Mitsubishi Mirage

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support AutomaticWasher.org:

cuffs054

Well-known member
Platinum Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2005
Messages
2,041
Location
MONTICELLO, GA
I have become obsessed with the new Mirage G4 SE. Every review of it has been (way) less than stellar. Does anyone own one and be willing to give a fair assessment? I don't even need a new car, but there is something about an underdog that always gets me, like my Yugo, 2CV, Gremlin, etc.
 
 

 

Sorry, can't say anything about the new Mirage, but.......  

 

The Citroen deux chevaux (2CV) is a very cool car in it's own odd, quirky way.   Nearly 4 million were built over the 42 years of production (1948-'90).   The largest of the 2 cylinder air cooled engines offered (later in the 2CV's production), was a massive 602cc's and produced a whopping 29 hp!   

 

The Yugo on the other hand, was a P.O.S. in the truest meaning of the word.  I remember wandering through a self-serve auto wrecking yard many years ago and was quite surprised to see a Yugo among all the other cars.  As I recall it was only 2 or 3 years old and the odometer was showing just over 17K miles.  This just confirmed everything I'd hear about them. 

 

Here's a video of one that's surprisingly still running.

 
Oh I don't know....

We owned a 2CV which we had to flee from whilst en route somewhere.....we opened an air vent (as it was feeling hot in the cabin) and fire came out towards us in the manner of a flame thrower.

When everything calmed down we inspected under the bonnet (hood) and discovered that the air vent ducts were made of a paper like substance - a mere spark from the engine had ignited the lot LOL.
 
Actually my Yugo was fun to drive, it even had factory (add on) AC. It was not without issues but still fun. The 2CV was great fun to drive. I used to get gas at very country store that had leaded high test. I'm pumping one day and the usual question was raised "Hey what's that thing, a VolksWagon?" "No, its a Citroen" "Citren? Ain't that a fruit?"
 
Most Gremlins were

well, possessed, or junk.
Many came with free air though in about summer 1976 or '77.
As economy cars came onto the scene in Europe after WW 2, the VW, Fiat Cinco Cento (500), and the Citroen 2 CV or Due Chevau, were each air cooled.
Only the Beetle was in production longer then the 2 CV, and only in Mexico past 1990. The final Beetle was in 2004.
Citroen had perfected the 2 CV with it's inboard rear disc brakes, but not many other unique features. Those found their way into the DS 19, and 21. Touted as one of the most advanced and best cars of the 20th century, the DS series had hydro pneumatic suspension. The adjustable range of travel height was/is about 14 inches.
The SM, CX, and XM also had it, but no consecutive designs.
Times change, and things change. Andre Citroen park occupies the plot where his main plant in Paris was. The island where the large Renault plant was has also been redeveloped. Much faster than say the Packard complex in Detroit.
Say what you will about the French, they seem not to let much grass grow under their feet.
The same for the Japanese and other Asians. They know how to build entities which last. Mitsubishi has ventured in not only automobiles, but coal mining, electronics, and even canned Tuna. Yes, Three Diamonds tuna is/was Mitsubishi.
The Mirage (formerly Colt) came in many variants, including a Dodge Challenger, Plymouth Sapporo, and Arrow. It grew into the Galant, and Dodge G2000 for Canada.
Cars I no longer see in this region, along with the Diamond Star Motors trio, Eagle talon, Plymouth Laser, and first generation Eclipse.
Mitshushibi (lol) does offer two nice crossovers, and a new sporty version.
 
mitsubishi mirage

The current Mirage is just a dull, dull, dull car. It has nothing other than low price to recommend it.

My Mum had a previous generation Mirage, late 90s or early 2000s model. It was her last car - after a serious accident, her fault, she was diagnosed with dementia. It was very light and flimsy, my partner's Holden Barina, an Aussie re-badge of an Opel Corsa, was a much better handling and more solid car.

If you want an interesting tiny car, was the VW UP! sold in USA? They were sold here in AU briefly, but as they were only sold here with manual trans, they sold in tiny numbers and were soon discontinued. But we test drove one and I loved it, it had real character. (Though we eventually bought a Skoda Fabia wagon, a tiny wagon and a great car.)
 
No, the VW Up is not

for sale here. Our smallest VW's are the beetle and Jetta. We didn't even get the Polo. We do have the Honda Jazz, badged another name, and the Suzuki badged a Chevrolet Spark.
How about a Mini Cooper? The new Fiat 500? Ford Focus? That's still considered a compact car here, not a mid size.
Two decades ago, A Holden Commodore would have been a mid size here. By the time we Got the Pontiac G8, it was a full sized car.
Our 70's full size cars had wheel bases of 121 inches. They were huge. Australia had them for sale there. Ford Galaxie/LTD's, Pontiac Laurentian/Bonneville's.
 
Big American cars

There was always a small market for the big American cars here. Chev Impalas, Ford Galaxies and Dodge Phoenix were assembled here. Generally they were made here from CKD kits imported from Canada, as they got a tax concession if sourced from a Commonwealth country.

AMC Matadors were assembled here too, and also Hornet. They sold a tiny number of Javelins, not sure if they were fully imported or locally assembled. They were badged as Rambler, though, the AMC badge wasn't used here. They were assembled by Australian Motor Industries, who also assembled Triumph cars from UK and the first Aussie Toyotas. AMI eventually shed the other brands and became Toyota Australia.

By the early 1970s, Ford, Holden (GM) and Chrysler had luxury versions of their family sedans available, built on the station wagon floorpans to give a longer wheelbase and longer body. These were a better match for the local market and full size US cars were no longer officially imported, but specialist companies still imported some large US models, converted them to Right Hand drive and sold them at huge prices but in tiny numbers. I remember in the 70s the big cars were falling from favour and people called them "Yank Tanks." ("Yank" in AU is slang for any US American, North or South.)

That trade continues today, about 10 years ago a friend bought a Dodge Ram with manual trans, the world's noisiest Diesel engine, strange rear-opening rear doors and a canopy over the rear load space, it cost over $100K after shipping, conversion to RHD, and compliance to Aus design rules. I couldn't think of a less appealing vehicle. Each to their own.

back to sensible sized cars... Isn't the Ford Fiesta still sold in the US? They are a pretty good little car if you can get over the fussy styling and a dashboard so cluttered and ugly it makes your eyes bleed.
 
Yes,

I forgot about all the others you mentioned. AAM Matadors too. The Ford Fiesta has been discontinued for the States, also the Fusion (Mondeo) at least for now.
The Dream Cruise Ford spokesman said last week the Mustang is the only passenger car in the line up for now. So I guess the Focus is also going.
The Chinese Taurus is a version of the Mondeo/Fusion on the CD4 platform, so depending on gas prices going forward, it could be imported here.
I guess more Americans like crossovers and truck/suv's currently. The only sedans Chrysler offers now are the Dodge Charger and the 300c. I see a lot of Challengers.
Our kid works for Ford, so we test drove an Escape (Kuga), but my other half said it is too small, being 6'2"inches. So we opted for an Edge (also on CD4 platform) w/3.5 litre V6 awd. It is averaging about 19 m.pg. The 2019 model has an 8 speed automatic vs. a 6 speed, so may get a bit better economy.
We could have got an Explorer, but don't need a 7 seater, and it's even thirstier. I sat in a Flex, but you sit much lower, like in a station wagon. those two are built on the larger D4 platform adopted and tweaked from large Volvo's when Ford owned them.
We don't drive a whole lot currently, as I'm retired, and my spouse works from home. A car not fully warmed up is never good on gas. When I set the cruise on 65 p.p.h., the dash display says 26 instant mpg. Only have just over 1,600 miles on it since May 17th. I tool around town in an '07 Impala. It's actually good on gas. We've owned it since 2009, so a shopping trolley dent, etc. is no big deal.
The new one is a lease, so garage kept, and I keep it clean.
 
Mitsubishi had a lot of great innovations over the years, but their quality has been suffering for a couple of decades.  Personally, I'd stay away.  If I was in the market for a small inexpensive car today, I'd look at Kia, a brand that has improved dramatically in recent years.

 

We had a '74 AMC Gremlin in the family.  Bought it used for $600 and drove it for 7 years.  I thought it was a neat little car, and it gave us no problems at all.  With the 232 six and the 3-speed stick it moved out very well.  It was not very good in snow however, due to lack of weight above the rear wheels.  The Gremlins to avoid are the ones with the miserable 2-liter Audi / VW 4-cylinder engine.

 

We also had a '79 Ford Fiesta for a while.  I thought of it as Ford's better Rabbit.  The only problem it gave us was that when you pushed the cigarette lighter in, the wiring harness would smoke.  I fixed that by simply removing the lighter.  The 1.6 OHV Kent engine is no powerhouse, but it is bullet-proof.
 
Yes Louis,

and there may be a few 2018 models still in dealers inventories. June, July, and August are build out and changeover months for the current model year. The September production run will be 2019's. I think Wayne Michigan is retooling for the new Ranger mid size pick up. If it is released next winter or spring, it will be a 2020 model. Otherwise, the plant will be mothballed. Wixom Michigan wasn't any older, and closed at the end of the T-Bird and Lincoln LS model run. It's already demolished.
The Fiesta will remain in production in Mexico for there and export. The Focus also in Salarous, for Europe.
There was a sharp lightning blue Fusion sport in the showroom when we selected our Edge. My sister has leased four Fusions and has liked each one. She has a 4 cylinder ecoboost and gets great fuel economy.
 
AMC Gremlin w/ a 2-liter VW 4-cylinder engine???

 

 

Wow I never knew the Gremlin was offered with a VW sourced, carburated 2.0L 4 cylinder engine! 

 

Looks like they were only offered as an option (never standard equipment) the last 2 years of production ('77-'78).   Interesting side note: over the span of Gremlin production, 5 other engines, 3 - 6 cylinder (199, 232 & 258 cu in) and 2 V8's (304 & 401 cu in) were available, in addition to the German 4 cylinder!
 
I have a 2015 Mirage hatchback. I've got no complaints. I like the ride and my other vehicles are a Fusion, two grand marquis, an aerostar and an F150. I find it a nice comfortable little car.
 
Sunroof?

 

 

The only real "options" are dealer installed accessories like: floor mats, rear spoiler, interior lighting, wheel locks, chrome exhaust tip, etc, etc, etc, etc. 

 

Sunroof would have to be aftermarket, or dealer installed, IF they even offer one as a dealer installed option.  Doesn't look like it.

[this post was last edited: 8/23/2018-16:02]
 
Hahahahaha a Yugo :D

O com'on it wasn't that bad :D
Some of them are still running across Serbia.

Although I am from one of the republic of the former State where the Yugo came from we in the family never had one.
We have always driven either the Citroen or the Renault.
 
Yugo

was built by Zastava motors, based on a Fiat. Malcom Briklin imported it. He made a gull wing door sports car. The plant was heavily damaged in the Balkan's war.
If there are no model year changes to another, only v.i.n numbers, and colors, an assembly line doesn't stop.
Of course Fiesta's are offered for sale still outside the USA, and the American website may not be up to the exact date, so inquiries to order spec one, or a Focus may be referred to a local dealer for a different car altogether.
The Ford dealer we dealt with had no Fiesta's in stock. They had a focus sport in the show room, and several on the back lot.
The Chevrolet Impala is also being discontinued. It's only absence was from 1997 through 2000. From the first in 1958, by 1961, there were nine full size B body assembly plants turning out Chevrolet's. Best sales years 1965 through 1971 made it Americas most popular car. In 1976, it was Oldsmobile's Cutlass. By 1998, it was the Honda Accord.
 
Impala being discontinued

Now that would be a pity! Isn't that the longest made car/model? We had a few Impala's in our family, a 1960 and a 1966 model IIRC. The whole extended family drove GM cars exclusively for a long time, Pontiacs, Chevrolets and Opels ofcourse. My father's last car was an Opel Senator, after that he changed to Audi.
 
Yes Louis,

it actually saddens me also. We only donated our 2003 Impala two and a half months ago. It never failed us, was very dependable. My grandma had a 1966 Impala for over 23 years. I learned to drive in a 1970 Kingswood wagon, was also my first car. Later I bought a 1974 Caprice Classic. Then moved up to a Pontiac Grand Prix, then an Olds Cutlass.
There is an Impala street not too far away, the neighborhood was built in 1967. Along with Bonneville dr, Brougham, Electra, Eldorado, DeVille, Polara, Fury court, Corvair, Mustang, and Malibu. Many GM, etc. jobs afforded baby boomers an all brick, 3 bed, large double vanity basins 1.5 bath, plus large family rooms w/fireplaces and basements with 2.5 car attached garages. Averaging 1,450 square feet for about $25,000 back then. That nearly equaled just 2 to 3 years of take home pay for most of those buyers.
Chevrolet always had offered value and a level of luxury in the Impala and Caprice series for a reasonable price. However, the current model is expensive, although very nice, and spacious. Perhaps buyers noticing the Buick Lacrosse offers more prestige for just a bit more money? Or even the Cadillac XTS, which are essentially mechanically identical.
The base model is now a 2.3 litre 4 cylinder, and severely under powered.
My brother in law (a CPA) had leased one, along with a Traverse for his wife.
They are upper middle class, and he has traded down to an Equinox because of the Impala V6 LTZ being so expensive.
Some claim that planned obsolesence is directly relative to sales, but I found it very ironic that after the Opel Senator, the large Opel was the Omega, and the final large Opel. Omega means last, or end. So was it planned? Now PSA owns Opel.
 
In regards to the Ford Focus, the production line for the Focus and C-Max closed the week of May 4th this year.

As for the Impala being discontinued, I have also heard rumors over the past year that General Motors is supposed to discontinue the Impala, LaCrosse, XTS, CT6, Spark, Sonic, and Cruze by 2020.
That would just leave the Malibu, Regal, and CTS.

Sadly getting rid of true full size cars is forcing me to look at large crossovers now, specifically the Enclave
 
I don't normally pay attention to stuff like this but it seems that news of the US auto makers dumping their car lines is indeed coming. Is there that big an interest in cross over/suvs? I get the pickup popularity. But there has got to be more people than just me interested in small well equipped small cars. Even replacing the Cruze is a yuge investment now. The Buick Verano is already gone and the Sonic is lacking in toys. The Mirage is supposed to get a turbo for 2019 and that makes it look even better.
 
Yes for now

sedans seem to be waning.
However, Ford produces a Taurus in China which is CD4 based, and Buick still a LaCrosse there, as well as a Park Avenue, or they were. It was the former Holden Theta or Zeta elongated Commodore.
The Malibu is also produced in Korea, or was last year at least for Asian/Oceana markets including Australia/NZ. Maybe it has moved to China as the GM/Daewoo plant in Ulsan seems to be being closed. Difficult to keep up now.
So there will be sedans available for import, like the Buick Envison is already.
100% of Australian vehicle production has ceased because their govt. ended all subsidies. They now import also the Equinox from Canada.
South Africa on the other hand has begun automobile production subsidies.
They have assembled a small amount of CKD vehicles in the past from many makers, and GM re invested there after an absence from 1983 through the early millenium where they built Opel variants badged as Chevrolet and Ranger because of pressure from US workers over Apratheid.
 
I very rarely see Mitsubishis around here. They had some cute little hatchback, mini minivan things in the 90s that I liked.

This might sound crass, but the only Mitsubishis I ever see are the Galants, which just look like such a cheapo car. They seem to be common at those sketchy buy here, pay here places and look like they never got much care.

My neighbor used to have an older one before she replaced it with a new Nissan SUV. I do remember now, I used to see a decent amount of the Lancers, they were kind of popular with the ricer crowd, with the big spoilers and all. Cheap alternative to a Civic I guess.

I have seen some Mitsubishi commercials and their SUVs look pretty promising, and worth checking out.

I drove one of those generation Impalas when they came out in 06. I really wanted one when I got my first car, but used ones were too expensive yet and I really wanted an LTZ. I remember people used to joke they looked like the mid 90s Lumina but smoothed off a bit. But I liked the space and how they drove.

It's a shame the big cars are getting discontinued like the Taurus, Impala, etc. I'm not big on the smaller cars, but I don't like crossovers much or need a big SUV, so with them gone, there's not a lot of choices for me.

I currently drive an old Malibu. It really isn't a bad car for A to B and it's reliable so I've decided to keep it as long as it continues to be so. But compare it to today's cars and it's not nearly as comfortable and just feels so outdated. I don't think it's a bad looking car though as far as the shape.

It seems to me Ford has started the shift from sedans and hatchbacks to SUVs taking over. Don't really understand it, but it's probably a trend that will reverse in time. Still don't understand automakers obsession with wiping out all sedans though.
 
The new smaller SUVs like rav4, forester, etc are popular because they ride and handle much like a car, they can carry stuff, and they're a heck of a lot easier to climb in and out of than a car. They're also easier to deal with children and baby seats etc, none of that ducking down. As well you can see around and in front of you much better in most cases.
 
I hit the Mitsubishi dealer today and what a disappointment .  The salesman was totally without product knowledge. "What is the Ds (on trans selector) for" "IDK". "Can I get a sunroof and XM radio" "IDK" "is there an aux input jack" "IDK" "Can I run it on full Syn oil" "I don't know" "When will the 2019 be out". "Can I take it out on the expressway?" "Well I guess". "Tell me about the CVT" "It has a belt". Finally I got pissed and wrote out exactly what I wanted. "We'll have to order or build that" "OK, how long will that take" "IDK" Supposedly, the 'Head of Mitsubishi' was at the dealership but wasn't answering any questions because we have 0% fin today. (So?)
 
Back
Top