Small cars used to be common, seen on every street corner in America, but the times have changed. Automakers now focus on larger SUVs and pickup trucks to appease buyers, but there’s still a need for an affordable small car. Mitsubishi fulfills at least half of that equation with the Mirage, a tiny four-door hatchback with a surprisingly stout price tag, good fuel economy, and a long warranty.

What’s New for the 2024 Mitsubishi Mirage

The Mirage got a few updates for 2024, including a now-standard driver-seat armrest, automatic headlights, and rain-sensing wipers.

Design

The Mirage design hasn’t changed in years, but the lack of constant updates has helped Mitsubishi keep the price at a reasonable level. The car features an oddly aggressive front-end design and a short-cropped rear end. It wears its shape well, and doesn’t look awkward from any angle, but the car’s styling is at odds with its performance.

Powertrain

If there’s any indication that the Mirage is best as a city commuter car, it’s the powertrain specs. The car comes with a 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine making just 78 horsepower and 74 pound-feet of torque. It’s paired with a continuously variable transmission and front-wheel drive. Power is disappointing, and the noise level is intense at higher speeds.

Interior

Mitsubishi promises five seats in the Mirage, but the car is much more comfortable with just two in the front seats. Cloth upholstery comes standard and more expensive configurations get partial synthetic leather. The car’s budget roots show through in the cabin, with exposed bolts, cheap plastics, and not much padding in the seats.

Technology

Mitsubishi equips a surprising number of standard features for a car with such a basic price tag. The Mirage comes standard with a 7-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth, voice commands, four speakers, and more. Though the stereo leaves much to be desired, Mitsubishi’s infotainment system is easy enough to use, and the standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto up the value considerably.

Safety

Mitsubishi equips a few standard driver aids, including a rearview camera, pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, automatic headlights, rain-sensing wipers, and forward collision warnings. Lane departure warnings and parking sensors are available. The 2024 Mirage hasn’t been tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety yet, but its predecessors earned mixed results. The car grabbed a “Marginal” score in front driver-side small overlap testing, but otherwise earned “Good” scores. Interestingly, the car’s structure and tech have changed so little over the last decade that the IIHS said its test scores apply to 2014-2023 models of the Mirage.

Pricing

As of this writing, the 2024 Mirage starts at $16,695 for the base ES CVT trim. From there, prices climb to $17,845 for the BE trim and $18,595 for the SE trim. While cheaper than most other vehicles on sale, it’s important to note the sacrifices made to reach that price point.