Got my Mirage today

[Mattyboy7110]

Hi All,

I picked up my Mirage today. Had a test drive a week ago in one at a local dealer after looking at prices for the CVT Mirage 3 on Auto Trader. I really liked the car, in particular how big it felt on the inside. Unfortunately the local dealer couldn't or wouldn't match the price I'd found for an ex-demo car so I ended up buying one 300 miles away instead.

I intended to drive up the night before and then drive the Mirage back today however things are never really that simple and I ended up doing the whole journey in one, starting at 4am and getting back at 4pm!

Overall I managed 50mpg (UK) over 300 miles, mainly at 70mph. I'm happy with that as a first attempt and I'm hoping to get more on my daily commute (110 miles a day of country lanes 30-60mph and hilly).

I bought the Mirage 3 CVT which is top spec here in the UK but only because I wanted an automatic. It's black and is a nice looking car.

First impressions are that it's a bit loud at low speeds and less loud at high speeds. It's very smooth with more than enough power to go up hills and overtake as necessary. A full set of toys with keyless entry and climate control amongst them. I need to adjust the seat a bit as it hurt my back driving 300 miles in it but I think I'll be able to sort it. I do find myself fixated with the economy and I think I have to look beyond that and just enjoy it a little. It's a lot more frugal than my freelander that it's replacing!

Tomorrow I have a drive of 120ish miles to do so will be a good second test of it. I intend to try to convert the iPod input to bluetooth using an adapter I have so that'll be interesting.

The only downside (for me) is the small tank for fuel. It means I'll still have to visit the petrol station every 2-3 days, at least this time it will cost £30 and not £90!

Does anyone know if there's an iPhone app for this forum?

Thanks,

Matt

[MetroMPG]

Hi Matt... welcome to the forum! You may be the first Brit to post... though I think we've had 1 or 2 sign up.

Sorry... no mobile specific version of the forum. I tried a 3rd party forum app once and there were security holes. Once burned... (I'm actually using the site right now on a crappy old Android phone with the default browser and it works OK.)

ANYWAY... to the car. Congrats! And that's pretty hardcore to go 600 mi. round trip for one. 50 mpg at 70 is decent. Sounds like your more normal commute speeds of 30 to 60 are going to get you good results. You're going to have fun.

Did you consider a manual trans? Any other cars in contention? (You guys have far more small, efficient cars to choose from than on this side of the ditch.)

Anyway, glad to have you here.

[Mattyboy7110]

Well I thought I'd have better consumption today but with a bit of trying, I only managed to get 50 again on the 120 mile trip. To be fair it was quite hilly and lots of corners you need to slow down for and then speed back up. My thoughts are that if I only got 50 in the mirage, I wonder what I got in my other cars!

Did you consider a manual trans? Any other cars in contention? (You guys have far more small, efficient cars to choose from than on this side of the ditch.)

Anyway, glad to have you here.

With the 110 mile a day commute I wanted to make it as easy as possible on me, so my requirements for the car were automatic, air conditioning and frugal. Whilst I could have had similar consumption in many diesel cars, the no car tax (an annual charge in the UK to use the roads) meant a good saving each year. The mirage is one of only a handful of cars here that qualify for that.

I did consider a Peugeot 107 at one point as they do a deal over here where you just add fuel and the monthly payment covers the insurance, maintenance and car, however with the mileage I'd be doing it would have cost the same and I wouldn't own it at the end of the term.

Anyway, today was probably the least stressful time I've done this drive. The time flew, we seemed to arrive 25 minutes before the sat nav suggested we would and it was very comfortable and fun. I'm still not a fan of the stop / start technology although I do understand it a little better. Most of the way back the light never even came on to say it was working. I'll be reading the manual about that shortly.

The only thing we noticed was when we arrived home, it was very dark and there's no lights around the gear stick so putting it into reverse wasn't as easy as it could be! Other than that, a very nice drive. 110 miles now each day for the next 5 days. I'm still fixated on the fuel consumption so will see if I can improve over the week.

[Daox]

Welcome to the site Matt! Its great to hear from some from the UK finally. Congratulations on the Mirage too.

That is quite the daily haul you got. What do you do that you drive so far, if you don't mind sharing?

[grsupercity]

Congrads and welcome! I look on carsforsale everyday and don't see many with nav sadly

[Mattyboy7110]

Congrads and welcome! I look on carsforsale everyday and don't see many with nav sadly

Mine didn't come with sat nav, that was on my phone. I don't think there's the option for sat nav in the UK.

I'm a computer programmer and today was my first journey to work in the new car. I'm still fixated with the MPG and achieved 54/55 mpg (uk) on the run there and back. I'm happy with that. It was as smooth as always and non stressful. A nice start to the day and a nice end to it too.

Still struggling with no illumination on the CVT. I would have thought they would have put something to shine through the letters to assist with finding the correct gear. Most of my driving is in the dark at the moment. Other than that, I'm very happy with the car.

[MetroMPG]

Ah, yes. A number of members have mentioned the un-illuminated CVT gear selector. A bother, but I predict you'll be used to it in no time.

Whilst I could have had similar consumption in many diesel cars, the no car tax (an annual charge in the UK to use the roads) meant a good saving each year. The mirage is one of only a handful of cars here that qualify for that.

Oh, yes -- I forgot about that point. It was mentioned in all the UK reviews of the car.

Glad you're enjoying it so far. As for economy: air up the tires, keep the RPM low as possible (the CVT is really good at that if you're smooth & light on the throttle) and I'm sure you'll start to see nice results.

How many km/miles on the car? Things should also get better as it breaks in (if it's brand new).

[Mattyboy7110]

Glad you're enjoying it so far. As for economy: air up the tires, keep the RPM low as possible (the CVT is really good at that if you're smooth & light on the throttle) and I'm sure you'll start to see nice results.

How many km/miles on the car? Things should also get better as it breaks in (if it's brand new).

The car has just over 7,000 miles on the clock now so I imagine the economy is as it should be. I've been getting 50-55 mpg consistently over the last few days and today decided to check the tyre pressures. They were incredibly low, one as low as 18. I asked at the garage on Saturday and they insisted that they were right and had been checked. I'm hoping I don't have a slow puncture!

Anyway, tyres should now be at the right level so hoping for some big mpg figures tomorrow!

[m4v3r1ck]

The car has just over 7,000 miles on the clock now so I imagine the economy is as it should be. I've been getting 50-55 mpg consistently over the last few days and today decided to check the tyre pressures. They were incredibly low, one as low as 18. I asked at the garage on Saturday and they insisted that they were right and had been checked. I'm hoping I don't have a slow puncture!

Anyway, tyres should now be at the right level so hoping for some big mpg figures tomorrow!

Congrats with the car, did u bought it second hand? 7k miles? It is a very nice car to drive as a daily work car. I think I know why there's no 1.0L in the US, your gas has a very low octane number, there won't be enough power for 1.0L engine to do its job. Our octane number in europe is 95 for normal and 98 super, in germany it goes to 101 octane. When I visited US it was 85 everywhere....

[MetroMPG]

I think I know why there's no 1.0L in the US

Matt's Mirage is in the U.K.