The Mirage subcompact, which debuted on Japanese roads in 1978, was the first front-wheel drive Mitsubishi production vehicle. This automobile first came to our attention when it was introduced in North America in 1979 as a model with Plymouth Champ and Dodge Colt badging, taking the place of the rear-wheel-drive Colts that had been marketed here since 1972. Up until 1994, Americans could purchase Colts built on the Mirage platform, but the Mirage generation continued to be produced and driven on American streets after that. This is a Mirage from the first year of the post-Colt era that was just discovered in a self-service boneyard located in Colorado.
Devoted admirers of the Mirage were treated to nearly identical models throughout the 1989–1994 model years, which were available to American consumers under four distinct brands: Eagle Summit, Plymouth Colt, Dodge Colt, and Mitsubishi Mirage. The Eagle Summit was still offered in coupe, sedan, and MPV configurations for 1995 and 1996 (the Colts had been replaced by the new Neon).
The Mirage was only offered as a two-door and in two trim levels, S and LS, from 1995 to 1996. With an MSRP of $9,799, or $20,483 in 2024 dollars, this automobile is the least expensive new Mitsubishi offered in the United States for 1995 and among the most reasonably priced new cars overall. A almost exact replica of the 1995 Eagle Summit DL coupe was marketed for $9,836 (the additional $37, presumably, was for the prestige of the Eagle name).
Rated at 92 horsepower and 93 pound-feet, this 1.5-liter SOHC four-cylinder engine is powerful. In 1995, the Mirage LS received a 1.8-liter engine with 113 horsepower, but it came at a price of about $3,000.
The base gearbox for this automobile was a five-on-the-floor manual because the last year that a new Mitsubishi with a four-speed manual transmission was available in the US was 1993 (and that car was actually a Hyundai).
