What next?

[micra2080]

I almost bought a mirage instead of Micra, and up until today, i still prefer a Mirage. Mirage does have a bigger trunk...
fuel efficiency and warranty is unbeatable. The only problem i see is the power (which is expected) and the engine noise that i didn't enjoy when i test drive it. Well, my wife preferred the Micra and she is the driver... so we got Micra.

[MetroMPG]

Test drove the CVT or manual? The CVT is great for fuel economy, but it's terrible for engine noise under hard acceleration & for general driving enjoyment.

[micra2080]

I tested the CVT, and like i said, the engine noise is annoying... Micra's engine is definitely more powerful and more enjoyable drives.. but you know... gas economic trade-off...

In Montreal, when it was 120$ a barrel, we pay 1.50$ a liter, when it is now 30 $ a barrel, we pay ~1$ a liter... it doesn't even proportionally make sense.

Sorry for some economic here:

When Gas goes down, CAD $ goes down, when CAD $ goes down, imports goes up, the price we pay for everything else than gas goes up... and once that goes up, it's unlikely going to go down any time soon... even if the CAD goes back up.... So as Canadian that drives approximately 150 km per week, we feel most of the pain, because the money we save on gas, doesn't even cover half of the extra we have to spend on grocery... While you can't do much about the rising grocery cost, you can still work on the gas consumption... and you hope to save maybe 15$ more a week on gas... and this is really when Mirage would shine...

My prediction is that in the next 10 years, unless there's a huge war in middle-east... i don't see CAD going back up to 0.85$, and even if it does, the grocery price would not come back down... therefore, owning a Mirage, and save about approximately 8000$ in the next 10 years is good.

[Howie]

Without a doubt, cvt's do seem to offer better mileage. And the mirage does offer a longer warranty. There is a few inherit things the mirage has going for it. I dont know about the trunk space. On paper the mirage has a bigger trunk.. But In practice I like the micra's wider opening and it seems like the micra has a wider trunk, but the mirage is deeper..

One thing I see, between the two engine bays. The mitsu will probably be easier to work on then the micra.

[Pete]

Oh and for the record fiat 500's get the same treatment as the mirage and spark. The result is not the same as they can hang with us for a bit but eventually the micra pulls away.

[AlphaMicra]

Oh and for the record fiat 500's get the same treatment as the mirage and spark. The result is not the same as they can hang with us for a bit but eventually the micra pulls away.

I find my Micra doesn't have much trouble showing its tail lights to so many other cars and trucks on the road. Unbelievable that it has so much pull in 5th gear for a car in this class even past 100mph. Definitely a go-kart from hell!

[ptbo micra]

Go cart from hell... I like that

[micrapolis]

couple of things:

- Howie's posts in the first page is pure poetry re: Mirage

- shame that mazda2 couldn't come to North Am, but i undertand the business reasons taht led to that decision. Double shame that we get the incredibly fugly Scion, uh i mean, Toyota yaris. it makes the current "Fu Manchu" Yaris a refined fascia. Congrats Toyota, you have succesfully replaced Nissan as the ugliest cars across your entire line.

- if i ever get rid of my Micra, i'd get a used subcompact hatch, not really into buying new cars, partially because of stealerships, and partially because i want my next car to be an EV, but that can't happen until they make financial sense and until i can charge in my appartment garage. (yeah, i know...)_

- CVT's exist to improve fuel efficiency at the expense of: enjoyment of gears; awful droning noise; and worst of all reliability. Remember: the 5speed manual and the 4speed auto in our (and many other similar ) car is very reliable, time tested. when (not if) our CVT has issues, you will have lower reliability and higher repair costs.

- speaking of, .... 500 is also one of , if not, the most unrelaible subcompact in our country.

so...if i ever get rid of my micra, i'd get

- a used 1st or 2nd yaris hatch,

- 3rd gen fit (an amazing car, minus that silly CVT) and oh, it's a bit smaller than the 2nd gen fit, but more space in the inside too

- the second (and in Canada , the only ) gen of mazda2 we ever got, and

- mayyyyyybe a used Accent, or Fiesta.

what i will never get:

- any Chrysler/Dodge or GM subcompact. used or not.

(btw, ... did you know that FCA announced they are ditching the Dart and 200, cuz they are not gas guzzling giant SUV and pickups that make them so much $$$ right now, in the era of low gas prices? unbelievable, that Machionni guy)

[AlphaMicra]

Thank you all for your replies. I feel compelled to share my own "What's next" plan.

My wife currently drives my 2009 Pontiac Torrent which I've owned since new, as her trips are very short. Prior to my Micra, this was our family vacation vehicle that took us to Florida and back, but today only has around 85,000km on the odometer. She's a prime candidate for an electric vehicle. Meanwhile, my son, who learned to drive stick on my Micra, will soon be getting his G2 driver's license and a part time job, and is wanting a low maintenance, cheap-to-run, reliable vehicle to get started in life. My Micra is a perfect car for someone like him who's a gear head and absolutely loves driving stick.

I'm thinking, get my wife the Spark EV, and put a charging station in the garage for her. Let my son drive my Micra, and I'll start driving my Torrent on a regular basis again. Gas is cheap, and with all the highway driving I do I'll probably realize around 10L/100km. While worse than the Micra's consumption, this should be offset by the fact that: a) My wife gets a terrible 14.4L/100km on average with her all-city driving, and b) My wife won't be using any gas whatsoever with an EV. For me, a truck-like vehicle like the Torrent is probably going to be more practical for the type of work I'll be doing. Not needing to bend over to lift heavy tool bags out of the back will be a plus, and the extra ground clearance will make driving on construction sites a lot less nerve-wracking.

Still keeping a Micra in the family, it'll probably come back to me when my son is ready to buy his first new car.

[MetroMPG]

I love driving an EV. There's nothing like the low end torque and quiet & smooth power delivery -- it's such a civilized and calming way to get around.

I drove a home-built Metro EV for about 6 years. It was a super-low-tech, piece of junk car that could only do 60 km/h downhill with a tailwind, and had a range of just 20-30 km depending on temperature and driving style. But the whole project only cost a thousand bucks, and even though it was just a glorified golf cart, I always chose to drive it for local trips. http://forkenswift.com

Most of my car use is actually on the highway though, so a pure EV doesn't really fit my driving patterns. But if I had a pile of money, I'd probably have a Tesla.