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Thread: US: Autoweek -- 2014 Mirage road trip review (by Murilee Martin)

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    Senior Member grsupercity's Avatar
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    US: Autoweek -- 2014 Mirage road trip review (by Murilee Martin)

    Pretty good review from autoweek

    http://www.autoweek.com/article/2014...EWS/140129738#



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    Senior Member Ares's Avatar
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    i'm sure many mirage owners will come to love their cars over the years, and lovable is what you look for in this sort of car.
    what is that supposed to mean?!?!?

  3. #3
    Good question!

    I think it's related to his earlier statement: "The '14 Mirage ES offers absolutely nothing to the car enthusiast". Maybe what he means is: "if it doesn't have lightning acceleration or razor sharp handling, it had better at least be endearing."

    But his "car enthusiast" comment pisses me off. I think the Mirage is great, and I'm definitely a car enthusiast. I've owned piles of cars, restored a few, do almost all my own work. I co-manage 3 freakin' car forums! But my enthusiasm is less about POWAAAAHHH than efficiency. So to say the Mirage "offers nothing to the enthusiast" is wrong, because his definition is narrow-minded.

    I wish I could have commented, but the site isn't enabled for comments.

    Aside from that peeve, I think it's a decent write-up overall. Fun to read the "road trip" style reviews.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member Ares's Avatar
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    Definitely agree.

    There's just different levels of "car guys" i.e.
    the mexican way: dumping the car and putting those rims that stick 12" out
    the black way: putting 20" rims on a car
    the rice way: 4" titanium muffler on a 70hp car
    etc. etc.

    .
    .
    .

    and then there's us... 74 hp with all the amenities of 20k car for $15k and as good mpg as a prius...

    No discrimination meant, just stating facts.

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    Senior Member festiboi's Avatar
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    This was a good review; with the visits to the gallery, museum, and the burrito store, it had an "Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown" vibe. Very fun!

    At least it was honest about the car's shortcomings, but also mentioned that this car isn't at all bad compared to its econobox predecessors. It appealed to me because it addressed one of my biggest concerns about the Mirage; what its highway performance was like and how resilient must the driver be to survive a six hour drive in the car. From these results, the Mirage seemed like a good companion as the reviewer didn't complain about aches, cramps, or fatigue.

    I really liked that this reviewer had a good perspective of the automotive world; he's driven vehicles of all shapes, sizes, and ages; not just brand new high-performance and luxury cars like many reviewers, who end up complaining that the Mirage didn't pamper them.

    I can relate too, my parents live in Northern California and I have driven that stretch of I-5 too many times to count in a variety of vehicles. The "Grapevine" truly is a car killer and puts almost any car to the test. I've done it an old '78 Toyota Truck right after college that had holes in the floor from rust and exhaust fumes, a Ford Aspire that overheated on it during college, and the Daihatsu Charade, which could only do 35mph (in a 65mph zone) on the steepest sections. Compared to those cars, and the ones that the reviewer has driven as well, the Mirage seems sophisticated, speedy, and downright elegant, lol

    And finally, I agree with the "car enthusiast" argument on here. Many of us truly love cars and obsess about them. Just because a car may not do rapid 0-60mph sprints, take on the Nuremburg, or offer gobs of interior space, doesn't mean enthusiasts can't appreciate it. In fact, I find cars like the Mirage to be true enthusiasts cars: they are more interactive and require more driver attention, are easier to repair and work on, have loads of character, and bring us back to basics that an automobile truly is; something to get us from A-to-B without all of the gadgetry and computers that keep us disconnected from the car itself. If anything, all of those crossover SUVs out there are the worst cars for enthusiasts; utterly lacking a soul or any excitement


    Last edited by festiboi; 01-31-2014 at 01:36 AM.

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