Mitsubishi Mirage

The 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage is aptly named since its appeal tends to vanish as you draw near for a closer look. If you go by just the specs, the Mirage looks great. It starts off with the EPA fuel economy estimate of 39 mpg combined, which makes the Mirage one of the most fuel-efficient non-hybrids around. It's also one of the least expensive new cars around. Oh, and its tidy size should make it easily maneuverable. A small, affordable car that gets great mileage — what's not to love?

Well, for starters, that impressive fuel economy comes at the expense of power. The Mirage comes with a tiny 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine, and its 76 horsepower struggles to move the Mirage with any authority. While not a big issue around town, that power deficit makes merging on the highway genuinely stressful. The Mirage's poor build quality and substantial road and engine noise also make for a fairly unrefined experience.

You could look past these flaws if the cost of entry were unbeatably low, but it's not. The Mirage is indeed very affordable, but rivals such as the Chevrolet Spark and Kia Rio are in similar pricing territory. The Rio, in particular, is also significantly more comfortable and refined. The Mirage sounds like a good idea, but the reasons to buy one evaporate the closer you get.

Which Mirage does MatoCar recommend?

The Mirage's primary appeal lies in its low price, so stick with the base ES trim. You'll miss some of the upper-level creature comforts, but the ES has the essentials: automatic air conditioning, cruise control, smartphone connections and USB. Paying more for the higher trim levels doesn't make sense when you can buy a better competitor's car for nearly the same price.

The 2021 Mitsubishi Mirage is a front-wheel-drive subcompact hatchback available in four trim levels: ES, LE, SE and Carbonite Edition. Every Mirage comes with a 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine that produces 76 horsepower and 74 lb-ft of torque.

ES The ES comes standard with a five-speed manual transmission, but you can opt for a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), which comes with every other trim level. Standard features include:

14-inch steel wheels
Automatic climate control
Cruise control
Tilt-adjustable steering wheel
Keyless entry

Technology and safety features include:

Rearview camera
7-inch audio display
Bluetooth
Four-speaker sound system with USB input
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connection
Forward collision mitigation (warns you of an impending collision and applies the brakes in certain scenarios)

LE The LE adds:

14-inch alloy wheels

Carbonite Edition The Carbonite Edition is essentially a Mirage LE but with a handful of exterior cosmetic enhancements. SE The SE adds to the ES features with:

15-inch alloy wheels
LED headlights
Foglights
Automatic high beams
Cloth and simulated leather combination seats
Heated front seats
Driver's seat armrest
Leather-wrapped steering wheel
Push-button ignition and proximity keyless entry
Lane departure warning (alerts you if the vehicle begins to drift out of its lane)