As expected, the Mitsubishi Mirage G4 CVT is the least “thirsty” among Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corp’s roster of vehicles. This much was gleaned from after an official fuel economy run conducted on Feb. 21 and 22, 2020 by MMPC, and validated by the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP).
The 2020 Mirage G4 CVT GLS used up just 10.19 liters after a 236.1-km loop from Petron Clark through the tollways of Subic-Clark-Tarlac (SCTEx), Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union (TPLEx), then back to SCTEx and ending in Petron Clark, for a fuel mileage of 23.17 km/liter. The other Mitsubishi models participating in the run—a Strada 2WD GLS, a Montero 2WD GT, a Strada 4WD GT, and an L300, registered 18.96, 18.66, 16.86, and 15.43 km/liter, respectively.
MMPC conducted an updated run with the 2022 Mirage G4 CVT GLS earlier this year, on the same route. Unofficially, the run yielded almost similar results (hovering around 23 km/liter). This fuel run is yet to be validated by AAP.
If you think that’s the best the Mirage G4 can do, then you haven’t heard Xavier Rancap’s story.
Xavier, a 43-year-old raw material specialist for an international manufacturing company, achieved a fuel mileage of 25 km/liter recently with his 6-year-old Mirage G4 GLS AT during a recent trip along the South Luzon Expressway, Skyway and North Luzon Expressway. Like the official MMPC run, Xavier’s Mirage had three occupants at the time.
Xavier, who lives in Cainta in Rizal province, also regularly drives his Mirage to his family’s 9-hectare farm in Victoria in Laguna province, sometimes lugging along a 100-kilo sack of rice. Still, with such a load, his Mirage manages to yield up to 17 km/liter. That’s no mean feat for a subcompact, considering the high Sierra Madre mountain range straddling the two provinces.
Though he also owns a 2009-model Mitsubishi Strada GLX, Xavier reveals that he uses his Mirage G4 as often as he can because of its fuel efficiency.
Xavier narrates that during the first few months of the pandemic in 2020, his Mirage would consistently turn up high fuel mileages of up to 18 km/liter on the 40-km roundtrip between his home and his work in Quezon City. He computes this as consuming a mere 2.22 liters of regular unleaded gasoline, which, at prevailing pump prices, cost just P111.11 on a single round trip.
His 2015 Mirage has already logged nearly 45,000 km on the odometer, yet it still runs as efficiently like a brand new one. What’s Xavier’s secret? “Just proper maintenance, and to make sure my fuel tank doesn’t go less than 4 bars down,” he says.
He adds, “When using the aircon system, I always put it in automatic. I drive defensively, and I always maintain my driving within the ECO mode in the dash.”
The Mirage G4’s ECO mode indicator illuminates whenever the driver operates the accelerator pedal in an eco-friendly way, thus encouraging the driver to develop good driving habits that lower fuel consumption.
The aerodynamic design body is also credited for the fuel efficiency. The body is streamlined to slip smoothly through the air. Reduced drag also lowers wind noise and CO2 emissions while raising fuel efficiency and high-speed stability.
The only area of improvement Xavier can think of with his Mirage is the suspension, which he hopes would be addressed by the new Mirage G4.
Other than that, he says he’ll continue to enjoy the many cost-saving perks of his Mirage G4, in the company of family and friends.
