2014 Mitsubishi Mirage ecodriving highway run: 75 MPG (US) / 3.1 L/100 km
 

http://www.9carthai.com/wp-content/u.../11/Mirage.jpg

The 1.2L, 3-cylinder 2014 Mirage (or whatever they end up calling it) is coming to the US and Canada this fall.

Officially, it's rated at or near the top of its class in multiple countries where it has already been rolled out, and that will likely be the case in the US/Canada too, with an EPA combined rating in the high 30's mpg US (that's an educated guess).

So we've been on the hunt for evidence of its fuel economy potential in the hands of people who know how to do it.

This week I stumbled on some economy run numbers from an event in Thailand that might interest ecomodders...

• Round-trip highway run: 1,590 km (988 mi.)
• using two cars: both 1.2L, one CVT automatic, one 5-speed
• tires aired up to 45 PSI (35 is factory spec)
• no other vehicle modifications
• multiple passengers in the cars
• air conditioning used
• target speed of 80-90 km per hour (~49-56 mph)
• gas pump readings used for calculations, and the cars were shaken vigorously side-to-side at each fill-up to ensure as much fuel went in and air came out as possible
• using 91 octane fuel
• fuel filler doors & hoods taped shut by event marshall

I think it's fair to say the drivers probably weren't "hypermiling experts", though they were auto journalists.

Results:

• 66.2 mpg (US) / 3.5 L/100 km from the CVT-equipped car
• 75.1 mpg (US) / 3.1 L/100 km from the 5-speed car

More details:

• Mirage economy run Thailand: 31.9 km/L (3.1L/100km, 75 mpg US) 5-spd

Wow great numbers and some serious potential there.

It does look pretty good, though admittedly the conditions were just about optimal for an eco-cruise: long distance, moderate speeds, warm weather (negated somewhat by the A/C use).

The car's eco-downfall is the usual culprit: top gear in the manual is too short (to satisfy an ecomodder).

Though we learned this week that the U.K. is getting a taller final drive and a couple of different 4th/5th ratios. Who knows what we'll get in North America - probably the worst combo. :D

Exactly, the speed driven was more suited for fuel economy than the average driver would do on the highway, but it's nice to know that the potential is there, and a good hypermiler will likely be able to match (or beat) those numbers.

So long as it's not CVT only :mad:

I thought Canada was supposed to get it before the US, though, is it fall for both now? There's still nothing on the Mitsubishi USA site. I was thinking about taking a trip up to Canada for a sneak peek if you guys get it first.

Well, we're told we'll get the 5-speed in Canada. But you'll have to wait for the NY Auto show next month to find out what's in the cards for the U.S.

Originally they said they'd be available in Canada first, but now they're saying fall for both countries. It could have to do with the trademark/model name issue.

Well sometimes there are "ride and drives" for new models of cars where I tend to hang out. If the chance comes up I will try to get some seat time in one MetroMPG. If that comes up and someone wants to loan me a Scangauge I will post what numbers I can.

That would be most excellent.

FYI, the car comes with a resettable fuel consumption display:

http://mirageforum.com/imgs/MID.jpg

factory fuel economy gauge/display (MID): details, accuracy

That's fricking amazing!

Yeah, but it's so frickin amazing, it leaves me more than a little skeptical. Especially after seeing the numbers from the Mirage you tested.

Their 75 mpg US (31.9 km/L) from a target speed of "80-90 km per hour" doesn't sync with the numbers you saw in your test car of ~58 mpg US / ~24.5 km/L at 80 kph / 50 mph.

Sure, their trip average speed would have been lower than their target cruising speed. And sure, their cars were different than yours (they had better aero, significantly higher tire pressure).

O wait...

I just took a look at topographical info for their route, and guess what: they went from sea level, to ~2000 ft / 609 m and back again. One giant pulse & glide? :) Or many pulses and glides, perhaps even with some neutral coasting on the way back down to Bangkok?

The needle on the plausibility-o-meter just jumped a little higher.

Another Mirage economy run ... this one in New Zealand
 

Mitsu launched the car in N.Z. recently and hosted another economy run for auto writers. This time all the cars were 1.2L CVT models (the manual isn't available in NZ.). It wasn't as extensive a run as the Thai event.

The funny bit is the driver who turned in the best score is a "renowned leadfoot". He practiced "extreme" techniques, according to one of his colleages, including:

• engine off at red lights,
• neutral on descents,
• feather-footing the throttle/brake,
• no air conditioning,
• 90kmh in the 100kmh zone

And my personal favourite...

• sneaking the spacesaver spare into the boot of a colleague's car!!

Gotta love the weight "re-distribution" mod!

I've been able to find results for 2 cars, so far:

• 3.3 L/100 km / 71.3 mpg (US)
• 4.2 L/100 km / 56.0 mpg (US)

Full details: New Zealand Mirage economy run: 3.3L/100 km (30.3 km/L, 71.3 mpg US) CVT

Creative handicapping. Reminds me of the time when we creatively handicapped our competitors in a diesel versus hybrid fuel run (through traffic) by borrowing the keys to their Prius (2nd gen) and running the battery down by enjoying a nice air-conditioned nap in the car.

Team Diesel still lost. The Prius, with batteries drained, still got 40 mpg in a 4 mph crawl.

Yet another economy run (with video): 72 mpg best; 63 mpg avg
 

Ha! Well, at least you started the trip cooler than the competitors! :)

----

Some more Mirage eco-driving news: this time the run was in Malaysia in January. 10 teams, 20 drivers.

Results:

• 1st place: 71.9 mpg (US), 3.27 L/100 km, 30.56 km/L, 86.3 mpg (Imp.)
• Fleet average: 63.3 mpg (US), 3.7 L/100 km, 26.9 km/L, 76 mpg (Imp.)

Route & Conditions

• 135 km (84 mi.) total distance, mostly highway, one way
• elevation varied between ~100 to ~300 ft. above sea level
• average speed between 80 - 110 km/h / 50-68 mph
• air conditioner on: temp set at 18 C (lowest) 64 F

More details & video

Video: Malaysia economy run Jan, 2013: 27 km/L avg; 30.6 kmL top (3.3 LHK, 72 mpg US))

.

i was super disappointed to see it is a 4 door. 2 extra doors equal at least 100lbs more than a 2 door, possibly as much as 200lbs.

why cant they build something like that that has 2 doors, a lower 5th (or hell, 6th) gear, and weigh under 2000lbs? i just dont get it

Probably because 2-doors don't sell well in the econobox category relative to 4-doors.

Also: 200 lbs to add 2 doors to an econobox? Nuh uh. A 4-door Metro hatch weighed ~40 lbs more than the 2-door hatch.

Agreed on gearing though. However, if a car maker made a transmission with a top gear that would make me happy, the motoring press would make a mockery of it. :D

We have. I hated the gearing on the Cruze 6MT. :p But then that's more a problem of poor intermediate gearing than top gear.

The Mirage 4-door configuration (and eventual sedan) as well as its short gearing are dictated by market wants.

I've finally gotten to drive one on 15s and with an anti-roll bar, which is what you're likely to get. Fine vehicle. Still not as agile as the Spark, but a fine car nonetheless.

True - a "nerd gear" up top only works when they give the driver something to use for power further down the tree.

Can we find your review of the Mirage online?

The specialization of some of these "city" cars bothers me. The replacement for my own car, the SkyActiv Mazda3 can manage 40 mpg on the highway. The smaller, lighter Mazda2 does better in town, but can only do 35 mpg on the highway with it's city gearing :(

The magazine one will have no online counterpart, sadly. I quite loved doing it.

On the bright side, I just submitted an online one. :D A bit short, though, and less detailed than the magazine one. Still working on the tech-walkaround though. Been busy. We did the Car of the Year tests last week. Absolute torture on the ribcage to do so many brake tests in such a short period of time.

Today was the day they were supposed to announce it. Is it going to be in the US with a 5 speed manual? That's a HUGE thing for me (at least). CVTs are costly and problematic.

Yes, they announced it's coming. Both 5-speed and CVT.

Apparently the CVT will have the better mpg rating, but in the hands of a skilled driver that won't be the case.

If you're the average not-connected driver, CVTs do very well. I drove a Versa with CVT around the city and it did a great job of keeping MPGs in the high 30s ... even with stopping at stoplights and taking off hard, etc.

They are a bit awkward and poorly tuned, though.

Agreed - for the average driver, a CVT is best. Better than a slushbox, for sure.

And Mitsu has apparently put effort into tuning this CVT for good economy. It even automatically goes to neutral when stopped (and therefore also has "hill start assist" so you don't roll backward on grades when moving your foot back to the accelerator pedal).

While I have been making comparisons of the new Mirage to the old Chevy Metro, one area where the Mirage is head and shoulders above it is the automatic transmission. The Metro's automatic was simply awful - an agricultural 3-speed with no lockup torque converter that wasted an enormous amount of fuel vs. the manual (-10 mpg, easily). People who couldn't or didn't want to drive the Metro with a stick took it on the chin in terms of fuel consumption. Happily, that's not the case with the wee Mitsu.

Not very informative, but it does say there will be a manual.

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/20...ork-57104.html

I hadn't noticed earlier that it has electric power steering. Not exactly vital to have power steering in a car that size, but to keep it during EOC is always nice.

If they could make it a Geo Metro 2.0 ... that would be cool. Something cheap, but gets good mileage.

Still not entirely sure, but these bottom of the barrel cheap cars have been getting my interest lately.

If it's cheaper than the Spark and gets better mileage, it will be a hit! I do like the spark's styling a bit more, but the mileage isn't that great and it is a bit expensive for what it is (you can still get a Versa Sedan cheaper).

There's two things that would worry me. I'm afraid that Mitsu. is going to go the way of Suzuki ... and that the car is going to be unreliable.

Suzuki wasn't having great sales figures (around the same as Mitsu) and they decided that they had to pull out of the US market. If this car sells a lot of units , then they decide to pull out. ... that's not good for people that have these cars or will end up with.

Second is the reliability. Mitsu was too closely related to Chrysler for my trust. Chrysler has built garbage for the last 15 years or so ... I'm afraid of buying anything that's related to Chrysler.

Other than the "Raider" (ND Dakota), did Mitsubishi use any Chrysler products? Chrysler rebadged a bunch of Mitsubishi products, but...

They shared engines and transmissions, designs, etc over the years. Hyundai for a while used Chrysler engine and transmissions with Mitsubishi electronics!

Didn't realize that until I was working on a 2003 Santa Fe. All of the electronics (Throttle body, computer) had a mitsu logo on them somewhere. But it was the same engine and transmission as in a cloud car.

Chrysler DNA is long gone from Mitsubishi.

As for long term reliability, of course we can't know for sure since it's a brand new car. But it has been available for almost exactly one year now in some southeast Asian markets, and earned a JD Power customer satisfaction award in Thailand:

M irage tops JD Power customer satisfaction survey in Thailand

so only hatchbacks for now?

Mitsu unveiled a "concept" subcompact sedan this week at the Bangkok motor show. It's a Mirage. But they haven't announced any production news.

M irage sedan "Concept G4" unveiled in Thailand (photos / video)

some "high speed" real world fuel economy results posted
 

Some French journalists just posted a video of a fuel economy test of the 1.2L, 5-speed car (Mirage is called "Space Star" in France and other Euro countries).

Notable: they stuck to posted speed limits, and 45% of the round trip was on freeways at 81 mph / 130 km/h. Total trip length was 249 miles (400 km).

Another 45% was secondary roads, and 10% was urban driving.

They filled to the brim at the same station before & after, using the same pump, same fuel (E10), and still managed 44.6 mpg (US) / 5.28 L/100 km.

Video of the adventure below. I've posted English translation of the subtitled info here: Economy run in south of France, 1.2 5MT: 5.3 LKH (44.6 mpg US) up to 130 kph (81 mph)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5e_tDHZbLk

The sedan looks really nice, why don't they apply a similar front-end-treatment to the hatch?

I know a lot of people hate my car (Yaris sedan), but I greatly prefer its look to the hatch.

They very well may do that. The look has been a fairly major complaint by a lot of reviewers. Depends on how sales go and customer feedback I'm sure.

If I had to guess, the tires on the car in the video are narrower, and maybe that is the 0.01 difference in the Cd?

Too bad we can't convince Mitsu to have their new offering come stock with RE92's just like the original insight (having a bigger base of 165/65r14 cars would help everyone)

We know the tires on the Mitsu are described as LRR. Bridgestone Ecopias are fitted in multiple countries on the car's 14 inch rim. How they compare to RE92's, we don't know. Won't know until we get to try 'em!

so what would likely be a fall release date?? if I may?

Your guess is as good as anyone's. Mitsu isn't offering specifics.

I just looked online to try to find some tires for it to see what they cost. It doesn't look like anyone makes snow tires that would work on the car. Hmm.