Mitsubishi prices Mirage under $13k

MITSUBISHI will pitch its new entry-level Mirage on to the Australian market from $12,990 (plus on-road costs) next month, ensuring a fierce start to 2013 in the cheap hatchback segment.

The pricing of the Thai-made five-door city car in its cheapest ES form places it smack in the middle of direct rivals such as the $12,490 Holden Barina Spark, $13,490 Nissan Micra and $13,990 Volkswagen Up.

It also is a whopping $3500 more affordable than Mitsubishi’s previous light car entrant, the larger and now defunct $16,490 Colt that replaced the original Mirage in 2004.

Powered exclusively by a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with a choice of five-speed manual gearbox or continuously variable transmission (CVT) automatic, the Mirage also becomes the most fuel efficient car in its class, using as little as 4.6 litres of petrol per 100km in manual form (4.9L/100km for the CVT models).

This compares with the Barina Spark’s best effort of 5.2L/100km on the combined driving test, 6.5L/100km for the Micra and 4.8L/100km for the Up.

However, the smaller 1.0-litre, four-seat Alto achieves 4.5L/100km.

Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (MMAL) hopes to sell 6000 Mirages a year, growing its overall annual sales tally by about 10 per cent in 2013.

The five-seat Mirage will be offered in three specification levels – ES, Sport and LS – ranging in price from $12,990 to $17,740.

The base ES gets a black polka dot seat fabric, audio with CD player, two speakers, USB and auxiliary connectivity plus Bluetooth with audio streaming.

The leather bound steering wheel has buttons for phone and audio control, while the rear seat folds in a 60/40 split to accommodate extra cargo.

The Mirage Sport is based on the ES, but gets 14-inch alloy wheels, roof spoiler, four speakers and ‘door sash blackout’.

The upmarket Mirage LS gets a more sophisticated interior trim, including black and ivory two-tone dash and door trims.

Extra equipment in the LS includes fog lamps, roof spoiler, 15-inch alloys, dusk-sensing headlights, rain-sensing wipers, keyless start, climate control air-conditioning and four speakers for the stereo.

Six airbags – including side and curtain bags – are standard, along with three tether anchor points for rear-seat child restraints.

The engine churns out 57kW of power at 6000rpm and 100Nm of torque at 4000rpm.

This is more than the VW Up’s 55kW/95Nm from 1.0 litre, and line-ball with the 1.2-litre three-cylinder Nissan Micra (56kW/100Nm) and marginally less than the 1.2-litre Holden Spark (59kW/107Nm).

Journalists who drove early production Mirages in Thailand earlier this year were critical of its ride, handling and plasticky interior, but MMAL has promised those issues have been addressed.

Mitsubishi describes the Mirage’s performance as nimble and fun to drive, adding that it has a best-in-class turning circle of 4.4 metres.

MMAL CEO Mutsuhiro Oshikiri said the company had decided to reveal the Australian pricing before the Mirage’s showroom release due to overwhelming interest online and in dealerships.

“As you can see, starting at $12,990 the all-new Mirage is great value for money, offering lively performance and a brand new stylish design and is already appealing to customers ahead of its arrival,” he said.

“In the first two weeks of our ‘Win a Mirage’ Facebook pre-sale campaign, we have had over 3500 entries and a high level of ‘registrations of interest’ through our website and in dealerships.”2013 Mitsubishi Mirage pricing*

ES	$12,990
ES (a)	$15,240
Sport	$14,190
Sport (a)	$16,440
LS	$15,490
LS (a)	$17,740

*Plus on-road costs