Best City Car

Mitsubishi’s budget-focused Mirage has emerged victorious over Drive’s long-time Car of the Year city car champion, the Volkswagen Polo.
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Against the judging criteria Mitsubishi’s Mirage was unanimously found to tick all the boxes – and for a considerably smaller sum than that of the German five-door.

The Mirage is priced from just $12,990 plus on-road costs, though the Japanese brand is currently doing deals from only $11,990 drive-away. That’s pretty hard to argue with, given the comfort, practicality and equipment offered in the pint-sized Mirage.

Judges praised the Mirage for its ride comfort, its light, city-friendly steering and small turning circle, the fact it’s fitted with the full complement of safety equipment (six airbags, stability control), its Bluetooth-equipped stereo system, and the thrifty and perky three-cylinder engine. The ES model we tested was fitted with the CVT automatic transmission (priced from $14,490, plus on-road costs), and judges praised the pairing as being “ideal for running around the ‘burbs”.

“The Mirage meets all the requirements for not a lot of money,” one judge stated.

It wasn’t all roses for the Mirage – its interior presentation was criticised for being drab and lacking attention to detail, and the amount of engine noise was questioned by some of our experts.

“It looks a bit cheap inside, and you can tell it has been built to a price,” one judge said.

But in the end it was found to offer a convincing package that has strong ownership credentials on its side, including four years of fixed price servicing (at just $250 per 15,000km/12 month visit), and a five-year, 130,000km warranty.

There’s no doubting the carryover champion, Volkswagen’s Polo 77TSI, is a polished and impressive car. But at $21,490 plus on-road costs it’s heading into territory occupied by bigger – and, frankly, better – vehicles. VW Australia is currently running a $21,490 drive-away deal for the dual-clutch automatic version we tested.

Our judges were again impressed by the refined nature of the VW, from its smooth 1.2-litre turbo four-cylinder engine to its comfortable ride and trusty steering. It may be small but it feels like a bigger, more mature car to drive.

The engine does require premium unleaded fuel, though, and the dual-clutch automatic isn’t without its quirks – and question marks. The impressively low fuel economy largely covers that off, although the Mirage is lower again.

Matt Campbell
Motoring Writer

Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited’s (MMAL) popular ASX has been named the best value compact SUV in the Wheels Magazine Gold Star Value Awards.

Wheels Magazine editor Bill Thomas said the ASX was a deserving winner thanks to its reasonable purchase price, economical fuel consumption and industry-leading warranty.

“The diesel ASX offers great value across the floor, making it a smart investment,” Thomas said.

Vehicles were assessed across a range of criteria including warranty, fuel economy, purchase price, depreciation, insurance costs, and service schedules and prices.

The diesel ASX beat competitors Hyundai ix35 and Honda CR-V to the top spot thanks to its 5.9L/100km combined-cycle fuel economy, low insurance cost and retained value after three years.

MMAL’s president and CEO, Gen Nishina, said the company was delighted to receive the accolade from such a respected publication.

“The ASX combines comfort and safety with economical driving and we are pleased that Wheels Magazine recognized the value and performance offered by the ASX,”Nishina said.

The Mitsubishi 4WD ASX diesel is powered by a 1.8-litre MIVEC engine with six-speed manual transmission and comes with superior safety features including seven airbags, Active Stability and Traction Control and reverse parking sensors.

Universal Cars Ltd. (UCL), Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC)’s importer and distributor for Hong Kong, announced today it will begin sales of the i-MiEV the new-generation electric vehicle to individuals.

Mitsubishi I-miev

Mass-production i-MiEVs have already been delivered to the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (HKSAR) and some companies; however this announcement marks the first time sales to individuals will be commenced in Hong Kong, and also marks the first time that the i-MiEV will be sold to individuals outside of Japan. UCL will begin sales of the i-MiEV to individuals from May 21 at a price of HK$395,000, with a target to sell 50 units by the end of this year. MMC and UCL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the HKSAR government regarding cooperation on the popularization of electric vehicles (EV) on February 26, 2009. From May of 2009, the HKSAR government conducted practicality tests with a pre-production test model i-MiEV as well as worked together with electric power companies regarding EV charging infrastructure. UCL has delivered about 30 i-MiEVs to the HKSAR government and other corporations since December 2009. In Japan, MMC first sold the i-MiEV mainly to corporations and municipalities in fiscal year 2009, with sales of about 1,400 units. In April of 2010, MMC expanded its sales to include sales to individuals. In addition to high environmental performance and handling inherent to a car with a compact body, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV has been lauded for its motive power, stability, quietness and its comfortable ride.  MMC has been conducting fleet testing in countries and other areas all over the globe, and plans to launch left-hand drive i-MiEVs in Europe from the end of this year.