Mitsubishi Mirage is, er, meh...

[niky]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

And speaking of that: I see the Philippines motoring press just voted Mirage as Car of the Year.

And the local enthusiast groups are all a-twitter, moaning about how the 86 didn't win...

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Shouldn't cost anything. Spec a bigger roll bar, stiffer springs, harder durometer bushings, and presto.

Harder bushings, definitely. Stiffer rear springs and dampers, then a beefy anti roll bar up front with little to no change in front spring stiffness.

Maybe they'll implement those changes in the sedan.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Some owners on the forum are already beginning to talk about suspension mods.

Happens everywhere - you can actually upgrade the up's suspension with Audi TT parts, so some folks are doing just that

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Shouldn't cost anything. Spec a bigger roll bar, stiffer springs, harder durometer bushings, and presto.

Then you don't know the bean-counters.
A VW subcontractor hollowed out the shifter knob to save a few Pfennigs - 1/100 of a Deutsche Mark - on materials.

VW spent a couple million Mark to sort out the resultant gearbox buzz ...

[niky]

Now that... that's just unfair. Why didn't Mazda build my Protege with backwards compatibility to the Miata?

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by euromodder

I've had a 75 HP VW up! up to 160 kph

I've had George faster....oh no ociffer I never have.

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Shouldn't cost anything. Spec a bigger roll bar, stiffer springs, harder durometer bushings, and presto.

All this stiff stuff means that Mr and Mrs Average or even Master Average Junior is not going to want it.

Once done of course Mr Ecomodder (or indeed Master First Car kid / wannabe ricer) buying it 4 years down the line will want all of this so maybe someone could make a kit ?

[AJI]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Two words explain this: jaded reviewers.

I feel like I should step in and defend my ilk here

Like niky, I do a bit of writing. Some of you might even have read my stuff before, since I'm a writer on GreenCarReports. This was my take on the Mirage from there: 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage: Brief Drive Of NY Auto Show Debut

...and I reviewed it for my UK outlet too: 2013 Mitsubishi Mirage Review - carbuzz | carbuzz.co.uk

Now perhaps I'm not old/spoiled enough to be considered jaded (I've never reviewed a Porsche or Ferrari, for instance), but I wouldn't say it makes my take on the car any less relevant. I like to think each is at least fairly balanced, and I've angled each review to its expected audience too.

IMO, the Mirage does three things very well: Value, space and economy. If any or all of those are the be-all and end-all of a vehicle to anyone here, then go nuts - you'll be more than happy with the Mirage.

However, that doesn't automatically mean it's a good car. It's a good car at some things, but particularly in Europe the competition from other small cars is fierce. And while few match its economy-per-money ability, most people buy brand new cars on finance making any price difference fairly insignificant over monthly payments.

Once you take into account just what a broad spread of options is available for similar money, then you can't prioritize the things it does well at the expense of the things it doesn't. And what it doesn't do well is handle, steer, deal with big bumps (it's fine over smaller ones) or be refined. I wouldn't call it jaded to express those concerns.

But then what do I know, really? I'm just a guy who's driven lots of cars...

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by AJI

And what it doesn't do well is handle, steer, deal with big bumps (it's fine over smaller ones) or be refined. I wouldn't call it jaded to express those concerns.

Those sentiments are echoed in just about every review of the Mirage / Space Star , so all journalists would have to be jaded - or that's how it is

(yeah - Mitsu recycled the SpaceStar name in Europe for trademark reasons)

[MetroMPG]

Antony, I read your Carbuzz review when it first came out and remember thinking it was balanced.

You can pretty easily find Mirage owners who agree with the suspension criticism. (The aftermarket is already producing braces, coil spring and stabilizer bar kits specifically for the car.) And underlining how subective this all is, you can also find owners who are thrilled with the car's compliant ride and feather light steering.

The Autoexpress review that Arragonis originally posted is no doubt the harshest of dozens and dozens I've read. And I've already seen at least one comment from a Canadian 'professional' auto writer mocking the car's lack of power, and he hasn't even driven it yet!

Darin

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

And I've already seen at least one comment from a Canadian 'professional' auto writer mocking the car's lack of power, and he hasn't even driven it yet!

In which case he should be struck off and banned from reviewing cars ever again

The context of the market plays here - In the North American market cars like the Mirage are unusual. Pretty much everywhere else they are a common part of the environment.

[AJI]

Apologies for dragging this thread from the deep again, I'd forgotten I'd posted here!

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Antony, I read your Carbuzz review when it first came out and remember thinking it was balanced.

You can pretty easily find Mirage owners who agree with the suspension criticism. (The aftermarket is already producing braces, coil spring and stabilizer bar kits specifically for the car.) And underlining how subective this all is, you can also find owners who are thrilled with the car's compliant ride and feather light steering.

Thanks Darin, glad to know my words are reaching the other side of the pond

I'd actually be intrigued to test a Mirage with tweaked suspension, because I suspect there's a good car sitting on that poorly-optimized suspension.

A very light car certainly - to me it seems odd that they went to all that effort to make one of the lightest and most aerodynamic vehicles in its class, and then sort of gave up with the chassis tuning!

The steering is a blessing and a curse. In city driving it felt great, but it was a different story when some quicker corners appeared. Of course, not many owners will throw it around as much as a journo on a launch...

There is some good news though, which it seems I neglected to mention before. The economy I got from it subsequently seems pretty similar to the EPA figures knocking around the internet - and I was making no specific effort to be economical. So I reckon it'll be one of those cars that most people find easy to get good mileage from.