Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 21

Thread: Review: High Altitude Made the Mitsubishi Mirage Nearly Undrivable

  1. #1

    Review: High Altitude Made the Mitsubishi Mirage Nearly Undrivable

    From "Car Bibles" / The Drive...

    "
    High altitude made a bad car worse."
    I don’t like the Mirage, but I figured, “How bad could it be?” All I needed it to do was shuttle me around Denver. I knew this car isn’t very good, but I didn’t think it could be that bad.

    It is that bad. At sea level, the Mirage generates a Husqvarna lawn mower-rivaling 78 horsepower. At 5,000 feet above sea level in thin air, about 15 percent of those ponies escape.

    Funny:


    If you check the comments section of nearly any Mitsubishi Mirage review, you’ll likely find a cohort of similar-minded Mirage boosters that insist the car is just fine the way it is. They’ll probably say something like, “It’s a great cheap car!” Any positives somebody might find, however, are negated by the fact that you can get better cars for similar prices.


    Conclusion:
    If you’re in the market for a super-budget car and insist on buying new, save yourself the trouble and buy a Hyundai Accent or some other alternative. Avoid the Mirage, I promise it’s not worth it.


    Full article:

    https://www.carbibles.com/altitude-m...ly-undrivable/


        __________________________________________

        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)


  2. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to MetroMPG For This Useful Post:

    CROSSBOLT (10-23-2021),dspace9 (10-23-2021)

  3. #2
    Senior Member dspace9's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Canada
    Country
    Canada
    Posts
    3,021
    Thanks
    1,810
    Thanked 692 Times in 564 Posts
    If you're going up and down hills all the time, you need a 5 speed to gear down. This Mirage rental was an automatic. Typical for a review eh. However, even with the 5 speed manual, the Mirage isn't very fast compared to the competition on the road. 30 seconds to 75 mph? Seems exaggerated I don't know.

    I wouldn't mind a faster sedan myself, to make highway travels less haphazard like in the GTA, like in high speed areas such as Flint Michigan. 7.5 years only driving my Mirage, almost got another Rabbit but it got away!

    Anyway any Mirage is a nimble city car, and not a freeway cruiser, say like a Buick or a Camry. These festive reviewers and their view on cars, is narrower. So its apples to oranges. That doesn't phaser them. Mirage is not a bad car ..because of it's Huscqvarna rider mower comparisons... so what, that is bad joke. 3 cylinders are making a comeback.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.2 mpg (US) ... 17.9 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.7 mpg (Imp)


  4. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Location
    the Netherlands
    Country
    Netherlands
    Posts
    339
    Thanks
    16
    Thanked 158 Times in 109 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by dspace9 View Post
    30 seconds to 75 mph? Seems exaggerated I don't know.
    The ramp was uphill and it met a 75-mph freeway
    I've never been in Denver, and I don't know what 'uphill' can mean there.

    The car has 78hp, which equals 58kW. The car+driver+some stuff weights about 1000kg, so we have 58W/kg, which means the engine at full power can lift the car at 5.8m/s. 75mph equals 33.5m/s, so on a slope of more than atan(5.8/33.5) = 9,8 degrees the car will never reach 75mph.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2013 Space Star Cleartec Intense 1.0 manual: 55.7 mpg (US) ... 23.7 km/L ... 4.2 L/100 km ... 66.9 mpg (Imp)


  5. The Following User Says Thank You to Space Wolf For This Useful Post:

    dspace9 (10-23-2021)

  6. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2021
    Location
    Whiteville, TN
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    256
    Garage empty: add car
    Thanks
    364
    Thanked 69 Times in 55 Posts
    Car/motorcycle reviewers need to be taken with a grain of salt. Consumer Reports car reviews discounted or ignored entirely. Don't misunderstand, I appreciate the report.

    However, I would like to point out that many of these "reviewers" are not always honestly objective. Even the Fiat 500 is a 1.5 or so with a turbo. I drove a new Mini Cooper retro by BMW and was stunned at its performance. No naturally aspirated econo-car is gonna snap anyones neck because that is not its mission. Yes, there may be something better around but usually it is going to cost way more because of demand.

    I was fairly satisfied with the Spark EXCEPT: 1. Door locks that stayed locked even when the driver or passenger pulled the handle to get out. Safety item. 2. Powertrain warranty no good if dealer won't honor it. Leaking head gasket.

    No one testing or reviewing cars said anything about these two items.
    Karl

  7. #5
    Senior Member dspace9's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Canada
    Country
    Canada
    Posts
    3,021
    Thanks
    1,810
    Thanked 692 Times in 564 Posts
    That's an interesting way to break it down Space Wolf, but I remember my old friend's mom had a Chrysler Omni with an auto and that hatchback wouldn't make it up a notorious hilly road near my house, even today I gear my Mirage into second and my car is all revvy up the hill. Better than luggy

    CROSSBOLT the Mini 4 door is a nice wagon and I bet it is very fast.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.2 mpg (US) ... 17.9 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.7 mpg (Imp)


  8. #6
    Senior Member MacClyver's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    WI
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    290
    Thanks
    95
    Thanked 142 Times in 100 Posts
    Agreed that 3 cylinders don't like mountains... This stretch of the drive in Wyoming from Tensleep to Buffalo absolutely kicked my new Metros powertrain in August as I drove it home. Was in third most of the way up and was often struggling to maintain even 40 mph floored in third. I'd see advisory speed limit signs for turns saying 55 mph and think no way, I'm not running this at 6700 rpm in second to drive this at 55, and they expect I might be going faster??? Elevation data from mapmyrun to give a glimpse of how crazy that was, had I known I would maybe have picked a more 3 cylinder friendly route. Then going down in third engine braking at 5000+ RPM for a mile or more at a time, crazy. But the important takeaway is it managed!

    The extra 19 hp of a Mirage would have ameliorated the situation a good deal I'd imagine. I for one would much rather endure a slow mountain climb and get a whole trip average MPG of 51 vs have 4x the power and half the MPG.



  9. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to MacClyver For This Useful Post:

    CROSSBOLT (10-23-2021),MetroMPG (10-25-2021)

  10. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    LA
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    351
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked 63 Times in 50 Posts
    Lies! I live next to GrapeVine on the I5 and the 21 Mirage has no issues. It's high altitude and steep climb. Also went to Sequoia national park in my 2014 manual with 3 people in the car, no issues.
    mitsu's in the family

    2024 Mirage SE

    2021 Mirage ES CVT (Sold)
    2021 Outlander Sport 2.0 ES CVT (trade in)
    2018 Mirage G4 1.2 ES CVT (ex wife's car, crashed)
    2017 Mirage G4 1.2 ES CVT Smartphone Link Display Audio (SDA) System(Crashed)
    2015 Lancer SE 2.4 AWC (sold)
    2014 Mirage DE 1.2 Manual and BT (sold)
    2004 Galant DE (mom's sold)
    2000 Mirage DE 1.8 Auto (sold)
    1988 Cordia L Turbo (trade in)

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage G4 ES CVT 1.2 automatic: 42.0 mpg (US) ... 17.9 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.4 mpg (Imp)


  11. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to remusrm For This Useful Post:

    Alpha_One (11-24-2021),MetroMPG (10-25-2021)

  12. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2021
    Location
    Whiteville, TN
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    256
    Garage empty: add car
    Thanks
    364
    Thanked 69 Times in 55 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by CROSSBOLT View Post
    Car/motorcycle reviewers need to be taken with a grain of salt. Consumer Reports car reviews discounted or ignored entirely. Don't misunderstand, I appreciate the report.

    However, I would like to point out that many of these "reviewers" are not always honestly objective. Even the Fiat 500 is a 1.5 or so with a turbo. I drove a new Mini Cooper retro by BMW and was stunned at its performance. No naturally aspirated econo-car is gonna snap anyones neck because that is not its mission. Yes, there may be something better around but usually it is going to cost way more because of demand.

    I was fairly satisfied with the Spark EXCEPT: 1. Door locks that stayed locked even when the driver or passenger pulled the handle to get out. Safety item. 2. Powertrain warranty no good if dealer won't honor it. Leaking head gasket.

    No one testing or reviewing cars said anything about these two items.
    Only the driver's door on the Mitsu Mirage unlocks itself when handle pulled. All other doors are like the Spark: you must unlock before it will open. Bummer!
    Karl

  13. #9
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Location
    the Netherlands
    Country
    Netherlands
    Posts
    339
    Thanks
    16
    Thanked 158 Times in 109 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by dspace9 View Post
    That's an interesting way to break it down Space Wolf, but I remember my old friend's mom had a Chrysler Omni with an auto and that hatchback wouldn't make it up a notorious hilly road near my house, even today I gear my Mirage into second and my car is all revvy up the hill. Better than luggy.
    Not sure what you are trying to say. I'm not implying that a Mirage is a bad climber. Just that 'it takes 30 seconds to get to 75mph' doesn't say anything if you don't know the slope. On a slope down of 90 degrees any car will do it in 3.4 seconds. Maybe less if you know a way to keep traction. For zero degrees 0-100km/h is 13.8 sec, I thought, so that will be 17 seconds to 120km/h, if the car can maintain the acceleration. Suppose not, so let's say 20 seconds. So what does the extra 10 seconds tell us? You could try to calculate the slope, which causes 10 seconds extra acceleration. But at least the laws of physics tell that car cannot accelerate to 120km/h on a slope of 9.8 degrees up. In practice it's even less. You should measure the power needed to overcome the rolling resistance and wind drag at 120km/h, and the power left can be used to climb.
    And if you would know a way to keep traction, the car could climb a slope up of 90 degrees at 5.8m/s, which is 13mph. Theoretically. That is what I call climbing!

    Don't know why that Omni didn't make it. Assuming it had enough power, I suppose the 3 speed automatic just failed to offer the right gear to let the engine run in a rotational speed where it could deliver that power. That, or a very bad geometry.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2013 Space Star Cleartec Intense 1.0 manual: 55.7 mpg (US) ... 23.7 km/L ... 4.2 L/100 km ... 66.9 mpg (Imp)


  14. The Following User Says Thank You to Space Wolf For This Useful Post:

    dspace9 (10-25-2021)

  15. #10
    Senior Member dspace9's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Canada
    Country
    Canada
    Posts
    3,021
    Thanks
    1,810
    Thanked 692 Times in 564 Posts
    I thought that video was on Fast Forward for a moment. Not as crazy as free climbers, but yea I'm not surprised climbers have invented this.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.2 mpg (US) ... 17.9 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.7 mpg (Imp)


Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •