their top gears at highway speeds than auto counterparts, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. My current Kia Soul with the 1.6L turns about 2650 at 60 mph,and what makes it aggravating besides the buzziness is that it makes it harder to maintain a steady speed w/o a cruise control, because the higher rev makes the accelerator more sensitive. I understand why they engineer them this way; to keep us from damamging the engine by choosing not to downshift on grades or under load, and also to make the top gear more versatile and useful; but to me, there is a refinement element to lower revs at speed. Usually the automatics have the gear spread perfectly suited but manuals always seem like they need an extra high gear; even if they have six forward gears.

[Mark]

I understand that most all manuals rev higher in their top gears at highway speeds than auto counterparts, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. My current Kia Soul with the 1.6L turns about 2650 at 60 mph,and what makes it aggravating besides the buzziness is that it makes it harder to maintain a steady speed w/o a cruise control, because the higher rev makes the accelerator more sensitive. I understand why they engineer them this way; to keep us from damamging the engine by choosing not to downshift on grades or under load, and also to make the top gear more versatile and useful; but to me, there is a refinement element to lower revs at speed. Usually the automatics have the gear spread perfectly suited but manuals always seem like they need an extra high gear; even if they have six forward gears.

If you are unhappy with 2650 rpm at 60 mph with your Kia Soul, you may as well not waste your money on a Mirage. Especially, if you have one of newer Kia Soul with the 6-speed manual.

I wouldn't expect a 3-cylinder engine to run at low rpm at higher speeds. Three cylinders are going to be working a little faster than 4, 6, or 8 cylinders doing the same job. I've had a couple 2 cylinder motorcycles, and 4,000+ rpm at 60 mph is not unheard of.

Despite the manual buzzing slightly more than a CVT at higher speeds, the Mirage manual does quite well. From all the conversations I have seen on the forum, a CVT getting better mpg in theory doesn't translate to real life as much. Some CVT owners will claim their mpg drop below 40 mpg at higher speeds. I never see that with my manual. I do 4-hour trips to my parents quite often & push my Mirage right along on the way there. I have never had a tank of gas drop below 40 mpg on any of these trips. In three years, I have only seen 38-39 mpg a couple times. Those times were when temperatures were -20F or below for multiple days. In those cases, idling the car to warm up a bit wasted some fuel. I typically see 40-45 mpg during the Wisconsin winter months. During the summer months, I typically get 45+ mpg. The exception may be hard high speed driving, but even then I only see 1-2 mpg drops most times.

I've done a few longer trips going through Wisconsin, Minnesota, & North Dakota. In North Dakota the interstate is 75 mph. I have buzzed along @ 80 mph, & I still never saw my mpg drop much lower than 42 mpg. That's with factory 165/65r14 tires usually kept at about 40 psi. I never look at the dash mpg ratings. I just divide my total mileage of each tank fill by the gallons of fuel added to refill (after the second click off of the gas pump).

I would like most everything about a Kia Soul (over a Mirage), except a Kia Soul doesn't get 40+ mpg. Plus, I don't remember Kia Soul ever selling for $9,000 brand new (under $10,000 OTD). A highly discounted Mirage is affordable, reliable, & economical. It's not the most refined car on the road, & I wouldn't expect it to be for that price.

[MetroMPG]

I think that's why the CVT (in theory) gets superior fuel economy to the manual.

Manual transmissions are handicapped by the EPA/NRCAN test procedure. That's why in the real world the manual beats the CVT even though the CVT gets a slightly better rating in the test.

To beat a manual transmission EPA rating handily, all you have to do is upshift to the highest practical gear for your cruising speed once you've finished accelerating. No special hypermiling tricks required (though hypermiling tricks will boost the MPG even more!).

[El Kapitan]

I've been wanting to purchase a Mirage 5 speed for two years now. Professional reviews are ridiculous. Most so-called negatives are actually positives for most prospective buyers' who would even take a look at such a car.

Right now my wife and I own a 2015 F150 "work truck"; regular cab; short bed; 2wd that we bought new in 2015 and paid $27.8K; paid it off in just three years. It's got the amazing 2.7L twin turbo that is super refined, quick and torquey while also averaging 24.2 mpg lifetime and gives us all the utility we'd ever need and looks great too despite lacking the 30 grand extra for the higher end trim appearance packages with extra doors. Our decision to go very basic in a new car and to try out this idea of choosing "value" over bling and plush and more than we need, has served us well.

I am less ecstatic about our other basic transporter. We traded another very basic car one year ago; a 2015 Fiat 500 auto transmission with 101 hp for a Kia Soul 5 speed with 130 hp (both equally slow). We got the Soul, because my wife loved the styling; we didn't like owning a 2 door hatchback for utility reasons; and the Fiat had only about 300 mile range on a tank of gas; and it was a little top heavy in the handling department. The good: We liked its looks, It got up to 36 mpg on a tank in mixed driving; and it had sharp/tight steering but not a tight radius. The Soul rides and handles fantastically for a an entry compact; simple-built power train with easy maintenance; and roomy inside with its high roofline, but I never liked its looks. I've ended up being the primary driver of a car I don't like, however, because my wife avoids driving it due to deciding she doesn't like to manually shift even though she picked the car out despite knowing it is a 5 speed. Manual is a must for me. Besides not liking its styling; I hate driving a weak-performing car; that's also small; that's also averaging only 32 mpg in a 60 mile daily commute at 60 mph along state routes in a rural area. I don't mind slow and small as long as I'm getting great mpg. I once dove a TDI Jetta along this same commute and averaged 46 mpg versus a 41 mpg highway estimate with 0-60 rated at 11.5 seconds; and I can get 25.5 in my full size pickup driving this route. So this uninspiring, ugly hatchback is unacceptable in the mpg department for my standards even though it beats the epa estimate and is a good, reliable car.

I'm looking to trade for Mirage ES. It is interesting that, when we traded the Fiat for the Soul, we were also considering a brand new Mirage versus a two-year-old Soul. The price I was quoted out the door for a brand new Mirage last year ended up being the exact price I ended up paying for the used Soul. The Soul has no cruise control. I need cruise control.

Two things I don't like about the new Mirage are: automatic climate control and 3,000 RPM at 60 mph; but as soon as I can make it work in the budget, I'll be trading the Soul for a Mirage and put up with a climate control that makes decsions for me and a fast-running engine along my commute. For reference, my truck turns 1510 rpm; and the Soul turns 2750 along my commute. I think its right that the 2019 Mirage comes standard with cruise and manual climate controls, but so far I'm not seeing a low enough price in a slightly-used Mirage to make economic sense. Thanks to this group for all you do.

I agree that the reviews on the Mirage have always been rather ignorant of why someone actually might want to buy one. That's why these forums are much better sources of info. I also own a truck; an F-250. It's the best of both worlds. I drive the Mirage WAAAY more than the truck.

[davidricardo86]

My 2017 VW Jetta TSi 1.4L turbo 4 with a 5 speed had really low RPMs at highway cruising speeds like at 70 MPH below or close to 3000 RPMs. I managed to get 40 MPGs here and there and the car was bigger and felt better at those speeds compared to my now 2015 DE manual. I would recommend looking into it.

I do love my Mirage but in my opinion its best suited to 40-55 MPH cruising speeds as the RPMs will remain at or below 3000 RPMs. That said, I don't mind reving up my 2015 3A92 when needed as I am confident it can rev up to 6000 RPM daily safely with basic maintenance and limited bursts. However my goal is to keep RPMs low and MPGs up overall.

[Cobrajet]

I do love my Mirage but in my opinion its best suited to 40-55 MPH cruising speeds as the RPMs will remain at or below 3000 RPMs. That said, I don't mind reving up my 2015 3A92 when needed as I am confident it can rev up to 6000 RPM daily safely with basic maintenance and limited bursts. However my goal is to keep RPMs low and MPGs up overall.

This is true. The Mirage really isn't meant to be a 70 mph freeway commuter car. It is a city car, and will get the best mpg between 35 and 50 mph in 5th gear.

Most people who get into the 50 mpg range consistently...myself included...seem to mostly drive in this speed range.