Crappy short 2017 Mirage cvt vs 2013 Sonic 1.8l auto Comparison

[Ares]

I've had terrible experience with GM products and electronics as the miles go up. The mirage was fairly new when I got it, but I was positive that Mitsubishi > GM as far as maintenance and longevity is concerned so I went for the mirage.

IIRC, Sonics were also a few $ more than the mirage.

[Dirk Diggler]

I know they're not comparable that way and the spark would be a better comparison. But you always see people comment on the youtubes or reviewers say why buy a Mirage when you can buy a "better car" for a little more. The sonic is a nicer driving car in my opinion but it's a complete pile of crap.




If it makes you feel better parts aren't easy to come by for a Sonic, just cause it's "chev". I needed a wiper transmission(again), no aftermarket available,no gm stock in Canada, had to wait almost a month to get the 1 in north america brought up from the US. Crash parts are a joke too. You can't buy a rad support, you buy pieces of the rad support for a sonic and weld the 20 little pieces together...The bumper has a ton of little extra pieces too it too that you'd think would just come with a bumper cover but nope.

Another guy asked me the other day what kinda little car I'd recommend, he was looking at a sonic. I told them they have power but are junk. I told him the Mirage's are great in comparison. He drives one everyday for work and probably doesn't appreciate how little work the require as much as I do. The guy ended up buying a Ford fiesta, likely an automatic. I don't recommend anything to anyone anymore lol.

Ford Fiesta? Jesus, do people not read the news? Ford's massive class action lawsuit that made Nissan's in comparison look like peanuts? A DRY dual clutch system makes JATCO CVTs look like God Machines in comparison lol.

[Mark]

Won't break the bank until you need parts lol. Go on Mitsu OEM Parts and see what a $700 Mirage radiator look like.

Rockauto.com has 4 radiators in the $70-105 range, & 3 out-of-stock. My local autozone.com has one for $160. A radiator is something you can go cheap on.

The point I take away from Dirk's post is don't buy OEM parts or have a dealership do any service that isn't warranty or recall work done for free.

Dirk does have a good point. If basic parts (aftermarket) aren't available & parts are quite expensive, I would not buy a second Mitsubishi. A cheap economy car needs to have affordable parts to keep it running. Mitsubishi is cutting its own throat by overcharging for basic parts. As a customer that's a big turn off. Some owners may not mind spending $700 for a radiator, but I am not one of them.

[Loren]

I think that's a big selling point for the Mirage that a lot of people overlook. It is a rare modern car that was actually designed to be easy to maintain and repair. It was designed sort of like the original Beetle, under government mandate as a "people's car". Designed to be cheap to build, cheap to buy, cheap to operate, cheap to maintain, and cheap to repair. They may not have built a car that makes a great "highway car" in the US, but they 100% achieved their design goals for the market that it was designed for.

[Mark]

I installed a dealer supplied rad or two for a Mirage. Nobody was happy about those prices lol.
I can't speak for other cars like the versa, fit or whatever else people like to compare the mirage to but there is no savings to be had with cheaper parts for a sonic vs a Mirage. The rad is more expensive and may need to be replaced in a mirage over time just from hitting rocks. That would be expensive to replace. If you have a sonic, the rad is far cheaper but there's a very good chance you also need an expansion tank, thermostat housing, oil cooler, transmission cooler lines, water pump, coolant crossover tubes, and coolant hoses. I've had to replace all of the above on more than one car. They're junk and that would have been an expensive bill for the average joe blow, just the parts. Labour is gonna be more for anything to do with a sonic cause they're designed to be throw away cars and not worked on.

Electronic parts & sensor - OEM is probably worth the extra money. When it comes to items like radiators, most good mechanics I have checked with would go with after market ones. Rocks will hit both the same.

After market prices for Mirage & Sonic radiators are about the same.

We live in a throw away world. I replaced my non-working toaster with a $14.95 toaster the other day. I thought nothing of tossing the old one. I may not do that with my Mirage, however!

[Wallythacker]

I drove a rental Spark to Ottawa from Niagara Falls to get my Mirage,

then

I drove the Mirage back home to Niagara Falls from Ottawa.

Both cars were new. The Spark had about 80 kilometers on it! I was the first renter. All told I drove somewhere around 1200kms in one day, more or less. I was far more comfortable in the Mirage even after spending hours in the Spark. The Mirage averaged 4.8l/100km, Spark, 6.2l/100km. Over 200,000kms you'll notice the difference in fuel costs. The Mirage "fit" me much better. All the controls seemed intuitive, there was very little fumbling around if anything needed adjustment. I had all the controls figured out within the first 15-20 minutes of driving it. I rented some cars where, honest to god, at the end of the rental weekend I still couldn't decipher the operation of the damn radio.

I always figured if I wanted a 600hp Mustang or mid-engine Corvette or Escalade those would make fine second vehicles. But really, all a guy like me, and my needs aren't all that different than a lot of other people in this world, really needs is a good reliable car like the Mirage.

If we want to keep our planet healthy it won't happen if we all insist on having 8,000sq.ft. McMansions and 15mpg Explorer/Tahoes. It just can't.

[Wallythacker]

Yeah, I went from driving my truck, that struggled to get 11.7l/100km(20mpg) to a 15'optima that I struggled to get 7.9l/100k(30mpg). Went from $160-200/month to $100-120/month in fuel(roughly). Then briefly drove our 05 armada and I couldn't even measure how bad that was on fuel, maybe around 10-12mpg? I didn't drive it long thankfully! Now I spend about $60-$70 for fuel max.

It boggles my brain as to what guys with the huge gasser 4x4 pickups must pay weekly for fuel. Around here that type of vehicle is usually being pushed at 140-150km/h on the highway and they're always the first across the intersection. Is $3-400 a week in the ballpark?

If/when I need a large pickup Enterprise is happy to rent me one for $70 or so per day. I can deal with getting 6mpg for a day. But getting that everyday? F no, just no.

[Wallythacker]

I remember when fuel here was 35-40c/l. Not too terrible. You guys had an even better price, I think? Back then I owned a Polaris 650 Indy. I was lucky to get 60 miles from a 10 gallon tank! I rode WOT all the time! i can't imagine doing that today.