Thread: First drive review: Mitsubishi Mirage 3 1.2

Good value and very efficient, but the driving experience is not for enthusiastsForget the Ford Fiesta or Volkswagen Polo. I know, you know, eveyone knows, theyre the best superminis in the class: pleasing to drive, pleasing to sit in. But some people dont really care. Ride and handling? Perceived quality? Surprise and delight and touchy-feely design? Not interested. They want value, space, some kit, low running costs and the peace of mind they perceive comes with a car from the Far East. Here, for those people, is the Mitsubishi Mirage. It replaces the Colt, on sale since 2004 and, you might remember, a car that shared a platform with the badge-engineered Smart Forfour. Theres nothing like that this time around. The Mirage is as far removed from the Forfour or, say, the likes of a Fiat 500 or Vauxhall Adam, as it gets. Its basic, unpretentious, good value and heroically efficient: Mitsubishi says its the first car range on sale in the UK whose every variant emits less than 100g/km of CO2. Mostly thats down to lightweight engineering and neat packaging. The Mirage is just 3710mm long (yet seats four adults comfortably and has a 235-litre boot) and is claimed to weigh, remarkably, just 845kg in base 1. 0-litre form.