Mitsubishi Mirage LA (Hatchback) ES (2013-2026)

For the money, it's a great car – I bought a demo model in 2018. 5 years later with 50,000 km on the odo, I haven't had any issues at all. For the price, the features it has, and its reliability, you really can't go past it. A couple of things to note: - have the tyre pressure up to 38 instead of the recommended 36 - it helped the drive quite a bit (a tyre place put me onto this).… Read more

- use the B (brake) on the CVT auto to help slow down the car so you don't chew through the front brake pads (a tip from a dealer).

Small car good for shopping – With the present car shortages, it has become impossible to negotiate the fixed RRP, but it will still pay to contact several dealers for the same model. It took several visits to Southside Mitsubishi over six months to ask if stock had come into the yard for sale as every car salespersons in Perth wants a signature on the contract without stock… Read more

being available, which then gives the dealer three months to deliver during which time the price increases up to a max. of 5% of the factory price, a figure which is not available to a retail customer. Plus if you have a trade, that trade has become three months older and magically "cheaper".

What made Mitsubishi the winner was the ten year warranty and fixed price servicing every 15,000km or one year compared to other brands. It is five years plus another five years if services are done by Mitsubishi. The RAC warns of making sure every dealer is trying to get around fixed-price servicing (if offered) by claiming "that was found" or "this was found" and that then costs extra.

What is annoying is getting an email five months after delivery from Southside Mitsubishi (AHG) claiming the car is booked in for service on a certain date for an oil and filter change for $199. This I consider to be a scam as it will not frighten me into complying, but will be accepted by some other older person, who does not know that present day's oils will last for 15,000km and the company will hardly change the oil and filter after 3,000km as in my case.

With the screen coming on intermittently, I might just accept the suggested date of the service, but use it for a warranty repair instead.

An "Eco" warning light will indicate if the vehicle is driven without "lead foot" and when lit assists in driving economically. A collapsible walker will not fit into the boot space, but will fit behind the rear seats. Found it to be a bit cheap for hooks to be available for a rubber mat on the driver's side, but no mat to be installed or available anyway. One disadvantage we found were the head rests, which jut just too far forward and are not comfortable.

Otherwise at $19,000 for a white base model with CVT automatic transmission it becomes an inexpensive small shopping bag in city traffic.

Great little car – I've had my Mirage for almost five years, it was bought as a second smaller car but gets driven more often around town. I first tried the manual gbx but didn't like it before trying out the CVT auto and was sold. The CVT works so well to get the best out of the small engine. Good Points -Surprisingly zippy for such a small engine -Goes well… Read more

in the city and on the freeway

-Inexpensive to buy and insure

-Economical to run, I get around 5 L/100kms (45 mpg US)

-Only needs a service once per year or at 15,000 kms

-Reliable

-Really comfortable seats

-Compact, easy to drive and park in the city

-Quiet, the design must be very aerodynamic as there's hardly any wind noise when driving

-Simple and effective integrated hands free phone system

Things to be aware of

-It's a light car using high strength steel for the body panels to keep the weight down and increase the power to weight ratio. This means that you can feel a sidewind when it's blowing.

-The high strength steel panels can be be dented easily but car doors etc

-The three cylinder engine will burble when cold but once it's warm is very smooth

-Sometimes there's a lack of torque between the fixed 1st gear and when the CVT kicks in, for example when starting at the lights and immediately turning sharply

-The fan could be more powerful, and the windscreen demister could do a better job on cold mornings

-No boot (trunk) light as standard

-Auto Gbx selector not illuminated (although the selection is shown on the LCD display below the speedometer

All in all I'm very happy with my Mirage and it's well worth a test drive if you are in the market for an affordable and comfortable compact car.

I love my mirage... but – I was looking for a cost effective used vehicle to use for uber. My criteria: Excellent fuel economy A cvt transmission timing chain rather (no time belt replacement) cheap price I bought a two year old Mitsubishi Mirage for $8k. If you are looking for a used vehicle with similar criteria, you will not find a better one for the price.… Read more

You will not see another brand of car that is two years old with similar criteria until you hit about $12k.

That being said, if you are buying a new vehicle I do not recommend the mirage because at ~$13k driveaway, you are far better off paying an extra $1k to $2k to buy a similar but far more refined and more importantly **much safer** vehicle such as the Honda Jazz.

The Mitsubishi Mirage disintegrated in the small overlap crash test. The newer Mirage performs slightly better, but not much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1BGtbKOAOM

Honda Fit (Jazz) small overlap test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkob_YajtXM

A list to small overlaps test for small cars (only some of which are sold in Australia)

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/v/class-summary/minicars

I have driven my Mirage for one year.

Pros:

consumption 5.0l/100k real world, similar to my last prius. I do have to drive lightly though, or it will be 6.0l/100k+.

reliable

cheap tyres

The cvt transmission makes the underpowered engine a nonissue by pegging rpms to a level that maximises power (I have driven the manual and do not recommend it)

The transmission includes an engine brake - which saves your brake pads if you use it to slow at lights

handles well, fun to drive, great turn circle

surprisingly roomy

hatchback utility

Cons:

3 cylinder engine is rough and noisy - the car very noticeably vibrates at idle

poor sound insulation

soft suspension - car regularly bottoms out on rough roads with five people

crash test scores are appalling

skinny tires sometimes cause poor tracking on highway

light - wind and semi-truck air turbulence buffet vehicle on highway

resale value is awful - don't buy a new mirage, instead save a bundle on a used one

paper thin sheet metal - I have a few dents just from leaning against the car

poor resale value

**Please**, if you are buying a new car... don't buy this one. Half of traffic deaths are from small offset crashes, and very few manufacturers are able to build a safe small car. The Honda Jazz Toyota Prius C achieve ratings of "acceptable" on this test. The Kia Rio and Hyundai Accent achieve a "good" top rating. Be aware many of these models from prior years failed this test appallingly, which is why they were re-engineered. Only the USA tests small overlap, so unfortunately we simply have know idea of the performance of vehicles in Australia that are not also in the USA market. The vast majority of vehicles fail the small overlap test unless they have been specifically designed to pass it.

I bought a two year old mirage because it was $4k cheaper than the competition and achieves Prius like efficiency for a fraction of the price. However the fact that a two year old mirage has depreciated so much more than the competition says a lot about how much more you get for spending an extra $1k to $2k when buying a new vehicle. This car has been great for uber, however I am risking my life as this car disintegrates in crashes.

Aircon blows hot air within 11 months in my new mirage – The noise levels are a major concern. It rattles on the highways which is a bit scary. Car manufacturers should be honest in providing good quality cars even if the prices are higher. Such cheap cars should not be allowed legally to be sold. It is not worth it. I don’t recommend this car to even my worst enemy  Show details

Very fuel efficient! – This car is a great value car! Very cheap on petrol, 4.6L/100km, and hence the running costs are very low. The overall driving experience was positive, except the fact that the engine is a little loud when you have to accelerate. The interior is about right for the money you are paying for it. As a tall 6 foot man, I could fit comfortably inside.… Read more

However, one thing is that the interior looks a little cheap, with plastic used in most places. Apart from this, the design is perfect.

Good car - especially for the price – If you are paying less than $15 grand for a car then you have to expect some trade offs. However after driving the car for a while, the highway noise can be a little loud but not overly so and handling is great. The bluetooth has had some issue with Android phones but only happens in a blue moon. The voice recognition is great with a 90% match on… Read more

the names i say. You do have to keep manually importing the phone contacts into the car for any changes.

Service is cheap with fixed price servicing every 15k kms and super cheap to run. I get about 5L/100 on my daily commute

Great fuel efficient small car – This car is extremely well in fuel efficiency. It cost me about $35 for a full tank of fuel. Even though this is a lower end small car, it still equipped with a great Bluetooth system. I can play my favourite music in the car connecting to the spotify app from my iphone.  Show details

Great car for short distance – Compact car that saves fuel, small and easy to park. I only need to pump once a fortnight and it only costs my about 30 dollar. Easy maintenance as well as sleek design. I would recommend for a short distance drive around town. Very comfortable and spacious as the back seat can be adjusted to lie flat.  Show details

Good first car – Driving experience is enjoyable, suits my needs perfectly as a single person living in the city. Handles well, is kind of noisy but not any different to other cars in the same price range. I don't like that the car doesn't have a centre console, but again this seems to be usual. Legroom is perfect for me (167cm). It's tough fitting three adults… Read more

in the back comfortably, but can be done!

Thus far it's been extremely reliable and cheap to run. I fill up usually for around 20 bucks and a full tank lasts around 500kms

AWESOME – Admittedly this is my first car that wasnt 10 years old, so I may have low standards, but oh my god I love this car so much. I have had it over 3 years now and have had zero issues except for a flat tyre. It uses almost no fuel and it easy to fit in little spaces and can turn on a penny. If anyone is after a nifty little car this may be the one for you!  Show details

best car for the money – I bought the 2013 mirage new I've done 100000km now not one thing gone wrong with it only replaced tyres at 76000 I get 4.1 -5.2 lt per 100km it's fantastic on fuel will be buying another one when I've done 200000km it's very light car so can get blown around a bit in a storm but fantastic value for the money  Show details

Definitely great value for the price you pay and what you get! – I purchased a 2016 Mitsubishi Mirage ES automatic car brand new at the 2016 plate clearance in January 2017. It only had 45kms on the odometer and was never a demonstrator model so my 5-year warranty started the day I bought it. I got an excellent price due to the dealer wanting to get rid of 2016 models to make room for the 2017 models, so I… Read more

essentially paid the price of a second-hand car but got a new car. Best time to buy a new car is January.

I wanted a small car that is very fuel efficient, it is definitely one of the most fuel-efficient cars on the road. It had three-quarters of a tank in it when I bought it, this lasted me a week and a half and took me over 200kms (most of which was even slow, peak hour traffic). When I went to fill it up (when the fuel light started flashing), I only spent just under $30.00 filling the tank to full. So definitely not a strain on the hip-pocket! When the fuel falls below a certain level, the fuel sign alerts you by continuously flashing till you fill it up, however, it seems to still show just under a quarter of a tank of fuel. I would have preferred it to have the estimated number of km's left so I could decide how urgent filling up is. I eventually found that you have to go into a menu to find this information….would have preferred this to appear near the odometer and stay on instead of having to press a button and go through a menu to locate this information.

The front seats are nice and high in that as the driver, you have a good view of the road and everything around you. It is a little deceiving how far you are to the car in front of you as the front bonnet dips down so that when you are in the driver’s seat you don’t even see your bonnet at all. I guess it’s something you’d eventually get used to. Being small, it is really easy to park, however inside, especially the driver’s seat and front passenger seat, it is actually rather roomy for a small car. There are three holders for cups near the gear stick and lots of little compartments in the doors etc to put things, however, it does not have pockets behind the driver and front passenger seats which is a shame. I found it strange that it has this little shelf at knee level under the steering wheel. I don’t know what you would store there, but accessing it would be difficult while driving. The glove box is actually quite roomy and I can fit a street directory (a good sized one), a hardcover novel and a newspaper and still manage to close it.

The front seats are very comfortable, however, I don’t like how the headrests push your head forward (as most cars do). Luckily I was able to reverse the headrest and it still was able to fit into the slots securely, once I did this it no longer pushed my head forward and I felt very comfortable, not all cars let you reverse the headrest and still slot in securely, so I find this is a great advantage. The front seats are completely adjustable with slide and recline, the driver’s seat is also height adjustable. I went and got some tailor made good quality sheepskin covers for the front two seats. Now the car feels extra super comfortable and luxurious.

The voice recognition I must say is hopeless. My son and I spent about 10 minutes trying to get it to dial one mobile number, it kept trying to dial 000 and a whole bunch of random numbers and symbols no matter what we said or how clearly we spoke. At least we got a real laugh out of it, especially when I made the statement..…” by now you’d end up having a crash trying to get it to dial that number”, then it said “pardon?” and we both roared with laughter. Luckily my son recorded the whole ordeal and then uploaded it onto his YouTube channel for a laugh. There is the option to do voice training which I will do and hopefully, it will work better once I do the voice training. What’s funny is that there have been a few times while driving (without having done the voice training) that it did end up getting the number correct, then other times when it gets it totally wrong. There is an option to add numbers to the car’s address book which then makes it much easier when you want to make a call. You just need to have your blue tooth switched on your phone and all the buttons you need are on the steering wheel to make a call. The car will even warn you if your phone battery is low.

The boot is very small but still quite useable. I was pleasantly surprised how much extra room can be obtained by rolling the back seats down. We managed to fit an enormous 121cm tall, 4 level cat scratching post/palace into the boot with the seats rolled down which was great. Otherwise if it had not have fitted in we would have missed out on that treat for our cats (we had found it at the side of the road in a council clean up in an area far away from home). I like the fact there is only one button that both unlocks the car doors and the boot, then to open the boot you just need to pull the handle (similar to the car door). I prefer this setup as opposed to a separate button for the boot as I found in my previous car this would sometimes fail and was expensive to fix.

I like the way the car is not low to the ground, it does not scrape when you go up or down driveways of bumps, I used to hate when my previous car scraped on driveways and bumps because it was too low.

The steering is really light and reacts to the slightest turn, very easy to maneuver.

I find that having a very small engine does mean the car will strain going up a hill when the air-con is on and/or there are many passengers in the car. I also find that it can be a little slow off the mark when waiting for a gap in the traffic to turn into a street…you have to ensure there is a large gap, otherwise you won't get through in time. It's no good putting your foot hard down on the accelerator or it will hesitate and jump. Likewise, the engine is a little noisy when going uphill or accelerating from a stopped position, other than that you can't really hear it. The air-con vents are only in the front, there are none for the passengers in the back which is a shame, but the air-con does work well and will cool down the whole inside of the car after a while. What’s interesting is that the air-con is fitted with a pollen filter which is great for those suffering seasonal allergies.

I noticed the plastic panel covering the steering column was open and when I tried to click it closed again, it would soon click open again later. I called the dealership where I purchased the car from “Brookvale Mitsubishi” and they were very accommodating and said that they would fix that up when I come in for the car’s 1500km complimentary service. That’s the only thing I’ve noticed so far that needs attention. I must say I found the whole purchase experience very pleasant and would definitely recommend Brookvale Mitsubishi as they not only gave me a great deal but were not pushy or high pressure and treated me like a very special customer. There was even a lovely little ceremony when I came to pick up the car.

The car comes with ANCAP five-star safety as it has 6 SRS airbags and Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution body so you can have complete peace of mind you are driving one of the safest cars on the road.

I like the black cloth seat trim and black/charcoal interior colours as it not only looks modern and sport, but is very practical in that it doesn’t show the dirt.

I don't like the way the interior windows really fog up in the rain (even with the air set on outside) and the fact the only way to clear them is by using the air-con on the window setting. Luckily you can set it for heat as well as cold and it still clears the windows equally as well, otherwise you'd freeze to death on a rainy winter day. My previous car didn't need the air-con on to clear the fog, instead, I could just blast it with normal air (even hot air) on the window setting and it would work. I tried that in this car but it just got foggier. The back demister works really well, within seconds of turning it on, the whole back window will clear.

I found the USB Port in the glove box which I thought was a strange place to have it but at least it does have one. There is a slight indent for a cord to protrude out from the glove box so you can have it closed while using the USB port. The radio turns on by pressing a button, however, to turn it off you have to press the same button for at least 2-3 seconds otherwise, it will not turn off. I would have preferred it to be a simple press on and press off.

Unfortunately, the horn is not "angry" enough, it is a mere “cute” little beep which sounds like Road-Runner from the old Road-Runner and Coyote cartoons from the 70's. When I am using my horn I am telling someone off, I don’t want to sound "cute".

The side mirrors fold in completely which is great for when parking on a narrow street and you don’t want your mirror to be side swiped by moving traffic.

For a micro car, I think it is attractive, sporty and very well fitted with all the extras, it is comfortable and surprisingly roomy in the front. Easy to park and maneuver, a little slow off the pace and struggles a little going uphill especially with many passengers and the air-con on, however that’s the trade-off for excellent fuel economy which will no doubt be of great benefit to the hip-pocket in the long term. Definitely great value for the price you pay and what you get!

Terrible – Another micro car that deserves no stars. To start brake pads gone at 15000kms. Sluggish CVT engine that makes the car jump and hesitates if you have to put your foot down. I had a Suzuki Alto and that was way better. it claims to have 4.6/100kms but I can not get anywhere near that. for me it's 5.5 and that's following the little crappy eco mode… Read more

on the dash.

Few cars that are better- Suzuki Alto & Kia Picanto

Beware this junk from a crap company

2014 Mirage review – 12 months of owning a 2014 Mirage, used daily to work, with a few minor issues: Door unlock remote stopped working after 4 months, dealer replaced at first service. Evidence of rust in the engine bay, will show dealer at next service. Gentle knock from accelerator pedal heard/felt occasionally (usually within first few minutes of start up). … Read more

USB connector in glove-box, not very user friendly location.

Bluetooth hands free performs well, phone pairing is a snap.

Cruises at 100km/hr comfortably.

Conclusion: Cheap economical motoring simple and effective, built for purpose to get from A to B.

Very happy with new Mirage – Have had my new Mirage now for 4 weeks 2014 MY15, upgraded from a 1998 model. Base model ES CVT has all the safety gear and connectivity you would need, voice control for phone calls works perfect every time, fairly perky performance for a tiny motor, heaps of room inside, picked mine up for 15k, blue with wheel and wing package, 5yr warranty, 4yr capped price servicing and 4yr roadside assist + 3yr free car wash :] Bargain!!!!!  Show details

What a suprise – I test drove a Manual ES model today and even though the salesmen had to teach me how to drive manual before I could drive it I court on quickly and really enjoyed it for $12,990 it was a fantastic deal. Before driving it the Toyota salesmen told me how cheap and rubbish it was but after he drove it he knew it was a winner. My only problem I've got an Automatic license but I will definitely be getting a manual one asap.  Show details

Great for the money 2013 ES – It's a good buy and very cheap to run! 4.6 to 5.5 lt per hundred on a 80km round trip to work. Don't like the clutch or the very light steering but everything else is good. Gearbox not the best but can live with the 5 speed it may loosen up with age. It does 100kmh plus easy and is perfect.  Show details

Great value – I don't really understand why the critic reviews on this car are so bad. My experience with the 2013 model of this car is that it is great value. In the base model I bought you get pretty much everything including all safety features (airbags, abs, stability control), Bluetooth hands free, iPod connectivity, usb and leather steering wheel. The… Read more

ride is comfortable and the car is light to drive. The transmission is a bit rough when taking off but once it gets started it's very smooth. It gets up to high speed very easily and handles 100+ speeds smoothly and without effort. The stereo is good quality. Its also got a shiny part on top of the stereo which makes it easy to securely attach a mobile phone or gps holder that uses suction cups. The marketing material doesn't do this car justice. In person, it's not anywhere near as girly looking as in the pics. Fuel economy is good but not as good as they claim (5-6L/100km rather than 4.6-4.8). The only annoyance is that the automatic gearbox is not backlit so it's hard to find the right gear in the dark. Great value - Has everything you need, good fuel economy, large side mirrors Auto gearbox is not lit.