Mitsubishi’s Mirage value for money

but with a small load it will get you going adequately through its CVT transmission.

I was surprised at the amount of engine noise, but it does have a good sound system so it can be drowned.

The noise is one downside, but it is an outcome of being such a good price — under $20K.

For that you do get alloy wheels, unlike some other small and inexpensive rivals, decent seat material and a good, 7” touch screen with heaps of integration and a good reversing camera.

It also has forward collision mitigation, lane departure warning and cruise control. Not bad.

Other safety features include hill start assist, brake assist, smart brake, ABS, electronic brake distribution and stability control — plus front, side and curtain airbags.

It is a comfortable drive, the front is roomy enough for a biggish person, and the controls are completely intuitive.

Some of the space is made at the expense of useful items — like a centre console.

As well as the mandatory white, silver and black the Mirage comes in funky colours such as Sand Yellow (pictured), Garnet, Neptune and the Red Velvet I drove (cover).

It also looks pretty good — adopting Mitsubishi’s newish front face which is bold and styly, and managing to look bigger and more imposing overall than it is.

And, despite the small price, the

Mirage has Mitsubishi’s big warranty package — the 10 year or 160,000km Powertrain Warranty and the 5 year or 130,000km New Vehicle Warranty.If small, economic, good looking and easy to manouvre are on your car buying list, check out the Mitsubishi Marge from Ingham Mitsubishi.