I drove a Mitsubishi Mirage today!

Kinja'd!!! "boxrocket" (boxrocket)
09/19/2015 at 16:35 • Filed to: today i drove, mitsubishi, mirage

Kinja'd!!!12 Kinja'd!!! 17

...and, honestly, it’s not bad!

Porsche-inspired start-button placement, better-quality interior than an i-MiEV, decent paint quality, decent pickup at city speeds, and narrow tires make breaking the car loose relatively easy if desired. Very tossable, too, due to the light weight. Engine sounds better than a gen-one smart fortwo’s I3 and Kia/Hyundai’s 1.6L I4.


DISCUSSION (17)


Kinja'd!!! jkm7680 > boxrocket
09/19/2015 at 16:50

Kinja'd!!!3

The Mirage was meant to be a cheap, bare bones car. I’d say they’ve made a done a pretty decent job of doing exactly that.


Kinja'd!!! SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > boxrocket
09/19/2015 at 17:04

Kinja'd!!!1

Yay! Another Oppo Seal Of Approval ™ !


Kinja'd!!! TheHondaBro > boxrocket
09/19/2015 at 17:14

Kinja'd!!!1

I feel like the Mirage is Oppo’s favorite car.


Kinja'd!!! promoted by the color red > boxrocket
09/19/2015 at 17:27

Kinja'd!!!2

It doesn’t do 0-60 in 2.1 seconds or pull 1 g on the skidpad! It’s clearly an awful car.


Kinja'd!!! PS9 > promoted by the color red
09/19/2015 at 17:44

Kinja'd!!!3

Don’t forget about that 4 figure car interior. I mean...it is a four figure car, but I just got done testing a Mercedes S500, and that thing makes the Mirage look atrocious! Get it together Mitsu!

/s


Kinja'd!!! wafflesnfalafel > boxrocket
09/19/2015 at 17:51

Kinja'd!!!0

and it comes in a rainbow for fruit flavors!


Kinja'd!!!  V8 Rustler > boxrocket
09/19/2015 at 18:16

Kinja'd!!!0

I read that the self-centering steering is not that good in the Mirage, is it that bad as the review I watched said?


Kinja'd!!! Birddog > PS9
09/19/2015 at 18:21

Kinja'd!!!3

Right? No Alcantera headliner? No “Soft Touch” plastics?

This is why Mitsu is dying in the U.S. market!


Kinja'd!!! Birddog > boxrocket
09/19/2015 at 18:23

Kinja'd!!!0

If you absolutely, positively need a brand spanking new car on the cheap it’s a good deal.


Kinja'd!!! Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > boxrocket
09/19/2015 at 19:02

Kinja'd!!!1

I’d drive a Mirage. No shame.


Kinja'd!!! smobgirl > boxrocket
09/19/2015 at 19:53

Kinja'd!!!0

I drive a lot of cheap rental-spec cars, and the Mirage is the bottom of the barrel. I’d buy that Versa with crank windows first.


Kinja'd!!! boxrocket > Birddog
09/19/2015 at 20:48

Kinja'd!!!0

Yep. I’d take one over a gen-one smart, scion IQ, Chevy spark and sonic, and a bunch of used cats on the same price bracket. I’d rather have a Mazda2, Fiesta, or Yaris though.


Kinja'd!!! Birddog > boxrocket
09/19/2015 at 20:52

Kinja'd!!!0

I’m with you except for Sonic. The Sonic is one of 3 Chevy cars I’d consider buying New right now.


Kinja'd!!! boxrocket > Birddog
09/19/2015 at 21:01

Kinja'd!!!1

The sonic has a lot going for it, and is markedly better than the prior aveo (which it’s called most everywhere else), cobalt, and cavalier. However, I can’t get over the interior (I like the spark’s better), overall for and finish, and that it’s a bumper cover away from being the Daewoo that it actually is. It’s cheap without being cheerful, like the TGUK guys say, whereas the Mirage, 2, Fiesta, Yaris, and even the Versa achieve. This is after much time spent in all of them, the least of which in the newest Yaris.


Kinja'd!!! ranwhenparked > boxrocket
09/19/2015 at 21:42

Kinja'd!!!1

I honestly don’t think there really any cars on the market today that are truly bad. The worst that can be said about the Mirage is probably that it feels a bit cheap and tinny, which for a small, cheap car is totally justifiable.

If you really need a new car and can’t spend much money, there’s really no shame in getting one.


Kinja'd!!! boxrocket > ranwhenparked
09/20/2015 at 01:13

Kinja'd!!!0

I agree, with the caveat of North American market. Europe and Canada's are probably ok too, but China, India, Russia, and Africa, etc., have new cars that make a motorcycle with a welded-on rollcage look safe in comparison (but less so than a decade ago).


Kinja'd!!! touring the brook - now with ZHP! > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
09/20/2015 at 10:31

Kinja'd!!!0

Agreed.