Name: Mitsubishi Mirage (2013 – 2021) | Expert Rating | The Car Expert
Item: Mitsubishi Mirage
Rating: 52.0

Summary

The Mitsubishi Mirage is a small, supermini-class five-door hatchback. It was on sale from 2013 until Mitsubishi withdrew from the UK market altogether in 2021, with a number of updates over that eight-year period.

It’s an understatement to say that the Mitsubishi Mirage is not a good car. We actually found it difficult to put together a comprehensive Expert Rating for the Mirage, as there were simply very few reviews of the vehicle available. According to some of our review sources, Mitsubishi did not keep any Mirages on its press fleet in order to avoid unflattering reviews of the car being published…

The Mirage was considered sub-par when it was launched in the UK way back in 2013, and a couple of facelifts over the years did not close the gap to the rest of its supermini rivals, almost all of which have been replaced by all-new vehicles during the eight years the Mirage was on sale. By the time it was finally withdrawn from 2021, it had fallen a long way behind every other new small car on sale.

As of May 2024, the Mitsubishi Mirage holds a Used Car Expert Rating of E, with a score of 52%. It scores top marks for its low running costs and CO₂ emissions, but its safety rating has long expired due to age and its media review scores were awful.

More Mitsubishi ratings, reviews, news and features

Mirage highlights

Respectable fuel economy
Generous cabin space

Mirage lowlights

More expensive than budget rivals
Dated and cheap interior
Underwhelming engine quality
Poor steering dynamics
Easily surpassed by newer rivals

Key specifications

Body style: Five-door hatchback
Engines: petrol
Price: From £10,580 on-road

Launched: Spring 2013
Last updated: Spring 2020
Discontinued: Autumn 2021

Image gallery

Media reviews

Reviews, road tests and comparisons from across the UK automotive media. Click any of the boxes to view.

Auto Express+

Model reviewed:
Score: 4 / 10
“It’s cheap to run and lavishly equipped, but the Mitsubish Mirage’s ride and handling is disappointing and it’s pricey too.”
Read review

Auto Trader+

Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 4.4 / 10
“The Mitsubishi Mirage has its merits, but it simply doesn’t have enough all-round ability for us to recommend it.”
Read review

Car+

Model reviewed: 1.2-litre petrol manual
Score: 4 / 10
“Likeable as the Mitsubishi Mirage’s thrummy engine, generous equipment and spacious cabin is, it’s too below-par to drive and noisy at speed to recommend in a class that contains the VW Up and its brethren, and it feels the heat too from the better-value Korean opposition.”
Read review

Car Keys+

Model reviewed: 1.2-litre petrol manual
Score: 6 / 10
“While it’s undoubtedly cheap, there are other city cars around which can perform the same tasks just as well if not better for a similar price. The Mitsubishi Mirage is competent enough, but there’s a lot of strong competition nowadays which makes it harder to recommend.”
Read review

Carbuyer+

Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 5.4 / 10
“The Mitsubishi Mirage is well-equipped and cheap to run, but compared to the competition, it’s expensive to buy and not enjoyable to drive.”
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Carwow+

Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 2 / 10
“The Mitsubishi Mirage is a spacious city car that will prove cheap to run, but it’s undone by its cheap-feeling interior and tedious drive.”
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Heycar+

Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 3 / 10
“When designing the Mirage, Mitsubishi was clear about the focus for its small car. Fuel economy, CO2 emissions and practicality are what the Mirage is built around. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to give the Mirage appeal and it lags behind the competition in too many key areas.”
Read review

Honest John+

Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 2 / 10
“Disappointing to drive. Steering is slow and lacks feel. Not as good as similarly priced hatchbacks like the Volkswagen Up or Kia Picanto.”
Read review

Motoring Research+

Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 3 / 10
Nope, we’re stumped. We can’t see why anyone would choose a Mitsubishi Mirage over any of its city car rivals.
Read review

Parkers+

Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 5 / 10
“The Mitsubishi Mirage offers excellent running costs and ultra-low emissions but has a drab interior and rivals offer better value.”
Read review

Top Gear+

Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 3 / 10
“Thinking about buying a Mitsubishi Mirage? Don’t. Now you can’t say we haven’t warned you. Especially awful.”
Read review

Safety rating

Independent crash test and safety ratings from Euro NCAP

Overall score: 4 stars
Date tested: September 2013
Date expired: January 2020
Read the full Euro NCAP review

Adult protection: 90%
Child protection: 72%
Vulnerable road users: 73%
Safety assist: 55%

Notes on safety rating

The Mitsubishi Mirage was originally crash tested by Euro NCAP back in 2013 and awarded a five-star rating. However, this rating expired in January 2020 and is no longer valid as the car no longer meets the standards required for such a rating. This is normal practice, as Euro NCAP reviews its ratings on most cars annually with most ratings expiring after about six or seven years.

Although the rating has now expired, the score is still useful if you are comparing a used Mirage to vehicles of similar age – whose ratings will have probably also expired.

Eco rating

Independent economy and emissions ratings from Green NCAP

No eco rating

The Mitsubishi Mirage was not lab tested by Green NCAP during its production life.

Reliability rating

Reliability data provided exclusively for The Car Expert by MotorEasy

No reliability rating

As of May 2024, we don’t have enough reliability data on the Mitsubishi Mirage to generate a reliability rating.

The Car Expert’s reliability information is provided exclusively to us using extended warranty data from our partner, MotorEasy. As soon as MotorEasy has sufficient data on the Mirage, we’ll publish the score here.