The European car market has had its first official glimpse of Mitsubishi's new global small car, the Mitsubishi Mirage, at the Paris motor show today. The first car to roll off the Japanese manufacturer's new 'global small' platform, the B-segment car is designed to appeal to mature markets as well as emerging ones.
Mitsubishi describes the five-person Mirage as a 'no-nonsense' offering rather than a 'budget' one, and hopes it will find favour with car buyers who are downsizing to cost-effective vehicles with frugal running costs.
The Mirage is 3710mm long, 1665mm wide, 1490mm high and weighs 845kg. The boot volume is 245 litres with the rear seats in place.
In Europe, the Mirage will be offered with Mitsubishi's new generation of three-cylinder petrol engines. The entry-level car will feature a 1.0-litre unit with 70bhp and 65lb ft. It will cover 0-62mph in 13.6sec and returns claimed fuel economy of 70.6mpg with CO2 emissions of 92g/km.
The 1.2-litre variant has 79bhp and 78lb ft, giving it a 0-62mph time of 11.7sec and claimed fuel economy of 68.9mpg and CO2 emissions of 96g/km
The car will come with energy-saving equipment including stop-start, regenerative braking, low-friction tyres, a high-efficiency alternator and intelligent battery sensor.
As as an alternative to the standard five-speed manual gearbox, Mirage can be fitted with the newest version of Mitsubishi’s CVT transmission, although it has yet to be confirmed whether this version will make it to Europe.
The suspension set-up is MacPherson strut at the front and a torsion beam axle with coil springs at the rear.
The Mirage is built at Mitsubishi Motor Company's new plant in Chonburi, Thailand and has already gone on sale in the Far East. It will be exported to Europe from the first quarter of next year. Across markets that have already received the car, Mitsubishi has forecasted sales of 120,000 for this year.
Mitsubishi also highlighted its most recent facelifted version of its ASX crossover at Paris. The latest car, which goes on sale imminently, has a reshaped front end to incorporate the manufacturer's latest 'softer-looking' design language, and the rear bumper has been refreshed. European-spec cars get revised rear multi-link suspension for improved handling and ride comfort and some mild interior tweaks.
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The Mirage isn't a rebadged
The Mirage isn't a rebadged Micra. While they may well be co-operating on a small car, the Mirage isn't it!
new mirage
why hasnt anyone picked up on this new mirage is actually just a rebadged nissan micra?
They signed a deal back in 2010 to produce a small car, some new 4x4 stuff and some trucks.