Test drove a 2015 Mirage (update: bought it ... 5-speed manual)

[MetroMPG]

PS: I trust you've discovered the car's manual-reset-only "B" MPG gauge by now.

More than a few owners are frustrated that the default "A" MPG gauge auto-resets after 4 hours of inactivity.

The "B" gauge continues calculating until it's manually reset, but it's buried in the display, accessible through a ridiculously non-intuitive sequence of menus and button clicks. I forget off hand what the sequence is. Check the manual, or search on Mirage forum.

Unfortunately, the car always reverts to displaying the "A" gauge every time you power up, which is also ridiculous.

[user removed]

I was crawling through that section of the owners manual. I used to reset the Fiesta every trip so the auto reset function actually is my preference. I found when you run it through a complete tank any changes are not enough to change the overall average.

It's all going to come out at the fuel pump anyway. After 150 miles I would call it 10% better than the Echo I had with no AC. The Mirage is optioned out like crazy,base model standard.

Auto climate control that does not REQUIRE you run the AC.

Power
Steering
Brakes
Windows
Door Locks
Mirrors

AMFM CD player with 4 speakers, enough to finish off my hearing .

Nice little stubby aero shaped antenna on the back of the roof.

MPG instrumentation good enough for me.

Variable intermittent wipers.

Nice carpeted floor mats.

Parcel privacy cover.

The glove box holds as much as the Sentra glove box and both door pockets combined.

Personally I think the plastic hub caps should be very aero (not knocking your mod 3dplane), maybe 2 points of CD better than the alloys.

The undercarriage has been carefully though out and looks to be very aero as built.

I'll add things to the post as I remember them.

TO ANY ONE INTERESTED IN A MIRAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just drive one, or rent one and take it on a trip, even if it is not the transmission you want. Auto Rag reporters are not advocates of ecomodding or driving efficiently. They make more money convincing you that a $135,000 BMW I whatever it is is a good hybrid to buy. May be for less than 1% of the population. If you gave me one I'd sell it. I'd take a rental fleet of 10 Mirages.

In my biased opinion the Mirage is light years better than a 20 year old Civic or a Metro and significantly better than the Echo. My 94 year old father can get in and out of the back seat as well as my almost 90 year old mother. 4 doors are essential to me now. I would not have even considered a 4 door in my younger days. (that's why I want 4 doors Chrysler Kid).

regards
mech

[MetroMPG]

Good review.

Personally I think the plastic hub caps should be very aero

I thought so too. Have you removed one yet? If you do, be careful: flimsiest hubcap on a modern car. They were obsessive about weight savings, and that's where they found some to save!

[user removed]

I waxed it yesterday, twice where the bugs splatter on the front end and mirrors. Rain-X on all windows. Hit a couple of 5 minute down pours on the way to a mothers day gathering with the wife's brother. Even the rear window stayed clear. Only when I was behind a big rig and the rain had stopped did I need the intermittent wipers. The aero shape makes the rain-x work twice as good. The car was dry 5 miles after the down pour when the roads got dry.

It's nice to have a new car. You can NOT justify it by cost per mile compared to the Sentra, it's not even close, but when I am 500 miles from home and the transmission croaks, I have a warranty instead of scrap metal.

regards
mech

[user removed]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Good review.



I thought so too. Have you removed one yet? If you do, be careful: flimsiest hubcap on a modern car. They were obsessive about weight savings, and that's where they found some to save!

LOL, I got plenty of practice on the Sentra. If someone else worked on the Sentra the relevant hubcaps were removed before they touched the car. Flimsy and ancient plastic trumps flimsy every time.

regards
mech

[niky]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

Does it handle good. LMAO ask Nicky, he's in charge of the Joey Chitwood maneuvers . It handles fine and I'm not doing anything to mess up the warranty, maybe the trailer hitch hehe.

Steering feel of a rubber chicken. Suspension like an air mattress (mattress, not airbags. Airbags aren't as bouncy). Love it to death. Like a modern 2CV.

-

Congrats on the purchase! More sensible than 99% of the other brand new car purchases out there.

[user removed]

Forgot the rear window wiper.

Alloy block and head, pipsqueak transmission. In my younger years, I could have been my own engine hoist on a car like the Mirage. Bet I could lift the engine and tranny assemblies together with just muscle.

regards
mech

[Hersbird]

Why on earth do some here think this should be a 2 door? Do you want it to sell at all? The first gen Neon showed what people want 2 vs 4 doors on a small car. Then add the sedan version was both lighter and stiffer performing better on the track and in a crash. So great if you can spend money engineering and building both a 4 doors and a 2 door but if you want to build the lowest price car in the US and make sales needed to be profitable, you definitely need the 4 doors.

[bentring]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

TO ANY ONE INTERESTED IN A MIRAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just drive one, or rent one and take it on a trip, even if it is not the transmission you want. Auto Rag reporters are not advocates of ecomodding or driving efficiently. They make more money convincing you that a $135,000 BMW I whatever it is is a good hybrid to buy. May be for less than 1% of the population. If you gave me one I'd sell it. I'd take a rental fleet of 10 Mirages.

In my biased opinion the Mirage is light years better than a 20 year old Civic or a Metro and significantly better than the Echo. My 94 year old father can get in and out of the back seat as well as my almost 90 year old mother. 4 doors are essential to me now. I would not have even considered a 4 door in my younger days. (that's why I want 4 doors Chrysler Kid).

regards
mech

I totally agree on the auto reviews, but I have to respectfully disagree about the choice of transmission. If you are in the market for a manual, wait for one to pop up before taking a test drive. At least with mine compared to my mothers CVT, it is a totally different driving experience.

Just think that in 20 years you (ahem, I meant we ) will have the equivalent of the Civics and Metros that people look for today, but with the knowledge that the cars have been taken care of for their life.

I totally understand how some people feel about new cars and payments, because I've always said I would never pay for the depreciation of a car, but over the last couple of decades playing the used car lottery has gotten less and less appealing vs the peace of mind and not having to pretend to be an oak tree mechanic. I'm at a point in my life where I just consider a payment as a type of insurance that I won't have to worry and fuss when I leave the driveway. And in my situation, the fuel costs pay for about half of the payment every month.

[user removed]

We stopped financing stuff in 1996, eco(nomic)modding. "With the interest money I did not spend, I bought this." re Cowmeat"s quote about buying a car with the gas money he saved.

regards
mech