PAGE 22 Wednesday <strong>September</strong> 9 <strong>2020</strong> BAY HARBOUR Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz Choice of bright colours for Mirage I’VE ALWAYS dismissed it, but now I fear I’m colour blind. The reason being is that when I picked up a new Mitsubishi Mirage from the dealership, I asked the very friendly salesman: “Is it the brown car out the front?’’ He replied by saying it wasn’t brown, but yellow, and we got into a debate. We finished by agreeing it was a mustard colour and, as such, it is very unusual and difficult to describe. It is the colour in the photograph that accompanies this article, it is vivid and not a colour you often see on today’s roads. However, I’ve been assured it is a popular choice and, as in my case, a colour which draws interest and discussion. The new colour coincides with a new exterior design for the Mirage. The new generation model is sharper, less rounded, it is edgy and bold up front. There’s also a new interior package, there’s a lot more kit in the car, especially for safety, while the controls and functions have been further designed for ease of use and simplicity. Even though the Mirage is built in Thailand, it encompasses the easy-to-use Japanese design philosophy. Inside the compact body shell, the wee Mirage makes good use of its proportions. It’s a bit a of a squeeze in the rear for any more than two occupants, but there is appropriate leg and head room, likewise up front. The driver sits a little high in the seat, but other than that the driving position is comfortable. For those who are less than agile, getting in and out of the driver’s seat is a breeze because of its height, there’s no stress put on the hips. Elsewhere, the Mirage sits on much the same platform as before, although as I’ve just alluded to, there are upgrades throughout which further enhances its five-star Australasian New Car Assessment Program safety rating. Under the rear hatchback area lies a 235-litre load area, extending to 912-litres with the rear seats folded. That translates into a useful load carrying area, it easily accounted for a Kiddie-family load of groceries from Pak’N Save. At the other end sits a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder, twin-camshaft, 12-valve petrol engine. It has modest power outputs of 58kW and 102Nm, but the Mirage is light at 895kg so the engine creates useful, adequate and thrifty performance. Mitsubishi has been busy refining this engine. There’s no CAPABLE: The Mirage’s load carrying area can house a family load of groceries. MITSUBISHI MIRAGE: Honest three-cylinder engine has great fuel economy. denying the characteristic tone that accompanies the three-pot design, but it’s not overbearing and I quite like the honest, deliberate way in which it sounds. Drive is through continuously variable transmission. There are no surprises here and no driveractivated controls. What you get is a simple system that works well. CVT doesn’t load the engine which allows it to work within its own freedom parameters, it never feels low on revs, pick-up is always delivered at the driver’s will. The Mirage is no powerhouse and acceleration fits within its design concept, it will make a standstill to 100km/h in 13sec. However, what does matter the most is what the Mirage achieves in terms on fuel usage, Mitsubishi claims a five-litre per 100km combined cycle average. During my time in the test car I did a lot of inner-city commuting and short low speed journeys, even so, the fuel usage readout was listing an average of 6l/100km when I took the car back to the dealership. That included my long open road journey which offered an amazing 3.4l/100km instantaneous figure at 100km/h, the engine • Price – Mitsubishi Mirage, $21,990 • Dimensions – Length, 3845mm; width, 1665mm; height, 1510mm • Configuration – Threecylinder, front-wheeldrive, 1193cc, 58kW, 102Nm, continuously variable automatic • Performance – 0-100km/h, 13sec • Fuel usage – 5l/100km spinning over freely at 2000rpm. Three-cylinder engines are generally strong on torque and it responds well to mid-range throttle request, an overtaking manoeuvre (80-120km/h) can be achieved in 9sec. With the freedom of CVT the engine builds revs and initiates momentum quickly, well akin to its role anyway. The Mirage also feels light from behind the wheel, the electric power steering system doesn’t afford a lot of feedback, but the tyres (175/55 x 15in Bridgestone Potenza) are of high quality and have high grip levels. When pushed into a corner the Mirage leans a little, the spring and damper rates are set soft, while that affords a comfortable ride, there is a little handling trade-off. The front-strut/rear torsion beam suspension isn’t engineered for quick cornering, but it is in keeping with the role the Mirage is expected to play. In the urban environment it is comfortable and practical. It is also the perfect city runabout with vision and manoeuvrability well manufactured into the car. Take, for example, its turning circle of just 9.2m. The Mirage arrives here in one specification at $21,990, although recent advertising material suggests you can pick it up for less than $20k. It sits in a pretty crowded small car market, but it wins with its personality and high levels of trim. I like it for its build quality and engineering aspects which are just so downright honest, bearing in mind that Mitsubishi has a 10-year/160,000km driveline warranty and a fiveyear/130,000km vehicle warranty incorporated into every Mirage purchase. As for the colour, I’d be choosing something that I could define accurately, if that is at all possible.
Wednesday <strong>September</strong> 9 <strong>2020</strong> Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz BAY HARBOUR PAGE 23 Think 70 is the new 50. Just because your hair might be grey, doesn’t mean your life needs to be. Today’s 70 year olds are the healthiest, strongest, and most mentally agile history has ever known. So Summerset Retirement Villages are designed for the active lifestyles of the youngest “oldies” there’s ever been. Think this sounds like you or someone you love? To find out more about our three Christchurch villages, visit summerset.co.nz For up-to-date information on visiting our villages, go to summerset.co.nz/covid-19 SUM2425_FP
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