Why The Mitsubishi Mirage is the Perfect Car for City Chicks

If you live in a major city with a decent enough public transportation system – like New York, Boston, Washington, DC, Chicago, or San Francisco – you’ve probably managed to get through life without having a car. I know a few too many native New Yorkers who don’t have their license, and aside from knowing how to swim, I really think that knowing how to drive is an essential life skill!

Since I’ve decided to move out of the heart of NYC into the suburbs, I’m planning to get a car to make it a bit easier to move around. Ideally, I want something affordable, has great mileage, is easy to park, and is car theft proof (or unlikely to be stolen). I won’t be doing long trips since I don’t have a daily commute, so I’m looking for something that is good for light city and suburb driving. In high school, I dreamed of having a Volkswagen Jetta, so you can tell I’ve always had a thing for cute, small cars.

Mitsubishi Mirage Review

When I visited Chicago a few weeks ago, DriveShop gave me the opportunity to drive the 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage for a week. When I researched the car, I got excited about its size – parking in cities is always a nightmare, so having a compact is preferred. Once I saw that the car was Plasma Purple, I gleefully decided she and I were going to be very good friends for the week, since purple is my favorite color! Here’s a quick run-down of my favorite and least-favorite things about the Mitsubishi Mirage, as well as my final thoughts on whether I’d drive the car again.

What I Loved About the Mitsubishi Mirage

• Compact and great for parking!
  • btw, use SpotHero in Chicago if you’re always struggling to find parking!

• Awesome on gas & mileage with 40 miles per gallon
  • I drove around for a whole week [from Midway to West Loop to Wicker Park to downtown to O’Hare] and only went through half a tank of gas
  • According to Mitsubishi, the Mirage has a 9 out of 10 fuel economy & greenhouse gas rating!
• Simple interior design
  • I actually don’t like when cars have too many buttons in the center controls, because it gets confusing and I don’t like being distracted when all I’m trying to do is raise the heat
• Bluetooth handsfree steering wheel controls
  • I actually didn’t end up using this, but it’s so clutch to have handsfree capabilities

• Good sound system
  • The car I was given had a Rockford Fosgate sound system, which apparently is popping, and while I don’t know about the specific brand, I do know that I was jamming while driving around (or stuck in Chicago traffic)
• Storage space
  • Even though the Mirage is small, the hatchback trunk has a decent amount of storage space, definitely enough to carry luggages to the airport (which I did) or load up a trip from Costco
• The color!
  • The Mirage comes in bold colors as well as more neutral ones – I had numerous people ask me how & where I got the car painted the pretty purple shade!

What I Didn’t Like So Much about the Mitsubishi Mirage

• Slow accelerator
  • Now obviously I’m not racing cars, but when merging onto the highway, I would have to really rev on the accelerator of the Mirage to bring the car back up to the speed limit.
• The noise
  • Once you did get the car moving at a good speed, it could be pretty noisy, making for some pretty loud highway trips… when I was actually moving and not caught up in traffic ????

Would I Drive the Mirage Again?

I really do think the Mirage is a great first-time car for people who will have light usage and short commutes (ie. driving to the train station to park every day). My main issue of noise was always counteracted with the great sound system, and the slow accelerator isn’t enough reason for me not to drive it again. In plasma purple, the Mitsubishi Mirage is a functional, affordable, and fabulous car for city chicks!