1.5 months @ 7000km.... Review

[MigWay]

Great Fuel Economy and Simple.

Mirage lowers down my expenses of transportation a lot. Surprisingly, fuel economy is better than CT200h I tried before. (combined was 7.3L/100KM)
Personally, I am disappointed with my focus 1L Ecoboost, in terms of fuel economy. Doing 13.2KM/L usually, 14.6KM/L if driving at maximum at 100KM/H. Not to mention driving in the city, those stop and go traffic kills my pockets all the time....doing 8-10KM/L is really common. Auto Stop-Start system disabled via programming, M1 FS 0W40, Ethanol-free gas. Avg. fuel economy for passed 5000KM is 12.8KM/L

Now, most of time I drive Mirage. Rarely get stressed with pumping fuel. Not because it has a tiny fuel tank at the back, it is because Mirage doesn't consume that much for same commuting route and distance. Today, the return trip was doing 20KM/L avg. It was amazing! Mostly, it is doing 17KM/L due to brutal winter weather. Haven't tried city driving a lot, but last one I remembered was 12KM/L. Canadian Mirage does not have Auto Start-Stop system. Drain and fill with M1 FS 0W40 @ 2500KM, which affects fuel economy a bit (around 1KM/L); however, I switched to ethanol-free gas again, which seems to compensate the the loss of economy. Avg. fuel economy for pass 7000KM is 15.8KM/L. No turbo, no auto climate control (which I really hate a lot!), simple and roomy under the bonnet, non-adjustable rear suspension, small tire size, less oil capacity, etc.

Would I recommend you (should) make this as your primary or the only vehicle?
No, I wouldn't. The most I would concern about is the NVH engineering.
Prior to my Mirage, I actually put deposits on Spark, quieter cabin. However, GM dealer had not approved my loan for 3 weeks, but got approved in hours for Mirage.
Anyway, the vibration is worse than my Dad's 1992 March K11 NCVT (Micra), ride as noisy as old March but quality is slightly better than old March since it is a new vehicle.

What vehicles have I considered before?
Used Civic or Corolla. I was thinking about reliable trasportation, but I figured that I might spend too much time on safety inspection. Used car dealer? They mark up too much. Can't see differential on price. Then, I chose Micra, Mirage and Spark to compare with. Micra has the worst fuel economy. Mirage has undeniable efficiency. Spark has the most dealer network and balanced ride quality. Now, I feel happy that I did not have that Spark delivered, which is LS CVT. At the same price point, I have cruise control, which is important for a 200km round commuter.

What have I been done or improved on vehicle?
I have sound dampening installed at boot and rear seat. OBDII monitoring, I don't feel secured with green or red light only. Fasten intake snorkel, it was shaking badly, and I felt it's gonna fall down. Weather strippings on each door. Cover half of the grille, which will block water from rinsing alternator and belt. Door hinge and joint lubrication. Next, I will put a carpet plastic cover on carpet, so salted water won't be on it. Also, gat between tailgate and roof is quite big, trying to put a p-shape rubber seal.

Anything besides vehicle itself?
Dealer support is quite weak. Parts are not cheap.
Had a malfunction Bluetooth function since the first day. My sales rep. is very nice, troubleshooting and follow up. However, service was saying, if issue is not persistent, we would do nothing.... Till the day they replaced the radio unit, they still felt ..... More..... I am happy with this vehicle, but I am worried about service already.
The rust protection package? Neh! Sigh!
Also, please remove spare tire and check sometimes if water is accumulated. I have monthly car wash pass including undercarriage rinse. Water will sip in through the vent beside spare tire.
Regarding body rolling, I don't feel that much unless you enter hwy ramp at 60km/h. I actually like softer ride driving in Ontario. I'm getting older as well.������

Overall, great low-cost transportation for me. Serves my purpose. If I had that Spark delivered, I would definitely regret.