7/27/2019 This week in 1992: Mitsubishi Mirage

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ecognizing that notchbacks are the norm, Mitsubishi gives hatchbacksthe heave-ho with a new Mirage line that featuresa U.S.-only coupeBy J.P.Vettrain0 I

L ' l ith the 1993 MitsubishiMirage. there an thingsyou can get and thingsYOU can't.W what you em ga s awell-buiit, perfectly serviceable subcompactcar in a market segment where distinctionsur iacrruingly difficult to d n w . The all-new Mirage says a lot about the stuc ofM v e sign and production in 1992.What you can't gel is a thra-doa. Thevenerable, utiliwian hatchback has fallenbrm fuhioo with American buyers. LiTopumdNisan, Miwbishi hasgiven upon the ihrre-door n America.Norcsl ,yargawh*usedtobccaUcdapccke~mka.lh old M i urbo, bmunas the Colt GTS n its DodgdPlymarth guise.was one of the muaoncspnu o follow th eRabbit GTi, etc., ttnargh th e perfonnamerevival of the early '80s. But economy camauvd for pelf'nmnce ale geaing m RFe mkhbscks . The d l y neat suff availabk ontheM i n Japan. such as all-wheeldrive,a I .8-liter nutx~motor a Milsubishi's l.dliter V6, is no! coming lo the States.Miwbishi has two goals for the third-generation M i n this side of the F'a-cific. it wants to inneasc i u Jban of

AVIY)WEEK AUGUST 3. 1992

the still-growing subcompact segment. See- Inside, the Mirage features one of theond, t wants to enhance its brand image. To cleanest , mostsfficimt designs Milsubishido that, the company has decided it nads has of fed. The dash has fewer gimmicksonly two models. Them will bc a twodoor than previous cars, with only one glaringcoupe, sold exclusively in No& America, -em: There is no tach ak with anyand a fourdoor sedan. Each is available in him package. The cowld cltlinc ale low,thrahim kvels. Thc sedan has two engine which ~ c m so run cwruer to themnd. k g -@ens, bolh i d i wrs. while the coupe. room gets s q u d a link in the coupe.in lreeping the "emno" in econobox, will Otherwise. interior dimensions an on parwl y have the smaller of the wo engines. with the best in class. A split, folding narWhat was that the warc of automo- scat is avaihbk in bothbodystyles.An airbagtive design? Well, compared to the old car, will m t arrive bc fm th e '94model year.the new M i s l s g a , more rigid and The new Mirage uses a basic stnUIA-armbuilt to strictergovcmmot crash standards. suspension in front and a toe-correctingStill it is lighter, measured by hundreds m u l t i - l i arrangement in the rear. High-rather than tens of pounds. The Mirage him LS versions come with gss-chargedCoupe is nearly a fooc longer than the old smls and a reat antimll bar. All modclsthree-door, with 2.5 inches more wheel- come with combination discldrum brakes.base The sedan is more than two inches ABS and four-wheel discs arc a SI.000 oplarger by bnh dimensions, with more in& tion on the topof - the - l i ES sedan.rior volume. Yet weight ranges from IM to In the fwp,trim kvels (S, ES and LS)220 pounds less, depending on accessories. an distinguished by d m nd conveniarcMi wb ishi 's styling objective was som- items. sinceal l thrausea 1.5-liter inline fourthing called "high density." From different with 12 valves, 92 hp and 93 lb R of toque.angks, the Mirage shows cues we've Jccn But ES and LS sedans get th e 16-valve 1.8-in other Asian cus,han the Scoupe to the liter four used in the Expo LRV. The 1.8MX-6. The sum is quite pleasant, if not offers 113 hp and l l 6 lb R. AU models ar eavant-garde. The coupe has a lower nose avsilabk with eitha a five-speed manual aanddiffacntnxrvalanccthanthesedan. a n l l l l t o m s r i c w n s ; t h e I . S ~ t o a ~ -

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7/27/2019 This week in 1992: Mitsubishi Mirage

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r r a n -.Mimge a*r f o rDo$ge lP1ew,d aSumnoft

Ourdrivhgcxpaicaarolbniadal b a P t h e h p s d a W r r r L h r i . 8 .Ihr&$eSDmaritadur.Rcraidsn l l . - Q pu t t o t b l i bwm~~~ ) -nhUcbcolidK!uu*Qf.vordmhs-could carve into sales of the moreexpensive ($I 1.336 in '92) Eclipse. - l a P p . ~ -wupb . .r a t l V U S L l i d d k d . B t d l d ~ dAs a result, th e Coupe, with prices tb8choW~rdWlydf i rutm.s w i n g a m u d $7,500, will be Mit- Whikcbssalhepo~idodpWydsubishi's so& envy-level model once ~ , ~ ~ t r r m

the c umn t stock of Hyundai-built ( b t E l h i 3 . L r b n B d a f q d p b s mPrecis hatchbacks is exhausted. c b c ~ ~ ~ U * p l g .Still. Mitsubishi believes it can RiEa raa ' t rnU lb lc~po l r~reach mostly male. entry-levelbuyers with th e Miige Coupe without offer-ing the honer engine. To that e d , h e c ompany also inhoduced a "project" car.This base coupe touts spon springs. 15x7-inch wheels with 205150 Yokohama AVSs, abody kit and a killer s t em . So why build aspiced-up ahennarkel version of a s m n g -new car? No doubt to demonstrate thocoupe's potential to younger buyen lookingfor a custom touch. And slso to showm-thing that separates the new Mirage from thesubcompact pack. And that's exactly whatMitsubishi h a to show if it's serious a b u tincreasing th e Mirage's make1 s hm .

20 AUTOWEEK AUGUST 3.1992