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.
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.
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 40.5 mpg (US) ... 17.2 km/L ... 5.8 L/100 km ... 48.6 mpg (Imp)
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 40.5 mpg (US) ... 17.2 km/L ... 5.8 L/100 km ... 48.6 mpg (Imp)
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.
Last edited by Mark; 10-05-2020 at 12:44 PM.
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!).
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 62.4 mpg (US) ... 26.5 km/L ... 3.8 L/100 km ... 74.9 mpg (Imp)
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.
2014 White SE with CVT
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.
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.