Mitsubishi Mirage 2000

The Mitsubishi Mirage is a front-wheel drive subcompact car that was produced by the Japanese-based Mitsubishi Motors from 1978 to 2003, and again since 2012. In Japan, the Mirage was sold at a specific retail chain called Car Plaza. The current Mirage is a three-cylinder subcompact manufactured in Thailand.

The Mirage has a complicated marketing history, with a varied and much convoluted naming convention that differed substantially depending on the market. Mitsubishi used the Mirage name for all five generations in Japan, with all but the first series badged as such in the United States. However, other markets often utilized the name Mitsubishi Colt and sedan variants of the Mirage have been widely sold as the Mitsubishi Lancer—including in Japan where the two retailed alongside one another.

In the United States and Canada, the first four generations were sold through a venture with Chrysler as the Dodge Colt and the similar Plymouth-badged Champ and Colt. Later, the venture brought the Eagle Vista and Summit branded models which sold alongside the aforementioned. Confusingly, Chrysler has also offered an unrelated Dodge Lancer at various stages between the 1950s and 1980s. However, when DaimlerChrysler briefly controlled Mitsubishi through the DaimlerChrysler-Mitsubishi alliance from 2000 through to 2004, the license to the "Lancer" name was relinquished to Mitsubishi for usage in North America. Thus, after the fifth and final generation Mirage, replacement models in North America have adopted the new name.

Mitsubishi introduced replacements for the fifth series of Mirage, starting in 2000 with a new generation of Lancer—now larger having and moved up to the compact segment. Then in 2002, a subcompact five-door hatchback badged Colt globally became available. By 2003, the Mirage and its derivatives had been completely phased out of mainstream Japanese production. For the 2002-era Colt's replacement in 2012, Mitsubishi decided to resurrect the Mirage name internationally for a new sixth generation model.

With the rising popularity of boxy subcompact SUVs in Japan, the Mirage nameplate was used on a domestic market-only model called the Mirage Dingo, from 1999. The Dingo was facelifted in 2001 and canceled in 2003. However, New Zealand sold a very different Mirage from 2002—a rebadged Dutch-manufactured Mitsubishi Space Star labeled Mirage Space Star. This vehicle was not very popular and was discontinued in 2003

First generation (1978–1983)

First generation

Pre-facelift Mitsubishi Colt 5-door (Australia)

Also called Mitsubishi Colt

Mitsubishi Lancer

Mitsubishi Lancer Fiore (sedan)

Dodge Colt

Plymouth Champ

Plymouth Colt

Production March 1978 – October 1983

1982–1989 (Australia)

Assembly Japan: Okazaki, Aichi

Australia: Clovelly Park, South Australia

New Zealand: Todd Park, Porirua

Body style 3-door hatchback

4-door sedan

5-door hatchback

Layout Front-engine, front-wheel-drive

Engine 1.2 L 4G11 I4 (gasoline)

1.4 L 4G12 I4 (gasoline)

1.4 L 4G12 I4 (t/c gasoline)

1.6 L 4G32 I4 (gasoline)

Transmission 4-speed Super Shift manual

5-speed manual

3-speed automatic

Wheelbase 2,300 mm (91 in) (3-door)

2,380 mm (94 in) (4- and 5-door)

Length 3,790 mm (149 in)

Width 1,585 mm (62 in)

Height 1,350 mm (53 in)

Curb weight 900 kg (1,984 lb)

Mitsubishi launched the Mirage as a front-wheel drive three-door hatchback in March 1978, as a response to the 1973 oil crisis. A five-door hatchback arrived in September. Since most overseas markets did not have the Minica kei car, the Mirage was usually sold as Mitsubishi's entry-level model.

Mitsubishi Colt 5-door (Australia)

Facelift Mitsubishi Colt 3-door (Europe)

1986–1988 Mitsubishi Colt sedan (Australia)

Mirage featured four-wheel independent suspension, rack and pinion steering, plus front disc brakes.[1] Power initially came from 1,244 and 1,410 cc iterations of the familiar Orion engine, putting out 53 and 60 kW (72 and 82 PS), respectively.[2] Of particular note, the 1,410 cc variant featured "modulated displacement"—a system that could shut down cylinders under cruising or idle conditions to reduce fuel consumption.[3] Mitsubishi added the 1.6-liter Saturn engine to the range in March 1979, with a turbocharged, 77 kW (105 PS) version of the 1.4-liter engine made available in Japan from September 1982 as the 1400 GT Turbo.[4]

The Mirage also debuted Mitsubishi's Super Shift transmission, a four-speed manual with a second lever for "low" and "high" range; thus, effectively making the transmission an eight-speed unit.[5] The Super Shift was not originally planned. However, Mitsubishi engineers had to make use of the existing Orion engine designed for rear-wheel drive applications making use of the longitudinal engine orientation. In the Mirage, sizing restraints as a result of the front-wheel drive layout required the engine to be mounted transversely, thus causing the carburetor to face forwards and run into icing issues.[6] However, the primary implication of the Mirage's powertrain orientation—and the issue that demanded the unconventional transmission—was the mounting of the transmission beneath the engine. This required the gearbox to take power down from the clutch, an action not possible directly as this would have dictated that the gearbox rotated in the opposite direction to that required. To overcome this, the use of an extra "idle" transfer shaft was necessitated.[5] It was subsequently realized that for a cost no more than developing a new five-speed transmission,[6] this shaft could be modified as a separate two-speed gearbox controlled by a secondary shift lever mounted alongside the main lever inside the cabin. The ratios on this transfer transmission were, in effect, "underdrives"—consequently marked on the second shift lever as a "power" mode due to increased performance granted by the lower gearing. In contrast, the higher overdrive setting was noted as "economy".[5]

Many export markets, such as Europe and Australia received the Mirage under the Colt name. In the United Kingdom, where Colt was the marque itself, it was called the Colt 1200 and Colt 1400, after the engine displacements. Chrysler imported this generation of Mirage to the North America as the Dodge Colt and Plymouth Champ from late-1978 for the 1979 model year.[1] Then from the 1983 model year, Plymouth retired the Champ and adopted the name Colt as well.[7]

In February 1982, Mitsubishi facelifted the Mirage range. Distinguished by the installation of flusher fitting headlamps that extended into the fender panels, stylists also designed a new grille insert.

At the same as this facelift, Mitsubishi introduced a four-door sedan variant to Japan under the names Mirage and Lancer Fiore, which is not to be confused with the unrelated regular Lancer.[3] The Fiore was often abbreviated to Lancer in international markets, eschewing the "Fiore" suffix.[8] With Mirage hatchback and sedan sales in Japan restricted to the Car Plaza dealerships, the Fiore was intended to duplicate the Mirage's success at the Galant Shop—Mitsubishi's second retail sales channel. Lancer Fiore received the same 1.2- and 1.4-liter engines, and as a Mirage-derived model line, was substantially smaller than the strict Lancer. Apart from the wider axle track dictated by the switch to front-wheel drive, the original 1973-era Lancer offered a similar dimensional footprint.[3] From August 1982, Japanese buyers could opt for the new turbocharged Fiore 1400GT—aptly named after the 1.4-liter engine specified. Mitsubishi distinguished the 1400GT with a hood mounted air intake, unique interior, uprated suspension and brakes, and the equalization of the drive shaft lengths to reduce torque steering. At the same time as the GT, a limited edition trim joined range, with the Super Edition and Mariee versions launched later in 1982.[9] Japanese manufacture of all body variants ended in October 1983.

The facelifted model was also manufactured as the Colt by Mitsubishi Motors Australia[5] at their Clovelly Park, South Australia plant from 1982[10] to late 1989, with sufficient inventory stockpiled not exhausting until 1990.[11] Initially offered with the 1.4- and 1.6-liter engines in five-door hatchback form, the sedan was produced from 1984. This model was also briefly exported to New Zealand in the late 1980s, where it shared showroom space with the locally assembled third generation models. Previously, local complete knock down (CKD) assembly of the Colt took place in New Zealand by Todd Motor Corporation, including a variant called the Mirage Panther.

[edit]Second generation (1983–1987)

Second generation

Also called Mitsubishi Champ (Thailand)

Mitsubishi Colt

Mitsubishi Express (van)

Mitsubishi Lancer

Mitsubishi Lancer Fiore (sedan)

Dodge/Plymouth Colt

Eagle Vista

Proton Saga

Production 1983–1987

1985–1991 (wagon)

Assembly Japan: Kurashiki, Okayama

Body style 3/5-door hatchback

4-door sedan

5-door station wagon (van)

Layout Front-engine, front-wheel-drive

Front-engine, all-wheel-drive

Platform C11A–C14A, C18A

Engine 1,198 cc 4G16 I4 (gasoline)

1,298 cc 4G13 I4 (gasoline)

1,468 cc 4G15 I4 (gasoline)

1,499 cc 4G31 I4 (gasoline)[12]

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