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I would only trade in if I got a good trade in value offer that at least equaled the amount left on the car loan. I have an aggressive payment schedule, so it would be possibly feasible by the end of this year.
It is a maybe, not set in stone. It would be somewhat risky, because the Spark I received appears to be in perfect condition. Nearly 36k on the odometer and not a single problem out of it. I'm lucky enough that I didn't get a lemon, any time you purchase something you never know if you'll get something off the line with a few bad parts. So that alone is incentive to keep it.
Yet, the room in the interior is a serious issue. I take enough trips and have enough passengers (including myself when I'm not driving) that its become an important issue.
If I could make a list, here are my likes/dislikes.
Spark likes: It handles well, its aerodynamic and takes a high wind day well even at high speeds. The interior is above its class: seats with sports cloth and patterns/textures that are better than the competition, the textured dashboard keeps sun rays from glaring into your eyes, the new instrument cluster in the 2017 model is simple and easy to read. Its a well designed economy car.
Spark dislikes: The braking is somewhat wonky (its effective, but somewhat unrefined), the back seats are horrendous (I didn't do my homework on this very important issue), the fuel economy is unimpressive to me. I wanted to get in the 5-6 range and instead I'm constantly getting above 7 litres per 100km figures.
Furthermore, I'm still unsure about the CVT. It feels slow to respond at times (so far as I can tell its not a defect, just the nature of the type of CVT it has). When I'm on a residential street that has a stop sign every few meters it feels sluggish to pick back up after a stop. I say sluggish in a relative sense, I've driven all kinds of automatics, other CVT's (particularly the CVT in the Jeep Patriot from a few years back, another JATCO design), and manuals. The CVT always has hesitation and can get easily confused if you want to go fast or not, and it might take a second or two flooring the gas pedal to get the car to recognize your intent.
While I don't own a Mirage G4 or Mirage, I have been in them. I've test drove them. I've been in trips with friends that own them. I'm not really in the market for the Mirage, but rather the Mirage G4.
Things I like about the Mirage G4: the engine produces better fuel economy by a good percent, without effort. The interior of the cabin is so roomy, it has to be a class leader in space and comfort. The back seat easily beats most mid sized sedans, forget comparing to other economy boxes altogether. And the comfort does extend to the ride quality. The G4 provides a less bumpy ride than the Spark.
Things I'm not too impressed with in the G4: while its a more comfortable ride overall, it is a bit squishy to control and has more roll when driving. So while its more comfortable, its ironically got poorer handling. The interior materials don't feel as refined as some of the competition (my Spark has sports cloth seats with interesting patterns, the Mirage G4 has a more boring cloth look). And lastly, I would absolutely be spending a lot of money to buy yet another new car only a short time after buying the Spark.
Really the most important factor is space. Mitsubishi has managed to create a true economy car that 4 large adults can fit comfortably in and still have ample trunk space. That's what I need, and I under-estimated the importance of it when buying the Spark. When I bought the Spark, I was only thinking about my daily commute. I didn't think about the many trips I take on weekends throughout the year, or larger vacations with days-long travel.
In summary: the Spark is a terrific two seater mini car. The Mirage G4 is for people who need more room (which is clearly me).
I made a mistake buying the Spark for that one reason, although I like driving it and while I don't love its fuel economy, it also isn't a gas guzzling SUV.
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