2024 Mitsubishi Mirage

The Mirage is one of the last contenders standing in a segment that’s almost disappeared. The Mirage remains one of America’s smallest and lowest-priced new cars in an ever-shrinking class of subcompact cars. Affordability is a strong suit of the Mitsubishi Mirage, but a low price tag doesn’t always mean a good value. Its more modern rivals in the same price range are more compelling packages with stronger engines and nicer interiors. That said, the Mirage is the most fuel-efficient car in its class and has an excellent warranty.

The Mitsubishi Mirage competes with the Nissan Versa and Kia Rio in the small segment of subcompact cars.

The mid-range LE trim gets a few additional features for 2024. These include automatic headlights, rain-sensing wipers, and an armrest for the driver’s seat.

Before buying a Mirage, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should really pay. Mitsubishi Mirage resale value is below average for the segment.

The Mitsubishi Mirage is powered by a 78-horsepower 3-cylinder engine matched with a CVT automatic transmission and front-wheel drive. That makes the Mirage the least powerful new car on the market and the only one with a two-digit horsepower rating.

Even given the low curb weight of the Mirage, this engine is barely adequate for highway driving. In our testing, getting the Mirage up to highway speed on an onramp required a lot of patience. We don’t expect this Mitsubishi to be a hot hatch, but even the little four-cylinder engines in the Nissan Versa and Kia Rio significantly outperform the Mirage.

Then there’s the noise. The engine in the Mirage always sounds like it’s being driven hard, even when you’re just trying to keep up with traffic. The Mirage reminds us of a cheap economy car from the 1990s. Loud and slow aren’t a great combo.

We found the handling, braking, and overall ride quality on par for a tiny car in this price range. One perk of the small footprint of the Mirage is that it’s easy to park and maneuver on city streets.

We’ve spent hundreds of hours driving and evaluating this generation of subcompact cars, including the Mitsubishi Mirage.

Fuel Economy

The Mitsubishi Mirage has a class-leading combined fuel economy rating of 39 mpg for the hatchback and 37 mpg for the sedan. The Kia Rio gets 36 mpg, and the Nissan Versa with the automatic transmission gets 35 mpg. That gives the Mirage some of the lowest fuel costs you’ll find this side of a hybrid or EV. More Mirage fuel economy information is available on the EPA’s website.

We climbed into the driver’s seat of the Mitsubishi Mirage, reminding ourselves that it has one of the lowest price tags of any new car in the U.S. That softened the blow when we were welcomed by abundant hard plastics and mediocre seat comfort. Although not fancy or particularly comfortable, we’re pleasantly surprised by the standard features you get for the money, like a 7-inch touchscreen, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, automatic climate control, and dual vanity mirrors.

We found another pleasant surprise when we climbed in the back seats; class-leading legroom. The Mirage G4 sedan has 37.3 inches of rear legroom, and the hatchback has 34.2 inches. Both of those figures beat the backseat space in the Versa and the Rio.

The Mirage hatchback has more cargo space than the Rio hatchback, with 17.1 cubic feet of room behind the back seats and 47 cubic feet when you fold those seats down. However, the tiny 12.4 cubic-foot trunk in the Mirage G4 is smaller than what you get in the Versa and the sedan version of the Rio.

We appreciate that the Mitsubishi Mirage is still available in two body styles. The standard Mirage is a hatchback, and the Mirage G4 is a sedan. The base model has little visual flair, but every other trim has alloy wheels. The Black Edition adds a stylish, dark aesthetic, and the available contrast roof is a nice touch.

Two body styles
It’s getting uncommon for a car to be available as a sedan or a hatchback, but the Mitsubishi Mirage still gives buyers both options.

Black Edition
This stylish trim has black alloy wheels, a black spoiler, black mirror caps, and subtle red trim inside and out.

Standard automatic climate control
Set the temperature where you want it, and the car takes care of the rest. We love to see this comfort feature come standard on such an affordable car.

Smartphone connectivity
Standard Android Auto and Apple CarPlay make it easy to bring your music, maps, and more to the screen in the Mirage.

Safety tech
Automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection comes standard, and all but the base trim include automatic headlights and rain-sensing wipers.

SE trim
Since the loaded SE trim still starts at under $20k, it’s easy to recommend. Features include LED headlights with automatic high beams, fog lights, 15-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats, push-button start, and lane departure warning.

The Mitsubishi Mirage is powered by a 1.2-liter 3-cylinder engine rated at 78 horsepower and 74 lb-ft of torque. 3-cylinder engines are starting to get more common in small SUVs, but this is the only one on the market that isn’t turbocharged. The result is the lowest horsepower rating of any new car in the U.S., but it’s great on gas, partially thanks to the CVT automatic transmission.

5-Year/60,000-Mile Warranty

The Mitsubishi Mirage boasts an impressive 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty and a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. That coverage matches the Kia Rio and beats the Nissan Versa.

Safety

The Mitsubishi Mirage gets a 4-Star overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). For what it’s worth, the Nissan Versa gets a 5-Star rating. Standard safety features in the Mirage include automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, a backup camera, and an anti-theft engine immobilizer. Rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlights and high beams, and lane-departure warning are optional.