Accessible News

Top storiesNew ZealandPoliticsBusinessEntertainmentSportsWorld

Sunday Drive: Mitsubishi Mirage versus MG3

Sunday, 3 January 2021

Two cars that cost under $20k new. Which one is t better?
Both the MG and Mirage have had facelifts over the years, but the MG’s have been more extensive.
Both the MG and Mirage have had facelifts over the years, but the MG’s have been more extensive.
The MG3 is a smart-looking little thing, even if it is getting on a bit now.
The MG3 is a smart-looking little thing, even if it is getting on a bit now.
Lots of plastic in the MG’s interior, but it is of a high quality and there are nice touches – like the tartan dash pattern – throughout.
Lots of plastic in the MG’s interior, but it is of a high quality and there are nice touches – like the tartan dash pattern – throughout.

Two small cars that offer budget brand-new motoring and are impressively well-equipped for the money, but have vastly different upsides. Which is worth your money? Well, that depends on what exactly you want from a compact budget car.

But let’s get a couple of things out of the way first up – both of these cars are in the twilight of their careers and neither of them are built where you might expect them to be.

**READ MORE:

The Mitsubishi might be the taller of the two, but the MG is slightly larger in every other dimension.
The Mitsubishi might be the taller of the two, but the MG is slightly larger in every other dimension.

* MG launches new ZST compact SUV

* First drive review: MG HS

* The five smallest new cars you can buy in NZ

The Mirage scores a roof spoiler and redesigned bumpers, as well as a slightly different grille up front.
The Mirage scores a roof spoiler and redesigned bumpers, as well as a slightly different grille up front.

* Mitsubishi reportedly playing with four-motor plug-in hybrid

**

The current Mitsubishi Mirage has been with us since 2012, while the MG3 has been in existence since 2011, with both coming in for a number of refreshes and facelifts over the years.

The Mirage’s interior has cheaper plastics than the MG, but feels more solidly put together.
The Mirage’s interior has cheaper plastics than the MG, but feels more solidly put together.

Oh, and the car with the Japanese nameplate is actually built in Thailand, while the one with the British badge is Chinese-owned, UK-designed and built in either China or Thailand as well.

So that means this isn’t a straight Japan vs UK (or China) comparison and just goes to show how meaningless the whole “country of ownership” of a car brand is really becoming these days.

Anyway, regardless of origin, both cars have been treated rather different in regards to updates over the years, with the MG coming off the better for it. Where the MG3 has had a totally new face, new interior and refreshed engines in the years since its introduction, the Mirage has pretty much just had more chrome slathered over its exterior – facelifts have been mild and more features have been added, but the engine and transmission have remained untouched.

The MG outmuscles the Mirage in the engine department, but the Mirage makes matters worse by being coarse and thrashy as well.
The MG outmuscles the Mirage in the engine department, but the Mirage makes matters worse by being coarse and thrashy as well.

Speaking of transmissions, neither is ideal here, with the MG3 packing a four-speed automatic while the Mirage makes do with a continuously variable transmission.

While both are stuck with elderly transmissions, it is definitely the MG that comes out of it better, with its four-speeder at least being a smooth and surprisingly swift shifter that generally manages to be in the right gear at the right time and you honestly don’t notice it only has four of them most of the time.

While a four-speeder is pushing the boundaries of acceptability these days, it is still vastly preferable to the Mitsi’s CVT which pretty much represents everything awful about the much-maligned style of transmission, flaring, hanging around high up in the revs and generally working the engine much harder than it is happy with.

Speaking of engines, the MG comes out on top here too, with its 1.5-litre four-cylinder being smoother and far more refined than the Mirages thrashy 1.2-litre three-cylinder unit, not to mention significantly more powerful. Three-cylinder engines are usually wonderfully characterful, but the Mitsubishi unit manages to be both unrefined and characterless in operation, a fact only worsened by the transmission.

While the 1170kg MG is significantly heftier than the 895kg Mitsubishi, the MG’s extra 24 kilowatts and 48 Newton metres easily overcomes the additional weight to give it superior performance and a more effortless on-road demeanour.

So, yeah, the MG has a far more refined and pleasant powertrain, even if it isn’t perfect. But it is far easier to live with than the Mitsubishi’s unpleasant set up.

On paper the Mitsubishi’s claimed combined 5.0L/100km of fuel use looks superior to the MG's 6.7, but in reality, however, both ended up using around the same during our time with them (sitting in the mid-to-high 8’s with mainly urban running) thanks to its engine having to work much harder than the MG’s.

While both share broadly similar ride comfort, which is rather good for such small cars, the MG is noticeably firmer, while the Mirage is more brittle, but has an impressively tiny turning circle, making it the easier to navigate tight spaces in, as well as easier to park, something compounded by the MG’s surprisingly heavier steering.

The MG’s hydraulically assisted steering actually has impressive feel and feedback for something in this segment, but we would expect the potential customers would prefer less feel and more assistance.

However, it is still light years better than the Mirage’s weird steering feel that is ultra-light, totally lacking in feel and utterly dead in the centre, but massively oversensitive just off-centre, meaning that you spend most of the time chasing it on a straight road.

Material quality is another area the MG destroys the Mitsubishi, with the MG3’s interior being modern, attractive and, while it is dominated by plastics (as you would expect in a sub-$20k car), they are quality plastics with a nice feel.

The Mirage has a hard, low-quality feel to its plastics, while the interior design remains largely unchanged from its 2012 debut, apart from some added infotainment tech. It does, however, have the edge over the MG in terms of build quality, with a tighter, strong feel to things like indicator stalks and buttons.

Both, however, are impressively equipped for their modest asking prices, with both packing rearview cameras, touchscreen infotainment systems (the Mitsi gets a 7-inch screen, the MG 8 inches), alloy wheels, daytime running lights (LEDs on the MG), cruise control and hill start assist.

While the MG goes above and beyond with a six-speaker Yamaha audio system, climate control air conditioning, a tyre pressure monitoring system, automatic headlights, “synthetic leather” seat trim and active cornering brake control, the Mitsubishi counters with forward collision mitigation, lane departure warning and Android Auto integration alongside Apple CarPlay (the MG only has CarPlay).

But now comes the Mirage’s power play: safety and warranty.

While MG offers an impressive five-year unlimited kilometre warranty with roadside assist, Mitsubishi ups this with not only a five-year 130,000km general warranty and roadside assist, but also throws in its famous 10-year 160,000km power train warranty as well.

While the Mirage scored a five-star rating in ANCAP testing back in 2013, the MG3 only scored three stars in the Euro NCAP test when it was tested in 2014. It must be noted that the MG has had significant safety upgrades since then, with additional airbags (both now have six) and driver assists added, but then so has the Mirage. Neither have been tested since, however.

So where does that leave you in the ultimate $20k question?

Well, for me, I would take a gamble on the MG – sure, there are potential reliability concerns around the name (regardless of whether you consider it Chinese or British …), but the warranty is strong, just not quite as strong as the Mirage’s.

Long-term reports suggest that less-than-excellent reliability means Mirage needs it, however, and the general low-rent air and thrashy, noisy ambience of the Mitsi would be enough to push me towards the MG which, as an added incentive, offers the lower-spec Core model for $17,990 that only misses out on a bit of chrome, the fake leather on the seats and the fancier alloy wheels. That would be a bit of me.

So the MG is a no-brainer, right? Absolutely … unless you suddenly realise you can actually get a Suzuki Celerio auto for $17,500 (the manual starts at just $15,990) which is admittedly uninspiring, but ticks all the same boxes as these two, or you stretch to spending a couple of grand more and get the absolutely brilliant Suzuki Ignis.