How can I put this delicately? The day I was to pick up the Mitsubishi Mirage my body decided to evacuate a kidney stone on its own. That’s Honda Fit and Fiat 500 territory - both of which are leaps and bounds ahead in terms of quality and construction. My particular tester edged in on the $17k mark. Jump to the SE model and you’re looking at $15,398 to start, and that’s before you start adding things that actually make the car livable and tolerable. Where the 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage really falls flat is in its price.Ī 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage ES base model starts at $12,498. Forget about the CVT (although there is an available 5-speed manual, thankfully). Forget about the 74 horsepower and 74 lb-ft of torque from the 1.2L 3-cylinder engine. Here’s where the Mitsubishi Mirage really fails, in my opinion. Rumours circulated that the name “Mirage” would once again be used - a name that Mits has attached to quite a few of its compact car models since the mid-‘70s.īuilt as an affordable, fuel efficient vehicle with a decent amount of space, the Mitsubishi Mirage is not about high-quality, drivability or comfort.

They were reluctant to release the vehicle’s name when it first appeared. The Mirage is essentially a revamped and renewed Mitsubishi Colt. The real issue with this vehicle? It’s a true economy car in every sense of the word (which I have no problem with), but it commands a subcompact price that just puts it leagues beneath its competition in the same bracket. I’d really hoped to make analogies with salvation-type mirages in barren wastelands cures for dried up sales numbers and maybe even a heavens-opening-up type situation in which the Mirage dropped down to save the day… but I just can’t when it comes to this particular vehicle.

After a week behind the wheel of the 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage, I am desperate to believe that there’s no way Mitsubishi could possibly hope that this little econobox was to be their oasis in a barren desert of sales.

2014 mitsubishi mirage