Mitsubishi’s global entry hatchback Mirage is already deemed successful in Thailand. Now, Mitsubishi wants to take the Mirage to more developed markets such as Australia and the United States.
Mitsubishi Australia has confirmed that the Mirage hatchback will be available in the land down under starting from AUD 12,990 (approx 7.40 lakhs INR).
Additionally, personal buyers who book a Mirage during January will also receive a AUD 1,000 Westfield gift card.
In Australia, the Mirage will be available in six variants of which two are automatic variants. You can get the Mirage with a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine that generates 76 bhp and 100 Nm of torque. The engine can be mated to a 5 speed manual or a CVT gearbox. Standard features include -
- Air conditioning
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel
- AUX/USB stereo inputs and Bluetooth phone connectivity with audio streaming
The Mirage has to contend with a slew of small cars such as Chery J1, Suzuki Alto (A-Star), Holden Barina Spark (Beat), Nissan Micra, Proton S16 FLX and the Volkswagen Up!.
Pretty soon the little Japanese hatchback will cross the Atlantic to make a splash in the US market. The US is pretty new to the concept of a sub-compact hatchback. Past attempts by Smart Fortwo and Fiat 500 returned mixed results with the American audience. The Mirage hopes to change the American mentality towards small cars.
In the US, the Mirage will be launched in two displacements, a 1.0-liter version producing 70hp and a 1.2-liter with 79hp. A tiny three cylinder engine is a pretty dramatic shift for the nation that worships pickup trucks and muscle cars. The Mirage will head to the US in September.
India may not be among the markets the Mirage is heading to. Mitsubishi recently pulled out its only non-SUV volume product, the Cedia, from the market claiming that they want to focus only on SUVs in India. Mitsubishi sells a range of SUV products starting from the Outlander to the Montero. Looking at the renewed focus, we have our doubts whether the Mirage has any plans to head Indiawards.
[Source: Caradvice.com.au & Autoblog.com]
