Mitsubishi Mirage is, er, meh...

[Arragonis]

Mitsubishi Mirage | Auto Express

The Mitsubishi Mirage is an efficient supermini that 's designed to rival value-for-money city cars and superminis such as the Dacia Sandero, Kia Rio and Fiat Panda. It comes well-equipped and is available with a choice of 1.0-litre or 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engines, both of which emit less than 100g/km of CO2. However, the Mirage isn't without flaws. The vague steering and poor handling place it at the bottom of the class for driving dynamics, while the interior looks and feels cheap. It's also quite expensive to buy and lacks the refinement and practicality of the best cars in the class.

2 stars out of 5. Hmm.

[MetroMPG]

In researching this car, I've read literally dozens and dozens of reviews in the last couple of months, and have learned we need to be wary of reviewers' opinions, and make up our own minds.

It's easy to find multiple examples where reviewers literally contradict one anothers' views, coming to polar opposite conclusions about the exact same feature/characteristic!

It borders on hilarious. So, just for fun I put together a list of examples concerning the Mirage from the professional reviewers: Why you should take car reviews with a giant grain of salt.

I'm not kidding: one will say the suspension is too soft; another will say it has a wonderfully comfortable ride for such a little car. One hates the plasticky interior, while another praises it for its "wipe down" practicality & durability. The list goes on and on.

(I have to admit though I do find it funny when reviewers criticise cheap econoboxes for being made with cheap materials, and for not handling like sports cars!)

All that said, the car is being criticized for a few things more often than not: its mushy handling/steering, its bland styling & spartan interior.

Sounds pretty much like what they'd have have said about my 15 year old Metro/Firefly.

[RobertISaar]

this is why the only real online research that i do is looking for interior pictures on cars.com.... then if i like what i see, i'll find a local example.

anything else is too much guesswork weeding out the accurate comments.

[PressEnter[]]

Yes, the reviews are all over the place, but reading between the lines, the negatives seem fairly minor, at least to me. I wouldn't expect it to be an exciting car, but for what it is they seem to be on the right track.

[pete c]

You see this problem most in car mags such as R&T or C&D. They criticize econoboxes or minivans for not downshifting rapidly enough or having 0-60 times under 9 seconds.

They seem to have trouble putting away their Porsche measuring stick while testing a Dodge Caravan.

[Frank Lee]

Metro: ...and THAT is why I think Consumer Reports is only good for bird cage liner.

[Arragonis]

@Metro - agreed tests are all over the place. I just spotted it and noticed the new focus on your new car Auto Express is one of those magazines to take with several barrels of salt.

There is a difference in the environment between NA and Europe too - the Mirage will have a torrid time here as the competition is far more fierce. A more in depth review from Honest John concludes with :

Overall the Mirage is a competent and comfortable small car that's easy to drive and performs well in town and on the motorway. It does lack character though, something which similarly priced alternatives like the trio of the Volkswagen Up, SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo certainly don't. The Mirage doesn't outdo them in terms of equipment or price either. So while it's a good little car, there's not much to make it stand out against the competition. There's plenty of quality for buyers after a small and affordable car and unfortunately the Mirage looks like it has its work cut out to get noticed.

Out of interest apart from the Spark what other competition does the Mirage have in NA ?

[PressEnter[]]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Out of interest apart from the Spark what other competition does the Mirage have in NA ?

Not much, which is why I find it an interesting car. The Spark is the only 4-door rival, though if you wanted to stretch it, there's the Scion iQ. The new Nissan Versa Note sounds like it might be a competitor, but it hasn't been launched yet, either. Ford also says the Fiesta 1.0L turbo will be coming at some point, and that it will beat the Spark and iQ in combined driving mpg, which if true would be pretty impressive for something that size and power.

[tjts1]

The best thing you can say about this car is that it has round wheels.

[Fat Charlie]

Actually, the best thing you can say about it is that it seems to really hate burning gas.

It can't carry a 4x8 sheet, it doesn't seat 7, it can't do a quarter in under 10 seconds and it absolutely sucks at rock crawling. It also seems to really suck at burning gas. And that's what it was designed for.