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Old 09-04-2013, 01:02 PM   #18 (permalink)
niky
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I doubt it. The non-Federalized basic Mirage with steelies and without the fancy stuff that makes it a five-star car weighs 825 kg, or 1,815 lbs. Remove the airbags from that and you can maybe scratch about 15-20 lbs.

If you want a 1,500 lb car, you're looking at a (stripped-out) Hyundai Eon (which is much smaller) or a Suzuki Alto, which is smaller still, has an 800cc engine, and which has the crash survivability of a shoebox.

The Mirage is as light as can possibly be given the interior space. The good crash protection is amazing, given that it's lighter than smaller competitors like the Spark!

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A lot of the Mirage's weight savings have to do with simplification. One of the main issues with the Mirage is the handling, and that's due, in part, to the suspension design and layout, which prioritize lightness over sophistication.

No fancy H-beam rear twist axles here... just straight torsion beams with poor lateral control. The spring perches are crude, and the surprising thing about the rear shocks is that they're actually as long as they are... the rest of the suspension is as small as possible. Worse for "enthusiasts" (such as myself), the electric steering is terrible.

The shifter is cable-operated. Probably saves them ten to fifteen pounds.

The engine rides on just two mounts. That saves another ten to fifteen. Maybe twenty if you count the missing support beam underneath.

There's virtually no crash structure ahead of the engine. It's all plastic. Saves another thirty to forty pounds, I wager.

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I'm pleasantly surprised it didn't gain more weight in the move to Federalize. Still a fantastic lot of interior space for the size. (It's only a bit smaller than a Yaris or a Mazda2).

Last edited by niky; 09-04-2013 at 01:10 PM..
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