Mitsubishi Mirage

The basicness of the overall design and appeal of the Mitsubishi Mirage is very evident in the cabin, as the Philippines-spec version doesn’t get the new upholstery and features introduced in the 2019 facelift available globally. In the Philippines, the Mitsubishi Mirage is available with an all-black upholstery with grey fabric for the seats and door pad inserts. 

The Mitsubishi Mirage has a plain-looking three-spoke steering wheel, which lacks buttons for the audio and Bluetooth controls. There are chrome inserts on the spokes of the steering wheel, which can also be seen in the surrounds for the rounded AC vents on the dashboard corners and the trapezoidal AC vents on the centre console.

Coming to the centre of the dashboard, the Mitsubishi Mirage has sleek-looking AC vents at the top and a touchscreen infotainment system placed within a trapezoidal, blacked-out housing in the middle. The panel for the manual AC vents is at the bottom of the centre console. The inside door handles and door fabric inserts also look very basic for a car of today’s times. The transmission lever gets a nice-looking silver finish. 

Pros and Cons:

Pro: Spacious cabin with comfortable seats

Con: The cabin layout looks very basic and outdated 

Features and Technology

Being an entry-level model which has been designed and built to a cost, there are very few comfort and convenience features on offer in the Mitsubishi Mirage. The hatchback feels very basic, with the sole variant on offer having a 6.75-inch touchscreen infotainment system in the centre console. This screen is compatible with AUX, USB, iPod and Bluetooth connectivity. However, it lacks the modern connectivity aids of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The Mitsubishi Mirage is also offered with a very basic 2-speaker audio system, power windows, manual AC and a tilt-adjustable steering wheel as standard. The steering wheel also lacks audio and Bluetooth controls, making the Mirage one of the very cars on sale to lack a multi-functional steering wheel. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Responsive touchscreen infotainment system

Con: No automatic climate control and multi-functional steering wheel

Boot Space and Storage

Another area where the Mitsubishi Mirage truly excels is the huge sense of space in the boot compartment. With a boot space of 484 litres with the rear seats up, the Mitsubishi Mirage has the largest boot compartment among all the hatchbacks sold in the Philippines car market, which is even bigger than some of the sedans and crossover SUVs. After folding down the 60:40 split rear seats, this boot space expands to 1,331 litres. 

Even in the passenger cabin, the Mitsubishi Mirage has a decently-sized glovebox on the co-passenger side of the dashboard. However, the door pockets are slim and not too spacious, with the lack of cup holders also being another concern.

Pros and cons:

Pro: Humongous boot compartment for a hatchback

Con: Limited storage spaces in the cabin

Exterior Design

The Philippines car market gets the first facelifted version of the Mitsubishi Mirage, which was globally unveiled in 2017. While many other global markets got the second facelift that debuted in 2019, the Philippines continues to get the 2017 version, which now looks outdated by modern standards.

At the front, the Mitsubishi Mirage has a simple-looking fascia, featuring a sleek and stretched hexagonal grille that has thin chrome surrounds. The triangular headlamps on the sides are large, but look very basic with their all-halogen setup. The front bumper here has a very wide air dam with wing-shaped blacked-out housings on the corners, which do get provisions for after-market fog lamps. 

The side profile of the Mitsubishi Mirage also looks very basic to the eyes, with the sharp crease flowing upwards from the front fender to the rear fender being the only thing here that adds some character. The Mirage comes with blacked-out 15-inch alloy wheels and outside rearview mirrors while having turn indicators placed on the front fenders. 

At the back, the Mitsubishi Mirage has a large curvy-looking tail lamp cluster, which like the headlamps, also misses out on LED inserts. The boot lid here looks compact, while the rear bumper looks muscular with its large-sized appearance. The hatchback also comes standard with a rear wiper and washer and roof-mounted spoiler. The Mirage can be had in one of the two colour schemes – Titanium Grey Metallic and Red Metallic. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Blacked-out alloy wheels and rearview mirrors

Cons: The overall design now looks very dated

The claimed fuel efficiency of the Mitsubishi Mirage is 18.3 kmpl, which is pretty decent for an engine this old and a car of its size. Practically, this little hatchback from Mitsubishi delivers 13-14 kmpl in city traffic conditions, which can go up to even 18-19 kmpl in highway driving conditions.

Pros and cons:

Pro: Good fuel efficiency on highways

Con: Real-world city efficiency could have been better

While the Mitsubishi Mirage feels very basic and below average in many areas, ride quality and comfort are where it seals the deal. This Mitsubishi hatchback comes with Macpherson struts at the front and a torsion beam at the rear, which have soft-tuned springs that make the overall ride quality quite plush and well-settled. Adding more comfort and stability to the overall driving experience of the Mitsubishi Mirage are its 15-inch wheels, which are large for a small hatchback of its price. 

Pros and

Cons:

Pro: Smooth and composed ride quality

Con: Steering response could have been better at higher speeds

Ever since the launch of the sixth-generation Mitsubishi Mirage globally in 2012, the hatchback has always been available solely with a 1.2-litre three-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine. The current model continues to have this same petrol engine, which now produces a maximum power output of 76.4 bhp and a maximum torque output of 100 Nm.

There are two transmission choices available for the Mitsubishi Mirage – a 5-speed manual and CVT. The engine is not primarily known for its outright performance and acceleration, as it feels lazy in picking up its pace. It is also not as refined as other four-cylinder small-capacity petrol engines, though the refinement levels are pretty decent for city speeds.

Also, while the 5-speed manual transmission is decently responsive, the CVT has the typical rubber-band effect. However, for city driving, both the transmissions are very convenient to use. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Refinement at lower city speeds

Con: Lack of power at higher RPMs

Given that the Mitsubishi Mirage is built to a cost, the hatchback disappoints again with its limited safety net. To keep costs in check, many of the modern-day safety features are missing in the Mitsubishi Mirage, including ADAS, hill start assist and electronic stability program. It even misses out on having a reverse camera and rear parking sensors, making the car feel pretty basic. However, it gets dual front airbags and ABS, which are must-haves for even an entry-level passenger car. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Dual front airbags are present

Con: Many of the safety features are missing, including rear parking sensors and camera

Competitor Comparison

For the price point at which it is on sale, the Mitsubishi Mirage is a larger car than other entry-level hatchbacks like Toyota Wigo, Suzuki S-Presso, and Suzuki Celerio. It undercuts its direct rivals like Suzuki Swift and Honda Brio, which are equally sized but offer more modernity in their designs and more features. 

Conclusion and Final Verdict

One cannot deny the fact of how outdated and basic the Mitsubishi Mirage looks and feels inside-out. This Mitsubishi hatchback misses out on many modern features even by the standards of entry-level cars, with the car lacking must-have comfort and safety features. Even the engine doesn’t feel as up-to-the-mark and powerful for a modern-day car.

However, at its price, there is no other car that matches the ride comfort and cabin and boot space levels of the Mirage. Even the performance and refinement levels from the engine are pretty decent for city speeds.