Mitsubishi Mirage LS Review and Road Test (1)

Mazda2 and Toyota Yaris remain the ‘kingpins’ for sales in this league but Mitsubishi should be buoyed by the instant success of its all-new Mirage. Not that we’re surprised – Mitsubishi Australia’s product planning team did a good job and the Mirage arrived here loaded with kit and sharply priced.

 

Mitsubishi Mirage Overview

Mirage has replaced the unloved Colt as Mitsubishi’s global compact car. CarShowroom tested the range-topping LS model with a five-speed manual transmission (the automatic is a CVT).

 

The Mirage debuts Mitsubishi’s new 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine and our cars are sourced from the Mitsubishi plant in Thailand.

 

Priced at $15,490, over the entry-grade ‘ES’ or mid-spec ‘Sport’ our Mitsubishi Mirage LS gained 15-inch alloy wheels, front fog lights, automatic headlights  and wipers, push-button start and a leather-wrapped gear-lever.

 

Mitsubishi Mirage Engine

No doubt we looked ‘smug’ when a Holden Commodore SS-driving friend was sledging us about the 1.2-litre, three-cylinder, pink-painted Mitsubishi Mirage sitting in our driveway. “Here’s the keys – you drive,” we said.

 

Those indentations in the sun-visor are from his eyes popping-out. Fact is, engineering development is moving ahead at such a pace, today’s three-cylinder engines deliver outputs some four-cylinders would have dreamed of not so long ago.

 

And that’s the name of the game as car manufacturers strive to balance tightening legislative requirements for corporate fuel consumption with buyer demands.

 

In plain English: not matter how fuel-efficient your new design, if it’s a dud drive, people won’t buy it.

 

Our Mitsubishi Mirage LS - thanks to smart design, modern materials and state-of-the-art manufacturing – tipped the scales at 865kgs. With propulsion from the 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine delivering 57kW at 6000rpm and peak torque of 100Nm, the combination was nicely matched and provided more than enough performance for both city and speed-limit-legal rural driving. 

 

With fuel consumption rated at 4.6l/100kms and exhaust C02 emissions at 109g/km, the Mitsubishi Mirage has leap-frogged the Suzuki Alto for best-in-class honours in those departments.

 

Mitsubishi Mirage The Interior

Like some of the other new designs in this league, Mitsubishi’s interior stylists have played smart with the Mirage – the combination of colour palette, angles, seat design and door trim all combining to maximize the feeling of space. In fact we can’t think of a rival compact car which felt so roomy in the front seats.

 

Unlike the Mazda2 and Toyota Yaris, there’s no reach adjustment for the steering wheel in the Mitsubishi Mirage. The result in our case was when we had the seat set best to reach the pedals and for backrest support, the wheel felt just a tad too far away (despite its rake adjustment).

 

The overall dashboard design was impressive (the best of the current Mitsubishi range in fact) – with contemporary vertical surfaces and a nice layout for the gauges (a round speedo and rev-counter and bar-graph for the fuel level).

 

Our LS model came with a four-speaker audio system with the usual connectivity.

 

The Car Showroom juniors found sufficient space in the rear seat. The seat itself split-folds 60/40 for load versatility and the luggage capacity of the relatively deep boot (rear seat in-place) is 235-litres.

 

Mitsubishi Mirage Exterior & Styling

All things considered, we reckon the Mirage represents one of the best styling jobs in Mitsubishi’s current lineup. Much more contemporary that the unfortunate Colt, the Mirage proves you can design a handsome compact car without adopting the token ‘quirkiness’ resorted-to by some rivals.

 

Of course the focus was on combining optimized interior space with optimized aerodynamics and Mitsubishi’s stylists delivered with the all-new Mirage registering a drag co-efficient of just 0.31. Some of those efforts can be seen in the Mirage’s small cool-air openings in the front and the sculptured lower bumpers.

 

We liked the sloping roofline and low waistline (larger glass area for improved visibility) and the curves around the rear hatch deliver some sophistication.

 

The LS model as test bolsters its exterior style with a small roof spoiler and 15-inch alloy wheels.

 

At 3710mm in length, 1665mm in width and just 1500mm in height, if the Mitsubishi Mirage can’t fit in your garage…well did you really get those renovations council approved?

 

Mitsubishi Mirage On The Road

To be honest, at Mitsubishi’s one day national media launch for the Mirage in Sydney, tight airline schedules meant the drive program was tad ‘skinny’. So it was good to get our hands on the LS model test car for a week to go through our standard procedures and enjoy more ‘seat-time’.

 

And we must say that extra time in the Mitsubishi Mirage brought smiles to our faces.

 

Gee that 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine is a worker and the exhaust note when it hunkers down to some fast stuff is enticing – even for our Supercar-hardened ears. OK, it’s not akin to the V10 Lexus LFA but Mitsubishi’s fuel-sipping Mirage was great fun…plain and simple.

 

And if we’re buying we’d opt for the five-cylinder manual transmission. Not only does the self-shifter enable maxim performance extraction, Mitsubishi’s high-standard engineering means it’s light, slippery and easy to use (particularly when shifting down from five-to-four and from three-to-two – the most common shifts when you’re slowing for corners). 

 

Over our high-speed mountain roads test loop, the extra rubber courtesy of the standard 15-inch alloy wheels no doubt aided the LS model Mitsubishi Mirage we tested and curiously the ‘flat-spot’ in the middle of the rev-range we commented on after the press launch drive north-west of Sydney wasn’t so obvious during this week.

 

Sure there was noticeable body-roll when we pitched the Mitsubishi Mirage at high-speed into some tight corners but grip levels were high and the whole package was imminently predictable because ultimately the three-cylinder powerplant just doesn’t have the torque (“hooray” say those parents considering a Mirage for their youngsters’ first car).

 

Around town the Mitsubishi Mirage excelled with nice refinement, reasonable performance even on the freeway, light operation in the peak-hour crawl and easy parking thanks to good all-round visibility and that handy 9.2-metre turning circle.

 

So, here’s a dose of reality: there’s more to this business than just driving dynamics. As Volkswagen has discovered with the all-new Up, it takes more than steering and stopping to win sales in this segment. While the Up is remarkably priced from just $14,990 (five-door) and is a contender for the best driver’s car in the league, it’s outsold not only by the Mitsubishi Mirage but also by the likes of Honda Jazz, Kia Rio and Hyundai i20.   

 

Mitsubishi Mirage Challenges

As the newest design in this segment, we remain astounded the all-new Mitsubishi Mirage lacks cruise control and reach adjustment for the steering wheel. For example we’d ditch the keyless start on the LS model we tested in favour of cruise and reach adjustment.

 

Mitsubishi Mirage Verdict

 

The Mitsubishi Mirage is the future of compact cars right here, right now. Like the Volkswagen Up, fuel-efficient three-cylinder engines are the way to go with modern engineering delivering more than enough performance and great fuel-economy for these mostly urban-based vehicles.

 

But don’t be misled – as our week in the Mitsubishi Mirage proved conclusively, rural buyers or those who commute long distances to the city each day will be more than satisfied with this competent compact.

 

We like the looks and we like the driving dynamics and those considering the Mirage for a first car for young drivers will be pleased with the news it secured the maximum five-star safety rating from ANCAP.

 

But let’s face it, this is a dollar-driven segment and when it comes time to ‘count the currency’ if you directly shop the $15,490 LS manual Mitsubishi Mirage  we tested against similar rivals…well it certainly holds its own in that area too. 

 

Mitsubishi Mirage The Competition

Here’s how things go in this tough segment – Volkswagen’s all-new Up was launched with a blaze of glory but has failed to fire in the sales charts – just 1217 Ups had been sold at the end of April compared to 3244 for the all-new Mitsubishi Mirage which actually did not go on-sale until the end of January.

 

Leading the segment sales battle is the Mazda 2. That’s a bit surprising because while the Mazda2 is an outstanding compact car, it isn’t the lowest-priced entrant in this every-cent-counts league, starting at $15,790 and nor is it the newest design.

 

Likewise for the number two contender. While the Toyota Yaris is an all-new model, you’ll need $15,690 for the entry-grade 1.3 YR five-door hatchback.

 

And Suzuki has backed-up its high-profile sponsorship of the Channel Nine’s ‘The Block’ and the Melbourne Storm NRL side with hot sales for the excellent Alto which commands attention priced from $11,790 and now backed by Suzuki’s capped price servicing scheme.