Spunk, but Little Power
When all is said and driven, only individual preferences for small price and performance variations will separate buyers of this year’s new subcompacts.
The Toyota Tercel in standard form--a two-door notchback with a four-speed manual transmission--is an enormous bargain for $6,488. At that price, it beats everything except Yugo and dinner for 900 at the Soup Exchange.
But . . . the Tercel’s 1.5 liter engine is a wimpy 12-valve version producing only 82 horsepower at full squeeze and that’s limp enough to make Miss Daisy get out and walk. The up-line Nissan Sentra GXE costs a relatively whopping $12,000 because power windows, cruise control, air conditioning and other major amenities are included in the base price.
Such luxuries position the car far from the sewing-machine image of all subcompacts. So does its 110 horsepower. But . . . the Sentra’s styling is a vacant stare.
Now comes the Mitsubishi Mirage. At a base price of $7,000, it remains motoring’s answer to Motel 6. Expect more than 30-miles-per-gallon beneath even the clumpiest right foot. There’s also the GS, a sportier, more powerful, 16-valve Mirage, available at the top of the line.
But . . . although horsepower of the basic car has grown to 93, its engine is still short on spunk; drivers will be long on Hail Marys while getting up to speed for freeway access.
Today’s subcompacts have expanded inside without any noticeable stretching of outside dimensions. All come with four doors. Head and elbow room is ample up front and middling-to-survivable in the back seats.
Short of leather upholstery, air bags and anti-lock brakes (expensive extras that would defeat the economy of the breed--although Nissan does offer anti-lock brakes as a $700 Sentra option) there are few comforts that can’t be added to subcompacts.
But subpar performance, unfortunately, remains the largest single pox of the species.
To keep costs down, not one of the new subcompacts comes with an engine larger than 1.6 liters. Their lightness (hovering just below or just above one ton, depending on equipment) helps balance the lack of output. Yet even the Nissan Sentra has to be carefully stoked and stroked to exact the full potential of its 110 horsepower.
When any of these cars is mated to an automatic transmission . . . well, a Mustang 5.0 liter is faster in reverse.
And the automatic Mirage LS is the worst of the batch.
In 0-60-m.p.h. acceleration runs--and despite 13-second times posted when Consumer Guide tested the car--we were unable to do better than a sleepy 14 seconds. With the air conditioning at full blast, add two seconds.
By comparison, bread and butter compacts, such as Saturn and Ford Escort, are through the quarter-mile traps and hitting better than 80 m.p.h. in that same time frame.
The Mirage’s automatic transmission is a four-speed without overdrive. It is harsh, hesitant and noisy. It will be cussed roundly on long slopes (a typical nemesis being the northbound Hollywood Freeway as it approaches Universal City) when speed falters and gentle foot pressure seeking additional power produces a snapping and a slapping from the gearbox as its rubber bands jar everything into screaming second.
Stomp with authority on a modern gas pedal and most cars, domestic or imported, will make a statement.
The Mirage says: “Excuse me?”
We are not begging the fury and motion that brings a glitter to the goggles of motorcycle officers. We are talking about acceptable quickness from stop lights and sufficient rolling acceleration to hop safely in and out of life in the 70-m.p.h. lane. And without any embarrassing engine surges and dead spots in the acceleration.
Subcompacts with manual transmissions offer a level of safe, competent performance. However, there is no surplus of power in their down-sized engines. So it is useful, usable, critical horsepower that gets lost in an engine’s translation to automatic transmission.
All of which is a perfect argument for moving to the top of the subcompact lines where manufacturers keep the pick of their litters with larger engines, double-overhead cams and 16-valve breathing. And their cost is still well below the current $15,000 median price of a new car.
Externally, the Mirage looks smart enough with thoughtful use of moldings, seams, channeling and a lightly pinched waist adding sufficient style to set the car apart from the pack.
Much of that distinction comes from a new chrome-rimmed grille that features Mitsubishi’s tri-diamond logo, a cue that will be used throughout the company’s 1991 line.
The rear roof line shows a suggestion of a hump and a somewhat stubby trunk. It does not damage the silhouette. But it is this clever massaging of a basic design that produces additional room in a class notorious for its rear seat cramping.
But don’t look too closely at the wheels. Once again, they are miserable matte-gray plastic wheel covers masquerading as cast alloy.
There are no great surprises in the interior beyond the unusual mounting of secondary controls (for emergency flasher and rear window defrost) in the lip of the instrument binnacle.
So there’s routine white numbering on black instruments and conventional positioning of controls for radio and heater. The hand brake is where it should be, between the seats. Lights and turn signals are on a stalk on the left side of the tilt steering wheel; windshield washers and wipers are on the right stalk.
We liked the left dead-pedal footrest that is big enough for a combat boot. Also a center console with a small cubbyhole given a second purpose by a flip-up clip: Hey, presto, a double coffee holder.
Those who never learned to bend their legs, will applaud a bumper-level trunk opening that allows knee-high loading and unloading. Although work does need to be done on balancing the trunk lid until it raises at a touch, not a heave.
On the move, the Mirage delivers a smooth cruise with effective stopping by a combination of front disc brakes and rear drum brakes. The rack-and-pinion steering is pleasantly balanced, and the suspension ideally tuned for even motoring.
It’s when that equilibrium is upset, when a little zap is needed to clear the bozo riding your tailpipe, when acceleration is vital for a smooth slide into traffic, that the Mirage becomes a disappointing car.
Auto manufacturers of subcompacts have made enormous strides in lifting subcompacts from the Lego League.
The eventual, final refinement has to be development of an automatic transmission that doesn’t dilute the mechanicals and maneuvering of a small car to a straggle.
1991 MITSUBISHI MIRAGE LS COST :
* Base: $9,739. * As tested $11,607 (including automatic transmission, air conditioning, power steering and six-speaker sound system). ENGINE :
* Four cylinders, 12-valve, 1.5 liters developing 93 horsepower. TYPE :
* Front-wheel drive, four-door, subcompact sedan. PERFORMANCE :
* 0-60 (as tested) 14.1 seconds. * Top speed (estimated) 110 m.p.h. * Fuel economy, EPA city-highway, 26 and 32 m.p.g. CURB WEIGHT :
* 2,271 pounds. THE GOOD :
* Superior value. * High mileage on regular unleaded. * Pleasant styling. * Easy trunk loading. THE BAD :
* Anemic acceleration. * Hunting, hesitant automatic transmission. * Engine noise. THE UGLY :
* Plastic wheel covers, of course.
