2022 Mitsubishi Mirage G4 Review/Rant

My 2022 Mitsubishi Mirage G4, right off the lot.

Ok, so due to some unforeseen circumstances, I no longer have a company car to use and had to get my own in a hurry. First world problems, I know. Please bare with me, haha. Just a bit of back story before I go off on my rant. The "company" cars I had been driving, at one point or another, are all pretty old around 10 years old. There's a Lexus, a Prius, a Matrix and a small Ford cargo van.

So after looking around, the prices of recent (within 5 years old) used cars was about the same as this brand new 2022 Mitsubishi Mirage G4. Plus the monthly payments are slightly lower than if I had gotten a used car. The new car had has 5 year bumper to bumper warranty, a used car ZERO. No down payment on new car, 10% down on used car.

This car is not the "looker" I wanted, but hey, it fits the budget. I wanted to test drive it but my sales rep said none was available. The sales rep is a close friend of my brother from a different mother. So I trusted I'd be taken care of.

I decided to get the new car, in black. Here's some pictures:

What I like about this car? It's spacious enough for me, 5'10" asian. Lots of trunk space for my inevitable subwoofer(s). The handling/steering feels light and nimble and the fuel economy is better than any of the company cars I'd been using this past (almost) 2 years. I like the car, it's way better than what I had been imagining after reading about it.

What I find a bit irritating is the slight lag between about 15-20 mph. From zero to 15 or so mph, the car is quite nimble, then the lag, then it becomes nimble again. The zero to 15 mph is actually better than I was imagining. What I absolutely hate are the brakes!!! I have to step on the brake pedal about 1/2 way before I can feel the car slowing down. It's quite unnerving at speeds of 30-40 mph, I don't think the car can go any faster without me feeling like I'm sitting on top of the washer during spin cycle. Road noise is also quite loud. I get around that by turning up the volume on the stock audio system, playing songs off my phone (bluetooth). The system is not that bad, but nowhere near how I like my audio to sound.

Now, on to the rant...I hate the brakes so much! Comparing to any of the cars I've EVER driven these brakes feel defective to me or not enough fluids or something, I don't know, I'm not a mechanic. I took the car in to have them check it and they reported nothing was wrong with the brake system and that "it was designed that way." WTH?! Well nothing I can do about that, right?

Another thing I hate is how dim the headlights are, they are about the same brightness as the oldest company car I've been using and even dimmer than the newer ones. I asked if I could have the light bulbs changed, dealer said "no, you'll fry the electrical system". I asked about fog lights, they said yes, you can upgrade them but when I went to the parts desk, they said (and I'm not kidding) "oh, they have those? We don't have them in our system. Let me get your number and I'll contact you when I have some information for you." That was a week ago. Same thing with the Mitsubishi / Rockford Fosgate audio system upgrade, they have no clue about it but it's on Mitsubishi's website. Here I am saying, take my money, upgrade my car. What I think they are saying is, F^%$ you we don't care.

I bought their rims/tires upgrade package because the stock ones were absolutely ugly, in my opinion. If you noticed in the above photos, these new ones look pretty cool, right? Anyways, the tire's don't seem to fit the rims, I think. But some of my friends say that it's ok, "it's the look these days." Damn, am I getting that old? lol

So aside from the tires looking too narrow for the rims, the tire pressure light is on, and the manual says to take it in. A sales rep on the lot says check the tire pressure, it should be 35 psi (my sales rep was busy inside and I just asked one of the guys that walked past me). He also said, "give the sensors a couple days to adjust." Well, I looked on the body panel when I opened the door and it actually says 39 psi. Then by buddy reminds me that I change the rims and tires (15" rims to 16" rims) so the info on the body panel sticker won't be accurate and the proper info is on the tire. I looked on the tire and it says max PSI 51. So that means they released the car to me with all four tires under inflated and with a faulty sensor, right?

Ok so my knowledge on these things is lacking but what is the dealership's excuse? I took the car back in to service and they said they have to put in sensors and they will notify me when the parts are in. Again, WTH? Where'd the original ones go? If they can't use those, why would they not stock the parts necessary for the stuff they are selling as upgrades?! Someone told me that tire pressure sensors are mandatory in all new cars, so are they skirting the law, trying to pull a fast one? UGH!!!

Maybe they're mad that I didn't buy any of their other upgrades like extended warranty, rust protection and theft reimbursement. I didn't get those because the car comes with 5 year warranty, the rust prevention doesn't really work (I've researched this extensively while I was working for a PDI - Pre Delivery Inspection car company in Singapore) WORST OF ALL their coverage doesn't kick in "until there's a hole in your car." WT^%$#@! The last thing on the package was being reimbursed if my car gets stolen. That's what insurance is for, no?!

What else?! There's moisture in the tail lights and everything I've read on Google, indicates that it's not normal. The dealership says it's normal and won't do anything about them. Well, I got 5 years warranty and they have it on record that I've complained about it.

What else? The paper work indicates 28 miles on the odometer, it's actually 40 miles. No biggie, I don't really care about the technicality of it, just the honesty about it. Then there's the stuff I found after washing the car. Wiggly signal light on the passenger side, a ding on the panel where the gas tank lid is, some left over glue residue and water stains. These things are supposed to be taken care of by their PDI team. I can rectify the water stains with a good polish job, I just need to find the time and have the weather co-operate when I do find the time. I tried to get touch up paint from the dealer, "they said we don't carry any paint any more, don't know why." So I guess I'll have to order one online.

I have a nagging suspicion that I got the showroom car. Why? Because the dashboard looks like they only "armor all'd" the passenger side. Which makes sense, since the driver side was next to the building's front windows. I don't really care about it, like I said, just the honesty of it all.

If you ever want to buy a car in Guam, I would highly recommend NOT buying one from Auto Spot. In my opinion, their after service care is beyond horrible. Want more proof? Look at my temporary plates, is that a mistake that should happen? I didn't notice it either, it was the window tint installer who did. Ya, the dealer didn't offer me the tint package, I would have gotten that too if they had. In case the thumbnail is too small, here's the picture again:

My car is a Mirage G4 NOT an Outlander

Here's some more "proof", prior to buying my car, a friend of mine was also looking for a new car. I recommended Auto Spot, since my bro got his car from there and has nothing bad at all to say about them. My friend bought the new GMC Acadia. Within days, the Acadia was leaking water into the vehicle, so much water you could release gold fish in there and they'd be able to swim around. Seriously. It took them a week to find the leak (first time they couldn't, and "suggested" it was a spill) the second time she drove it in with the pond still inside. It's been almost 3 months and not even a status update on the parts. Thankfully, my friend isn't giving me an earful for an awful recommendation. She hates the experience with dealing with Auto Spot so much she sold the Acadia (I don't think she even had for a full month) but won't get payment until the leak is fixed. The buyer has the car and will have the pleasant experience with dealing with Auto Spot, haha.

I don't know how a business can stay in operation with service like this. I for one, am damn sure I won't ever get a car from there again, which should be next year. Oh well, as they say "OOG" which means Only On Guam.

I hope you found this post helpful. Thanks for viewing and best wishes!

All the photos (unless otherwise noted in the post) were taken by me and are available for sale. If you're interested in buying an image or three, 😃 please don't hesitate to contact me for more details.

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