Ask an expert
Hi, I was wondering if you tell me you opinion about which car you recommend. I am after a cheap, economical hatchback. I drive 44km a day plus the occasional trip 600 up to Napier and back to Wellington. I travel on the motorway through moderate to heavy traffic most days plus the odd bit of shopping. I have looked at the suzuki swift and the Mirage but cant really choose. I would prefer to have an automatic. I am trading in my gas guzzling Triton Ute and paying the rest cash looking for a brand new car. Any thoughts would be extremely helpful
The Mitsubishi Mirage has a smaller, less powerful 1.2L three-cylinder engine compared to the more powerful 1.4L four-cylinder motor fitted to the popular Swift. Both vehicles have good fuel consumption claims which is better on the Mirage at 4.9L/100km compared to the Swift's 6.2L/100km (depending on model). Both vehicles have similar interior space and for town driving the Mirage has the upper hand but on the open road the Swift makes more sense with a more powerful engine. Both vehicles have a five-star ANCAP safety rating which is good and the Mitsubishi Mirage has a lower starting price.
Test drive both vehicles and decide from there but the Suzuki Swift will be better suited to the longer trips.
You can read the reviews for both cars by following the Suzuki Swift and Mitsubishi Mirage link.
Thanks for that, I went down to test drive them and saw the Suzuki Splash. I really like the ease of getting in to it and it has 5 seats which was important to me. I can't seem to find any information about it on the AA site. What are your thoughts on it?
The Suzuki Splash has a four-star ANCAP safety rating while the Swift and Mitsubishi Mirage both have five-star ANCAP safety ratings - A five star ANCAP rating is better. The Splash is a small car with a small 1.2L engine so it's similar to the Mirage - You should rather consider the Mirage in this size vehicle for it has a better safety rating but the Suzuki Swift has superior performance and it's fun to drive for a small price difference.