FIRST DRIVE REVIEW
2017 Mitsubishi Mirage Hatchback
It's better looking but still anemic.
You have to be pretty experienced to reminisce fondly about past versions of the Mitsubishi Mirage, but even the young soon will forget this latest iteration of Mitsubishi’s subcompact runabout, which returns for 2017 after sitting out the 2016 model year. Except, perhaps, for its particularly egregious abuse of the GT (for Grand Touring) label, which came about decades ago as a descriptor for fast, luxurious sports cars that made covering long distances a pleasure. We’re talking cars from the likes of Ferrari, Porsche, and Aston Martin, to name just a few prominent pedigrees. Sure, the term has been applied to lesser cars, but the 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage GT hatchback is a long way from that idea. A very long way.
The little commut-a-pod is almost as subcompact as subcompact gets among four-door hatchbacks (only the Chevy Spark is smaller). The little Mitsu is 10.3 inches shorter than the Ford Fiesta and 2.2 inches narrower; its 96.5-inch wheelbase is 1.5 inches shorter than the Ford’s.
Tepid Triple
We compare with the Fiesta, because that’s the only other car in this class offering a three-cylinder engine option, although there’s a big difference between Ford’s turbocharged EcoBoost 1.0-liter and Mitsubishi’s tepid 1.2-liter naturally aspirated triple: 123 horsepower and 125 lb-ft of torque for the former, 78 horses and 74 lb-ft for the Mirage. Other three-bangers in the U.S. market, from Mini and Smart and BMW, also are turbocharged.
Although Mitsubishi has managed to extract a little more power from the 2017 version of the Mirage—four horsepower, to be precise—the key to its performance, such as it is, lies in its modest mass. The Mitsubishi put on a little weight in its 2017 makeover, but even this GT, the Mirage hatchback’s top trim level among three, doesn’t weigh in far north of one ton—about 200 pounds lighter than the Spark and some 500 pounds less than the mass of the 1.0-liter Fiesta.
However, we don’t expect this will translate into lively acceleration when we get the Mirage to a test track. Like our 2017 test car, the last Mirage hatchback we tested was equipped with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). That one took 10.9 seconds to reach 60 mph—more than two seconds slower than the Fiesta turbo triple and about the same as the Chevy Spark automatic. (Mitsubishi also added a sedan to the lineup for 2017, dubbed the Mirage G4, but it’s heavier and even slower.)
Slow is the right word here, but that doesn’t really describe all of what happens in the Mirage when the driver tramps on the throttle. The CVT (standard equipment in the GT trim level) is a device whose efforts to keep pace with the engine at full throttle are exceptionally annoying—and is at least a half-generation of development behind the CVTs offered by Nissan and Honda.
CVT and MPG
On the other hand, if you want the Mirage’s best fuel-economy ratings—37 mpg city, 43 highway—the CVT is the way to go. The EPA fuel-economy figures for the five-speed manual are lower by 4 mpg in the city and 2 mpg on the highway. It’s worth noting, too, that the three-cylinder Fiesta has a 41-mpg highway rating.
The GT label also seems exceptionally pretentious in reference to the Mirage’s dynamics. Relaxed roll stiffness allows body motions that are well outside a range that could reasonably be called sporty. In mitigation, it’s only fair to say that the comfort-oriented spring and damping rates conspire to provide smooth ride quality, and low curb weights allow reasonably brisk responses, the rocking and rolling notwithstanding. But the comfort quotient is tempered by rather high interior noise levels and the asthmatic powertrain protests that go with the CVT, as well as vibration at idle.
Mitsubishi invested a fair percentage of its Mirage-makeover money to improved styling, including new front and rear fascias, lights, and wheels. The interior gets a new instrument panel, a new steering wheel, upgraded connectivity (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), a Rockford Fosgate audio option, and new upholstery. The new upholstery, though, still looks bargain-basement and covers seats that don’t provide much lateral support—certainly unworthy of that GT badge.
Improvements notwithstanding, the market viability of the Mirage lies in its cheap-as-it-gets pricing (from $13,830), its fuel economy, and its strong warranty (five years or 60,000 miles, and 10 years or 100,000 miles on the powertrain). It seems reasonable to predict that at least 95 percent of the Mirages sold—if not all of them—will never receive proper maintenance and cosmetic upkeep. Ever. Why? Because we bestow proper care on vehicles that we love
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