Not yet owner

[Mark]

Thank you! Friendly place you have here. That link was great. I don't drive that many miles a day, but it is the type of driving I do. Some people in retirement golf, some fish. We drive.

Three of the vehicles we now have are GDI only; and one with AFM. I want stone age simple, and this looks like that.

414K. That's what I'm looking for. Thanks for the link.

It may be worthwhile to contact White Bear Mitsubishi (already mentioned by someone else) if you become serious in purchasing one. Like I said before the great deals ended in early 2021. The last good deal I saw was the updated 2021 ES manual that Erik bought for his wife. Erik goes by "MrFixIt" on the forum. Erik paid $10,400 OTD for the Mirage below, & White Bear Mitsubishi in Minnesota delivered the car to his home in North Carolina for that final price!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTKrYAVx9eQ&t=2s

I test drove a Mirage in Madison, Wisconsin, but I saved approximately $3,800 OTD by letting White Bear deliver me a car back in 2017. I don't know if the savings would be that steep today, but there is no harm in checking.

We have some very happy G4 owners on the forum, but they haven't seen your thread apparently yet.

On top of being a nice car for the money is this forum! It is a really nice forum to hang out at. I pretty much visit it daily, but I am semi-retired myself.

[7milesout]

I want stone age simple, and this looks like that.

OMG we have the same mindset. I think that every day. The Mirage is as close as it's going to get to that ... these days. I thank God, every time I fire up my blue truck, that I don't have to deal with DPF or DEF fluid, whichever it is, and the crap that goes along with that fluid.

But yeah, the Mirage is as close to stone age as one can find in a vehicle these days.

I even LOVE the dang back up camera just being plunked on with total disregard to aesthetics. Just love it! I did design with Toyota and Hyundai. They'd design something to death. And try to make it as concealed as possible. Yeah, maybe some advantage to that (except with Hyundai, they didn't design anything, they just waited to see how Toyota would do it).

I can just see it now, some old Japanese Mitsubishi design manager grunting to the Mirage body & electric team (in Japanese), "US laws require a back up camera. So add one to the Mirage for North America. And do it CHEAP." I can see some younger Japanese engineer 5 minutes later looking at a couple concepts, and then saying "F-it." Plunk, "there ya go." And then the design manager reviewing it an hour later and grunting in Japanese, "F-it, looks good to me."

There's a lot of power in "Need one." Plunk. "There ya go." "Looks good to me, run it." And I have a lot of respect for that. Plunking that back up camera on there like they did would make Demuro cry like a 4 year old girl. Which makes me love it even more. Every time I see that back up camera plunked onto the back of mine, makes me want to do some engineering crap for Mitsubishi. And makes me like the car even more.

[Grumpy Bear]

It may be worthwhile to contact White Bear Mitsubishi (already mentioned by someone else) if you become serious in purchasing one. Like I said before the great deals ended in early 2021. The last good deal I saw was the updated 2021 ES manual that Erik bought for his wife. Erik goes by "MrFixIt" on the forum. Erik paid $10,400 OTD for the Mirage below, & White Bear Mitsubishi in Minnesota delivered the car to his home in North Carolina for that final price!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTKrYAVx9eQ&t=2s

I test drove a Mirage in Madison, Wisconsin, but I saved approximately $3,800 OTD by letting White Bear deliver me a car back in 2017. I don't know if the savings would be that steep today, but there is no harm in checking.

We have some very happy G4 owners on the forum, but they haven't seen your thread apparently yet.

On top of being a nice car for the money is this forum! It is a really nice forum to hang out at. I pretty much visit it daily, but I am semi-retired myself.

Thank you all for your kindness and imput.

[Grumpy Bear]

OMG we have the same mindset. I think that every day. The Mirage is as close as it's going to get to that ... these days. I thank God, every time I fire up my blue truck, that I don't have to deal with DPF or DEF fluid, whichever it is, and the crap that goes along with that fluid.

But yeah, the Mirage is as close to stone age as one can find in a vehicle these days.

I even LOVE the dang back up camera just being plunked on with total disregard to aesthetics. Just love it! I did design with Toyota and Hyundai. They'd design something to death. And try to make it as concealed as possible. Yeah, maybe some advantage to that (except with Hyundai, they didn't design anything, they just waited to see how Toyota would do it).

I can just see it now, some old Japanese Mitsubishi design manager grunting to the Mirage body & electric team (in Japanese), "US laws require a back up camera. So add one to the Mirage for North America. And do it CHEAP." I can see some younger Japanese engineer 5 minutes later looking at a couple concepts, and then saying "F-it." Plunk, "there ya go." And then the design manager reviewing it an hour later and grunting in Japanese, "F-it, looks good to me."

There's a lot of power in "Need one." Plunk. "There ya go." "Looks good to me, run it." And I have a lot of respect for that. Plunking that back up camera on there like they did would make Demuro cry like a 4 year old girl. Which makes me love it even more. Every time I see that back up camera plunked onto the back of mine, makes me want to do some engineering crap for Mitsubishi. And makes me like the car even more.

It's not that I mind technology. It's that I mind mindless technology. GDI as a standalone system is mindless and mind numbingly ignorant. Either couple it with MPFI or don't use it at all. That sort of thing. Lord, could you imagine the economy of this motor if it had a hybrid system?

Has anyone done an E-85 conversion for this motor?

[Fummins]

One more reason to buy a Mirage(especially a 2017 and newer), you'll never have to worry about crack heads stealing your cat. At least not the front one. And I don't think I've ever heard of anyone having their Mirage stolen unless the thief had the keys. I don't know if the push to start cars are as easy to steal as a Dodge or Toyota but I do know the models with the regular key are a pita to get a replacement key programmed outside of a dealer. I can program Nissan keys in a few minutes, Mitsubishi has that stuff locked down!

[ansebundren]

I can attest to the simplicity. On the interior, it feels like I bought a brand-new car from 1995. This is the first CVT I've driven and it took a little getting used to. It really feels like driving a golf cart. Since the car is so new, I haven't had to hunt for parts, so I couldn't say how hard or easy they would be to find. If you want to stick to the small wheel size, your options for new wheels and tires seem a bit limited. I've seen G4 models on the road with "normal" size wheels, but I doubt they get the same fuel economy and I assume they pay more for replacement tires.

[defensivetackle99]

The G4 has a lot more rear passenger leg room over the hatchback if that is your concern. There are a few owners here on the forum that own the G4 and could give you input (Dirk I'm thinking of you and your ownership experiences with your current G4). You should also be able to get a better deal on a G4 over the Hatchback because the G4 has sold in much lower volumes than the hatch. The dealer I bought my Outlander Sport from has a leftover new 2023 Black Edition for less than MSRP.

https://www.leskovar.com/new/Mitsubi...7d96f515b.htm#

Since you are in Illinois I would check out White Bear Mitsubishi in Minnesota.

Like Fummins posted, if you're interested in winning speed contests this is not your vehicle. If you're interested in keeping your hard earned $$ in your pocket and understand the Mirage for what it is (reliable, easy to work on, efficient) then give it a look and test drive. I bought my 2015 Hatchback new and still own it. Zero mechanical issues and nothing other than normal maintenance. The mpg shown in my avatar is my lifetime average.

Dont forget about me lol.

My G4 SE will never be on the same level as base Corolla however it is arguably a better choice for the $$ HANDS DOWN, even LE trim for the exact same purpose.

G4 has four trim levels: ES, LE, BE, and SE.

I do not recommend ES these days. I had it w/ the manual gearbox. It had Too many compromise for hauling passengers esp when there is no rebate to be had…which was the main point to choose during pre covid.

I recommend either SE or BE trim for max appeal. Otherwise LE trim if you REALLY HAVE to be cheap but idk why would you even do that when the difference between LE and BE/SE is so minor, especially between ES and LE.

Remember, The SE trim is the ONLY option that has the button to UNLOCK the trunk from itself AND from the key fob. In other words, ES, LE, BE G4 trunk can be opened either with the turn key or the lever next to the fuel level located below the driver seat. It can get old really fast. Not a problem for hatchback variant…not even the outlander sports for crying out loud.

Very few G4 SE available these days at dealers compared to LE.

[Mark]

I can attest to the simplicity. On the interior, it feels like I bought a brand-new car from 1995. This is the first CVT I've driven and it took a little getting used to. It really feels like driving a golf cart. Since the car is so new, I haven't had to hunt for parts, so I couldn't say how hard or easy they would be to find. If you want to stick to the small wheel size, your options for new wheels and tires seem a bit limited. I've seen G4 models on the road with "normal" size wheels, but I doubt they get the same fuel economy and I assume they pay more for replacement tires.

I was waiting for the G4 crowd to speak up!

I can't say that I have followed the G4 trim levels that closely since it first appeared in 2017, but the 2017+ Mirage trim levels on any given year have always been a spread of only $2,000 from the base to the top trim level, with the exception of a manual being another approximately $1,200 cheaper.

A true base trim level doesn't really exist in today's market. I drove a 1990's base trim level for 14 years. It didn't have features like -

Power windows
Remote entry or power locks
Power steering
A/C
cruise control
tachometer
intermittent wipers
rear wiper blade
passenger side mirror
radio/speakers/antenna -did add those eventually
air bags
traction/stability control
ABS
4 doors

but it did have a whopping 63 horsepower on 12" rusty steel wheels!

Whereas today's base model Mirage/G4 has all those features listed above & then some (auto climate controls, Bluetooth, backup camera, HSA (hill start assist), etc.....

If you like extra features, a more expensive trim level Mirage/G4 shouldn't cost you an arm or a leg (which is really nice, too).

165/65r14 wheels look OK on the Mirage, but look a bit goofy on the G4 in my opinion (have always thought this).

But an aftermarket 175/65r14 tire on a 14" rim is actually slightly larger than a 175/55r15 factory tire on a 15" rim.

[Grumpy Bear]

One more reason to buy a Mirage(especially a 2017 and newer), you'll never have to worry about crack heads stealing your cat. At least not the front one. And I don't think I've ever heard of anyone having their Mirage stolen unless the thief had the keys. I don't know if the push to start cars are as easy to steal as a Dodge or Toyota but I do know the models with the regular key are a pita to get a replacement key programmed outside of a dealer. I can program Nissan keys in a few minutes, Mitsubishi has that stuff locked down!

Now that's funny stuff right there.

[7milesout]

The manual transmission Mirage has got to be one of the least stolen vehicles in the U.S. My 3 sons all have 6 speed manual cars. But I think they are the last young men on earth that can drive a stick shift.