You can get a new Mitsubishi Mirage for under $10k, if you really wanted to. Just like this car, it also comes with a 1.2L 3-cylinder engine, and is also not at all a sports car.
To dispel all misunderstandings, NO, it is not a sports and obviously not a super car (130hp 1.2Turbo for 16 490 € ... obviously not :)
- The goal of this car is to have a relatively inexpensive leisure vehicle with a "sporty" design (that we like or not) and feelings of "fun" driving (due in particular to the standard bucket seats, in the center low gravity, tubular black currant fairly rigid, the sound of the engine well present in the cabin, the weight / power ratio that remains correct for a car of 4.68m (1240kg) and the side "gross" and "without filter" which will delight some and will scare others.
- So NO, it's not a sports, we do not even communicate on the 0/100 so it's the opposite of what we wanted to do.
- Yes the road behavior is excellent (proportionately kept and useless comparison with sports).
- The car on loan for this test was just coming out of the assembly line (we are in constant flow) and we asked the testers not to force too hard on the engine.
- Yes it is about finishes constantly being improved and no it is not a luxury car, far from it (it's a car made by hand in the 78, the only robot there is at home is the coffee machine).
- We are an SME with all that implies and compare us to major manufacturers, their unlimited means, their finish, their equipment, would not necessarily be wise. (same for comparisons with cars of big brands in occasion)
In France, the Mirage is sold as the SpaceStar, and the cheapest 1.2L option is €13,495, which is upwards of $15,000 USD. Motoring in general is very inexpensive in the States, so it's difficult to make meaningful a comparison on price.