New Mitsubishi Mirage?

[michaelluscher]

It better be an LE (Preferably SE/BE)
I wouldn't accept an ES in this day and age, buy a higher trim used one
They've only been CVT auto for the past two years, so I assume you've driven it and are satisfied with the 3 cylinders NVH?

I'm not Nissans biggest fan, but I'd cross shop a Versa or a Kicks and see if there are discounts to be had

This thing better be a very good deal, but if it works for you enjoy it

 

[Bill7]

I'm going to be renting a car in Israel for a future tourist trip there. The rental car places offer a Mitsubishi Space Star 5 door hatch or Mitsubishi Attrage 4 door sedan with the 1.2 liter 3 cylinder engine.

The Hertz rental car website says it can hold 5 people + 2 large suitcases. But in looking at a photo of the car, it looks too tiny to do that.

Could a Mitsubishi Space Star, or Mitsubishi Attrage really hold 5 people plus 2 large suitcases?
What about 2 adults in the front seat, and 2 large suitcases by themselves in the back seat or 1 large suit case in the back seat and 1 large suitcase in the trunk?

Also, the 2nd concern I have about renting it is Israel borders Egypt which is Africa (near the equator). Temperatures outside can be 95 Farenheit to 100 Farenheit. Would the Air Conditioner in this vehicle be able to get cold in that heat with such a weak engine to power it?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

 

[Rogueman2016s]

I'm going to be renting a car in Israel for a future tourist trip there. The rental car places offer a Mitsubishi Space Star 5 door hatch or Mitsubishi Attrage 4 door sedan with the 1.2 liter 3 cylinder engine.

The Hertz rental car website says it can hold 5 people + 2 large suitcases. But in looking at a photo of the car, it looks too tiny to do that.

Could a Mitsubishi Space Star, or Mitsubishi Attrage really hold 5 people plus 2 large suitcases?
What about 2 adults in the front seat, and 2 large suitcases by themselves in the back seat or 1 large suit case in the back seat and 1 large suitcase in the trunk?

Also, the 2nd concern I have about renting it is Israel borders Egypt which is Africa (near the equator). Temperatures outside can be 95 Farenheit to 100 Farenheit. Would the Air Conditioner in this vehicle be able to get cold in that heat with such a weak engine to power it?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

The Chevy spark didn’t have a strong ac and that was during NY summers. So the ac performance would interest me as well.

 

[Rogueman2016s]

Here’s a good review of the mirage plus it’s competitors. You’ll have to test drive and be the final judge not because I own two Nissans however I’d favor the versa unless you just have to have a hatchback. It’s a far more refined vehicle over the mirage.

 

[NibbanaBanana]

From what I have heard they are no frill basic cars that does not have an impressive interior but very durable. Problem is likely very hard to find a dealership if you want warranty service or to buy parts.

How good of a deal are you getting would make or break the purchase.

Well, that's true. I have two dealerships both about an hour away. A third over an hour. I do all my own work and one of the reasons I want one of these is because, from what I've read, they're very good and hopefully won't need warranty work. Parts for anything are online now.

Quote from the dealer is just a couple hundred over $20K. That's the cost of the car, title, tags, registration and 6.35% sales tax. Despite what you see on the manufacturers websites it's going to be closer to $30K for a Civic or Corolla as the dealers are marking them up so much around here. Subaru Impreza is going to be around $27K. Don't like the Nissans.

Another big issue for me is that the Mirage is a simple car. Maybe the last simple car available. I'm old school. A lot of the new ones have so much electronics that you're going to need a sophisticated scanner and a lot of knowledge to repair. When they screw up 10 years down the road, and I emphasize the word "when", it's going to get towed to the dealer and need dealer parts. Not in the budget for me.

There's simplicity and complexity. Which is preferable? It's subjective. There's luxury, performance and economy. Which is preferable? It's subjective. I know what the manufacturers and all the people making money off of cars will tell you is preferable. But the answers are still subjective.

 

[odie]

They are some 4 door hatchback MIRAGEs out there for $18,000 , possibly less . Dealer discounts vary ,no rebate from MITSUBISHI .

 

[IndyIan]

Well, that's true. I have two dealerships both about an hour away. A third over an hour. I do all my own work and one of the reasons I want one of these is because, from what I've read, they're very good and hopefully won't need warranty work. Parts for anything are online now.

Quote from the dealer is just a couple hundred over $20K. That's the cost of the car, title, tags, registration and 6.35% sales tax. Despite what you see on the manufacturers websites it's going to be closer to $30K for a Civic or Corolla as the dealers are marking them up so much around here. Subaru Impreza is going to be around $27K. Don't like the Nissans.

Another big issue for me is that the Mirage is a simple car. Maybe the last simple car available. I'm old school. A lot of the new ones have so much electronics that you're going to need a sophisticated scanner and a lot of knowledge to repair. When they screw up 10 years down the road, and I emphasize the word "when", it's going to get towed to the dealer and need dealer parts. Not in the budget for me.

There's simplicity and complexity. Which is preferable? It's subjective. There's luxury, performance and economy. Which is preferable? It's subjective. I know what the manufacturers and all the people making money off of cars will tell you is preferable. But the answers are still subjective.

Yeah, sounds like your know what you are getting into, with a Rio and Aveo, if they do what you need then the Mirage should too. I think initially you will lose lots of "value" but if you are in for the long haul, its going to be cheap transportation for a long time.

 

[The_Jeff]

Also, the 2nd concern I have about renting it is Israel borders Egypt which is Africa (near the equator). Temperatures outside can be 95 Farenheit to 100 Farenheit. Would the Air Conditioner in this vehicle be able to get cold in that heat with such a weak engine to power it?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

I'd find a local-to-Israel forum and ask them for area-specific rental car tips. Back in the day the Saudis liked Chevy Caprices because the mechanical fans really moved heat away from the condensers. It also depends on window tint. There might be other local advice worth heeding.

 

[Rmay635703]

They are some 4 door hatchback MIRAGEs out there for $18,000 , possibly less . Dealer discounts vary ,no rebate from MITSUBISHI .

2019 Brand new base Mirage could be had for $9999 on sale, I’m guessing that is still what people expect to pay

 

[odie]

2019 Brand new base Mirage could be had for $9999 on sale, I’m guessing that is still what people expect to pay

Those were the days .

 

[michaelluscher]

Maybe it won't be a complete orphan

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/c...dealer-expansion-more-models-for-u-s-44507137

Mitsubishi Motors North America CEO Mark Chaffin said the brand's 330 dealerships cover a mere third of the U.S. sales market. The automaker aims to bump that to more than 50 percent by the decade's end.

 

[IveBeenRued]

They are very very slow. But as long as you don’t have to do any uphill highway driving or even moderately short merges, they look like decent vehicles. I was in a 2023 last year. It took about 25 seconds to go 0-60 with three adults in it.

Separately, we have one or two rolling around in my town, again they are very slow. I see that off the line, large trucks (think delivery trucks) often beat them to 40. If you get one, just prepare to be passed and cut off by anyone and everything; especially by brodozers.

 

[JoelB]

I've had 3 (I used to swap around cars a lot). They are a car built for a purpose, and they do it very well. Above all they are an efficient, simple, reliable vehicle. If you can live with the higher road noise, slow acceleration and sparse interior I think they are an awesome A to B vehicle.

My recommendation would be a more base trim. The core features are all there. They mostly just add glossy trim and wheels as you move up the range.

 

[Rmay635703]

They are very very slow. But as long as you don’t have to do any uphill highway driving or even moderately short merges, they look like decent vehicles. I was in a 2023 last year. It took about 25 seconds to go 0-60 with three adults in it.

Separately, we have one or two rolling around in my town, again they are very slow. I see that off the line, large trucks (think delivery trucks) often beat them to 40. If you get one, just prepare to be passed and cut off by anyone and everything; especially by brodozers.

https://mirageforum.com/forum/showthread.php/3356-What-is-slow

 

[Jetronic]

I'm going to be renting a car in Israel for a future tourist trip there. The rental car places offer a Mitsubishi Space Star 5 door hatch or Mitsubishi Attrage 4 door sedan with the 1.2 liter 3 cylinder engine.

The Hertz rental car website says it can hold 5 people + 2 large suitcases. But in looking at a photo of the car, it looks too tiny to do that.

Could a Mitsubishi Space Star, or Mitsubishi Attrage really hold 5 people plus 2 large suitcases?
What about 2 adults in the front seat, and 2 large suitcases by themselves in the back seat or 1 large suit case in the back seat and 1 large suitcase in the trunk?

Also, the 2nd concern I have about renting it is Israel borders Egypt which is Africa (near the equator). Temperatures outside can be 95 Farenheit to 100 Farenheit. Would the Air Conditioner in this vehicle be able to get cold in that heat with such a weak engine to power it?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

I've not found that to be an issue when I worked at a mitsubishi/hyundai dealership In fact the only cars that had issues getting the temps down were Hyundai i (hyundai's competitor with the spacestar/mirage/attrage). It's the high humidity that caused the issue, the more moisture needs to be removed, the less effective the cooling is. Possibly running the AC in recirc would have fixed that on the hyundais. We saw a few days of 40°C and even a peak of 42.5°C. I would expect Israel to be fairly warm but not as humid.

The attrage for sure can hold 2 large suitcases, the mirage maybe. It's the 5 people I worry about more. I don't want to be sitting with 2 other 220lb people in the back for extended periods.

 

[Bill7]

The Chevy spark didn’t have a strong ac and that was during NY summers. So the ac performance would interest me as well.

I've not found that to be an issue when I worked at a mitsubishi/hyundai dealership In fact the only cars that had issues getting the temps down were Hyundai i (hyundai's competitor with the spacestar/mirage/attrage). It's the high humidity that caused the issue, the more moisture needs to be removed, the less effective the cooling is. Possibly running the AC in recirc would have fixed that on the hyundais. We saw a few days of 40°C and even a peak of 42.5°C. I would expect Israel to be fairly warm but not as humid.

The attrage for sure can hold 2 large suitcases, the mirage maybe. It's the 5 people I worry about more. I don't want to be sitting with 2 other 220lb people in the back for extended periods.

Thanks for your response. After doing the initial post, I did some more research and found something else to worry about.
I knew this small car would fare worse in crashes, but I had no idea how bad.

The Insurance Institute for highway safety (IIHS) maintains a data base of all fatal car crashes (data supplied by the police reports).

https://www.iihs.org/ratings/driver-death-rates-by-make-and-model

At the bottom of the main page, the IIHS explicitly mentions the "Mitsubishi Mirage G4" has the highest death rate of any car sold in America. That is an extremely similar model (same size) as the model available in Israel to rent. So, after reconsidering, I'm leaning toward getting a much bigger, heavier sedan (a Mazda 6) which has a much lower death rate in real world accidents. It will cost more for the rental, but it's a more prudent choice.

 

[Jetronic]

Thanks for your response. After doing the initial post, I did some more research and found something else to worry about.
I knew this small car would fare worse in crashes, but I had no idea how bad.

The Insurance Institute for highway safety (IIHS) maintains a data base of all fatal car crashes (data supplied by the police reports).

https://www.iihs.org/ratings/driver-death-rates-by-make-and-model

At the bottom of the main page, the IIHS explicitly mentions the "Mitsubishi Mirage G4" has the highest death rate of any car sold in America. That is an extremely similar model (same size) as the model available in Israel to rent. So, after reconsidering, I'm leaning toward getting a much bigger, heavier sedan (a Mazda 6) which has a much lower death rate in real world accidents. It will cost more for the rental, but it's a more prudent choice.

they won't be getting hit by full-size trucks outside the US which is the real issue.

 

[NibbanaBanana]

Yeah, sounds like your know what you are getting into, with a Rio and Aveo, if they do what you need then the Mirage should too. I think initially you will lose lots of "value" but if you are in for the long haul, its going to be cheap transportation for a long time.

It depends what you want to spend your money on. Simplicity is probably the top feature for me. I do all my own work and don't want to pay thousands for car repairs. And I don't want any car payments. I'm just looking for transportation from A to B. And don't intend on using for long trips.

I had three Geo Metros, two of which I bought new. I bought my wife a '96 and liked it so much I bought myself a '97. Ran them tp 185K and 186k miles before they finally rotted to death. Motors still ran good. They were very simple and easy to work on. Tires cost about $30 each IIRC. New exhaust cost me a little over $100.

Any car is a 100% capital loss. How they depreciate depends. I calculate depreciation by how long they last. And you can include operating costs along with the write off of the purchase price.

One of the YouTuber's that features his Mirages said he was offered more for his Mirage than what he paid new. Doesn't surprise me as I would say the cost of new cars is increasing at at least 10% a year. I don't need a car right now but the Mirage is going away and my guess is that in a year or two when I do the cheapest car available is going to be $30K+.

 

[Nessism1]

Back in the day, my first new car was a Nissan Sentra, which at the time, made 69hp. Yes, slow, but it was fine. 1600cc and 4 cylinders. This Mirage, though, is only 1200cc's, and 3 cylinders. That would make me nervous. The engine is just too small for long term durability.

 

[supton]

Back in the day, my first new car was a Nissan Sentra, which at the time, made 69hp. Yes, slow, but it was fine. 1600cc and 4 cylinders. This Mirage, though, is only 1200cc's, and 3 cylinders. That would make me nervous. The engine is just too small for long term durability.

What do you consider "long term"? 100k, 200k, 500k?