Faults:

Styled metal wheels are rubbish because wheel dressings slip and cut tyre valves off.

Rear window seals beginning to split, but not leaking.

Otherwise fine.

General Comments:

This car is brilliant. My Mirage is the first of the CE model run, so it's quite basic.

The interior fittings are extremely durable, with no cracks nor fading of the plastic. The little 69KW 1500cc motor goes like a rocket and will cruise nicely at 110.

35 litres of petrol will get me at least 600Kms, so fuel economy is brilliant.

Despite the quick gear changes of a P plate driver, this car is standing up pretty well; it's quick and durable, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a small car.

Being a 3 door, it's inconvenient for taking passengers, but it has a decent sized boot.

The 13" inch wheels are rubbish, but if you put some 14" inch alloys on it, it'll stick to the road like glue.

Being wider than most hatchs, front seat room is plentiful.

My Mirage is an Oldie but a Goodie. The 2000-03 model is supposed to be better, but still has the same motor and running gear. Over all, you can't go wrong!

Faults:

The tappets started to make an terrible racket when the car was first started, but once I drove it for a few minutes the noise went away, had the same problem on my last 1.5 Lancer/Mirage.

When I bought the car it had 74000 miles on it, and hadn't had a good service in a long time, but still ran like a dream. I finally got it serviced at 78000 miles when one of the plug leads gave in, I also replaced the plugs and timing belt as they were never ever changed, which was very noticeable when being changed, although in saying that, it never seemed as if it was going to break down, it just kept on going.

I changed the oil and filter regularly to keep it running smoothly, as I drove the car very hard but it never ever let me down.

General Comments:

It was a nice car to drive with plenty of leg room and plenty of space in the back for 3 people. Also the boot has lots of space.

It had excellent fuel consumption for a DOHC engine, I could get 100 miles for 10 euro of petrol, with petrol being on average 115 cent per liter.

The handling is very good, even though it only had crappy little 13" wheels on it.

The engine is very responsive, even though it only has 115 hp, I could keep with most 1.6 DOHC cars easy enough; 0-60 time was 8.5 seconds and could do the clock in 4th gear (185kms) with 2000 rpm left over and a whole other gear.

I would most likely still have this car if someone hadn't crashed into the back of me and wrecked it.

Faults:

Flat tyre due to wheel dressings.

Driver's seat belt re-tractor became stuck (I couldn't lean forward or even get out of the car seat!).

Front passenger and driver's seat are wearing badly, especially if you wear jeans.

General Comments:

This car is an absolute ripper! I travel 600 kilometers a week on 1 tank of petrol.

Just cause it's fuel efficient doesn't mean that it's slow either. This thing can reach speeds of well over 130Kmph in under 30 seconds! Not bad for a 1.5 litre 4!

They're also very roomy and can handle cornering at well over 40 kmph without falter. So there you have it, not only is it efficient, quick, relatively well styled and comfortable, but she also sticks to the road like glue.

Once you've owned a Mirage, you won't settle for anything less.