2001 Mitsubishi Mirage Hatchback review from Australia and New Zealand

(1) Rubber seal around right headlamp came loose: fixed by dealer under warranty.

(2) Power steering drive belt came off: fixed by dealer under warranty.

I bought this car brand new in November 2001.

The Mirage has a lot of performance as it is using the rugged 1.5L engine as used in the Mitsubishi Lancer, but the Mirage is at least 60-90 kg lighter than the Lancer.

Excellent fuel economy. I can easily get 4.6L per kilometer when freeway or highway driving and 6.9L per kilometer in suburban driving.

The cabin personifies comfort blended with practicality. Although the car's dashboard has often been criticised in car magazines for appearing dated, the dashboard still looks up-to-the-minute in my opinion.

Very positive manual gearchange... it is a delight to use as the engine is torquey and very punchy low down in the rev range.

The Mirage styling is still very much up-to-the-minute and exciting despite the Mirage having been on the Australian market since 1997.

Excellent all round vision thus providing me with a feeling of safety and confidence when driving in heavy or peak hour traffic.

The build quality of the Mirage is superb with well-fitted panels and excellent quality of paintwork. Contemporary equivalent size Korean cars and many other similar Japanese cars lack that feeling of quality and refinement.

The Mirage feels quite solid despite its small size.

In my experience, the service and support provided by Mitsubishi Australia has been excellent. I would be interested to know if other readers have had different experiences with the Mitsubishi service departments.

The only criticism I can make of the Mirage is that the boot area is too small as I had to carry some luggage in the back seat when driving from Melbourne to Sydney.