26th Feb 2015, 10:30

Thanks for your addendum... very well-written and informative. In all honesty, it should be a stand-alone review itself!

One correction, however. The 3A92 engine in the Mirage uses a timing CHAIN, not a belt. Take off the oil filler cap and you can actually see it! So no replacement will be necessary. There is a bit of Third World toughness built into this car, and that is one reason I like it. Most of the time, valve adjustment is really done on an 'as-needed' basis. I will do it at 60k to keep the warranty up, but after that it should only need to be done if the valvetrain becomes noisy.

The points you note about the CVT are amongst the reasons I decided to go for the five-speed. I don't like CVTs, and I don't trust CVTs. Since mine is a city car, the five-speed works really well as far as MPG goes. I am regularly in the mid-to-high 40s. But up at freeway speeds, the engine is revving a bit too high with the manual, IMHO.

Personally, I don't mind putting in 0W-20 synthetic. A few extra bucks per oil change seems to me a small price to pay for a 100k powertrain warranty, eh? There aren't many engines nowadays, at any price point, that still spec the old dino oil anyway. Most modern engines have high compression, variable valve timing, etc. These all require a clean, pure oil that doesn't break down.

My girlfriend also bought a new Mirage today. And she loves it!