As car enthusiasts, it’s easy to fall into the trap of beating up a car perhaps too much. Extraordinarily cheap, unrefined, and basic cars like the Mitsubishi Mirage remind you of how far cars have come, but is that a bad thing? There is something to be said about a car that happily fulfills its duty of just being a car.
The Mirage’s American run ended in 2024, but there are so many of them still out there for sale that you can buy a new one now for $14,000. SparkySparkington makes a good case for why they actually rock:
As someone who has had substantial seat time in all the small cars people mention as alternatives to the Mirage, along with some competition (in price, if not in size), I agree with folks’ observations: the Mirage is loud, plastic, agricultural, not engaging to drive, you name it. It was/is also a small and cheap new car, and I will miss it for that reason alone, even though I’m in the fortunate position of not needing a car that checks those boxes.
I would also argue that it compares favorably to the competition:
The Fit is magic – bigger on the inside, fun, and friendly. Easily the best car of the bunch. Unfortunately, very much subject to Honda tax – for new Mirage money, you’re looking at something with >=80k miles on the clock, and that is a pretty well-loved used car.
This is also true of the Yaris – Mirage money buys you an XP130, not one of the later Mazda2 based ones, and the transmission in those is the only time I would’ve preferred a CVT. The engine is gutless and even at high revs, it’ll scream without doing much of anything in terms of acceleration. The Yaris is also comically unstable in a crosswind.
Going down in size, the Chevy Spark that died a year before the Mirage is a much more refined experience (and my current daily). It also barely has room for four people, and those four people need to not mind getting friendly with each other.
The Fiat 500, with roughly the same footprint as the Spark, has even less interior space – the back seat is only usable by double amputees. You’re also looking at a less used, but still used car with Italian reliability…
…Yeah a new Mirage is unironically a good buy. No, it doesn’t have resale value; doesn’t matter if you drive your cars until the wheels fall off. And they will not fall off sooner than off a 10-year-old Yaris.
[Lastly, and this is something that irrationally pisses me off (I think Torch can relate) – for the love of all that is holy, can we please stop pretending that, even in the automotive arms race that American highways have become, a small hatchback with 70 hp is somehow “unsafe”? It can hit highway speeds on an on-ramp (and if it doesn’t, does it matter, when the grandpa in front of you comes to a complete stop at the yield sign, despite having three times the power), and maintain them. I love high-powered cars. You do not need one to “keep up with traffic”.]
Speaking of tiny cars, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but someone who isn’t me actually recommended buying a Smart or an iQ. This came from BeemerBob in the article about how tiny UTVs could be the future of personal transportation:
Just buy a used Toyota IQ or a Smart. IQ is about 120 inches long and the Smart is 108 inches long. Got doors, a/c, a heater, decent seats (for some). Yes, they only hold 2 people. But most vehicles going down the road only have a single occupant. And the Smart can go offroad, as Mercedes has shown. And, they go faster than 35! And they sell for less than $10,000 (most of them). But no one wants a small car. They want massive vehicles.
Thanks for having my back, Bob! Finally, we arrive at the piece about people stealing Honda airbags. We have one more Bob winner today with Angry Bob:
My Honda still has a recalled Takata airbag (I live dangerously). So the joke’s on them.
And it someone steals the catalytic converters from my BMW, they’re in for a disappointing surprise.
Hey, maybe the thief wants to have a makeshift claymore? Have a great evening, everyone!
If I can get one in a fun color, with AC and a five-speed, I may just pick one up, at that price. Call me all the names you want, I approve of a cheap little car, and have probably had more fun in a hatchback than I ever did in a sports car, judging on a cumulative basis.
Every one tends to knock the little cars until their gone but as I have bought (2) ‘24 Mirages (as well as (2) Outlanders I can tell you this… the Mirage is a reasonably quiet little car at least in the G4 version. It isn’t fast but has zero issues in traffic and handles reasonably well for what it is, a barebones economy car.
Better get you one now as they are disappearing from dealer lots.
My cousin got stuck with one of these as a rental once. He dented the fender when he leaned on it. And no, he isn’t morbidly obese. We were able to pull down the fender liner and pop it back out. The thickness of the metal on this thing is one step above tin foil.
Something tells me I’m related to SparkySparkington
The Raliart is more of a pathetic ploy for sales than cool.
Really? Because we get told all the time how cool the little thing is all the time in parking lots and gas stations. Nobody including owners like us take the car’s stickers, flares and mudflaps seriously. It’s just awesome.
That’s how cars should be thought about. Never, ever taken seriously. Unless they have a blue light bar.
Unsafe has more to do with the physical size than HP ratings.
At least where I live stock trucks have a hoodline up to my shoulder and a bunch of them then add 6 – 12 inch lifts. Even in my Acura I notice a LOT of truck bumpers at head height while sitting a lights.
I sometimes feel like my Miata could simply drive under these road barges.
I want to like the Mirage, but my parents bought one new in 2018 and boy was it a pile of crap. Six months in the thing basically lived at the dealership with warranty repairs. Once that got sorted it finally got driven…and then it started falling apart. They somehow kept it two years before giving up on it and traded it in (for almost nothing thanks to the depreciation) on a Kia Niro. Oh, and their local Mitsubishi dealership folded right after they bought the car, so it was a three-hour drive to the next closest dealership for all of those repairs. Fortunately, the dealership covered the tow truck fees to get the car the 200 miles to their service bays after my parents complained loud enough.
I would tell someone to look for a used 2022-2023 Kia Rio instead. Maybe 78 hp is enough, but an engine with 121 hp is going to sound better at 70 mph.
Before buying the new 23 mirage, we went to the Kia dealer and looked at the Rio. We didn’t like the Rio at all. It had a strange dash layout that was hard to see over, the front was ugly and it didn’t drive any better than the mirage. I’m really tired of hearing about how the mirage can’t go highway speeds. Ours has zero problems doing over 80 for hours on end. The rpms aren’t even excessive, the noise level is comperable to any cheap car.
The mirage is basically an old civic that you can buy new. Nobody complained about the size and power of those and they were similar. Plus we get told how awesome the mirage ralliart is all the time, hey that’s a cool Kia Rio was said by nobody ever.
Her name is Rio, she don’t need to understand
And I might find her if I’m looking like I can
Oh Rio, Rio hear them shout across the land
From mountains in the north, down to the Rio Grande
The best things about the Mirage is that is has an old-school e-brake handle in the middle!
Anyone who recommends a used Kia/Hyundai product right now needs to have their head possibly examined. Their dealers are overloaded with warranty engine and transmission jobs, at least the 3 in my area are and if you have a warranty issue, you may need to months out to receive parts as most have to come from Korea and are on back order across the board.
I buy cars for a living and I can tell you that many car lots are dumping their Korean made vehicles from sale altogether because of drivetrain issues.