2012 Mitsubishi Mirage GLX 1.2 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Buy it

Faults:

Started making a sharp noise if starting and shutting down the engine frequently. The dealer fixed this at no cost to us; think this is a known issue.

General Comments:

Very fuel economical; my personal average is about 7L/100km on urban roads and 5L/100km on rural roads.

The seats are very comfy, and interior space is a lot bigger than you think; pretty amazing for a micro car like this.

The boot is 260L, which is about the same as a Corolla hatchback.

Power wise, it's sufficient; definitely not powerful, but it's enough to get around town and going on motorways. Overtaking can be a bit slow.

Handling is not very good; can't take a sharp corner at speed.

Overall very happy with the car; it's priced very well for what it is designed for. If you are after performance and good handling, look for something else.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 10th December, 2015

3rd Mar 2019, 21:54

My 2012 Mirage crashed while it was on loan to a friend.

We've done less than 40,000km.

Overall, very happy with the fuel economy and reliability.

Only issues were the during frequent start up where the car made a very sharp noise and it was fixed by the local dealer free of charge.

The other thing worth noting is that in New Zealand, the Mirage uses a tyre size that is only applicable to the 2012+ Mitsubishi Mirage, therefore tyre replacement costs are significantly higher than its peers. Cheapest tyre you can get is NZD 230+.

Real life on the road fuel consumption for me was 5-6L per 100KM.

One thing to note for this accident was that the driver ran through a give way sign at 50km/H (35 mile/H). It crashed into the side of a BMW SUV. The Mirage was a write off with both airbags deployed, the front of the car up to the engine was completely destroyed. No injuries to both the driver and passenger in the Mirage. The cabin of the car did not suffer any damage at this speed; no objects from engine bay protruded into the cabin, and pillar A did not sustain any damage and held up the cabin very well.

For the price and the size of this car, I would say passive safety are excellent.