First cross country trip in my 2019 ES!

[dragon2knight]

This was the first time I took my new-to-me 2019 on any type of road trip, and boy it was a good one

I did a round trip from the Bronx, NYC to many, MANY locations all over Florida helping a friend move into his new house. The trip totaled 3015 miles, I averaged just about 38 mpg using my usual heavy foot (I average 75mph, not ideal for gas mileage but fun for me ) and other than one item, it was trouble free and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

That one issue, and it was pretty significant, was the drivers seat. Despite having a standard height adjust wheel added for 2019, it just wasn't all that comfortable, at all. I resorted, nearly 300 miles into the trip, to getting an overpriced, but butt and back saving, memory foam seat cushion from a Pilot travel center. It worked like magic all but eliminating the pressure point torture the stock foam seat was doing to me. Sadly the damage was done though and I had a sore lower back the entirety of the trip, but I'm thankful it wasn't serious, just uncomfortable.

Now on to the good. I didn't do this trip alone. I had my 6' 6" friend accompany me on the entire trip and he reported the seat was fine for him and he had more than enough head and leg room to not be uncomfortable at all. All of our luggage fit without any issues and we did manage to get plenty of add on stuff during the duration of this little journey and still had no issues storing it all in there. Hatchbacks rule

I found this little trooper had tons of pep, I never once wished for more power, once she got going she did great. As I mentioned, I averaged 75 mph most all the time and I think I made a few folks do double takes as I passed them on I-95 The smallish tank was the only real inhibitor, it forced me to stop more than I thought it would....but the accompanying leg/back stretch was welcome relief on my nearly 250 mile legs. Absolutely fantastic car to travel with!

[MirageRally]

Great review! I too find the seat to be lacking even with the adjustable way on long road trips. Wow your friend is 6"6'??? Cool... I'm 5" 3' and everyone I meet is like a giant compared to me lol.

[dragon2knight]

As I stated above, a pretty overpriced, but totally effective, memory foam seat cushion made this trip tolerable. Without it I doubt I would have continued the trip, the stock seat was that bad to my aching rear end/lower back! And yes I'm a bit on the short side myself (5'6"), but with the seat cranked up fully I actually looked taller than him

[MirageRally]

Yeah, many have tried to put different seats in the Mirage but there are very few that have the added safety airbags in them.

[dragon2knight]

Yeah, many have tried to put different seats in the Mirage but there are very few that have the added safety airbags in them.

I believe that one! The guy I helped move is a master mechanic who had quite a few seats in his shed....we came to the same conclusion, no airbag support killed that idea. No way I'm compromising safety for comfort.

[MirageRally]

Good idea, as small as the Mirage is... I want all the air bags I can muster to protect me in a crash. Almost got hit today and made me realize just how quickly it takes for someone to go over the center lane. These cars are so incredibly thin it's scary sometimes.

[dspace9]

Sounds like a good road trip.

[dragon2knight]

Sounds like a good road trip.

Not gonna lie, I had way more fun than I should have on this "working vacation"

[dspace9]

You might as well mix business with pleasure. Why not? What could possibly go wrong lol naw road trips are fun, I have gone to Michigan a few times in my Mirage, that is about it. I can't believe I have never bought a seat cushion, just complained for 7 years about my Mirage's seat. But pretty good compared to a lot of other subcompacts in history.

[Dirk Diggler]

High padded high quality $80 a pop seat cushions helped with my 2014 seats, the most uncomfortable year IMO. It really helps to pull over every 3 hours or so to stretch. I had the same discomfort in my old 04 Outback so who knows it might just be me.