Mitsubishi Mirage
What it costs to keep fuelled
$1,231a year, fuel only
The 2024 Mitsubishi Mirage is EPA-rated at 39 MPG combined (36 city / 43 highway). Over 15,000 miles a year that is about 385 gallons, $1231 a year in fuel, or $0.082 per mile at $3.20/gal.
Across its full 1985–2024 run it averages 30.8 MPG, improving by 12 MPG over 28 model years.
The band is how far one gallon carries it: 39 of the 60 MPG this scale runs to. The square tick is the subcompact cars average, 24.1.
- Fuel, per year
- $1,231 at 15,000 mi
- Per mile
- $0.082
- Per kilometre
- $0.051
- Gallons burned/yr
- 385
1 mile = 1.609344 km · fuel at $3.20/gal, fixed JUL 2026
Test figure — not a road resultSOURCE·US EPA fuel-economy test data·FUEL ASSUMED AT $3.20/GAL FROM JUL 2026·REVIEWED JUL 2026
How this is worked out
- Start from the EPA combined figure for the model year — a laboratory test cycle run to a fixed procedure, not a road result. Where a year sold several engines or drivetrains, the trims are averaged and the trim count is printed beside the row so you can see how much averaging is behind it.
- Fix a pump price. This site keeps one reference price, $3.20 a US gallon, fixed JUL 2026 and printed next to every dollar figure it produces. It is an assumption with a date on it, not a quote — put your own price in.
- Fix an annual distance. Every annual figure on this site uses 15,000 miles a year, roughly the US average. A cost per year with no stated distance is not a number, it is a mood.
- Divide distance by economy for gallons, multiply by price for the year's fuel, divide price by economy for one mile. The per-kilometre line is that last figure divided by 1.609344 — the same money, in the unit most of the world drives in.
- Stop there. No depreciation, no tyres, no insurance, no servicing. This is the fuel line of the ledger and it is labelled as one; depreciation usually dwarfs everything on it.
gallons/yr = miles/yr ÷ MPG fuel $/yr = gallons/yr × $/gal cost $/mi = $/gal ÷ MPG cost $/km = cost $/mi ÷ 1.609344
The full method, the licence note, and what a test figure cannot tell you →
Re-run the ledger at another pump price
Every line above rests on one pump price. Here is the same entry re-costed at six others, because the price is the part that changes while the test sheet stays put.
| Fuel price | Per mile | 10,000 mi/yr | 15,000 mi/yr | 20,000 mi/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2.50/gal | $0.064 | $641 | $962 | $1282 |
| $3.00/gal | $0.077 | $769 | $1154 | $1538 |
| $3.20/gal | $0.082 | $821 | $1231 | $1641 |
| $3.50/gal | $0.090 | $897 | $1346 | $1795 |
| $4.00/gal | $0.103 | $1026 | $1538 | $2051 |
| $4.50/gal | $0.115 | $1154 | $1731 | $2308 |
| $5.00/gal | $0.128 | $1282 | $1923 | $2564 |
SOURCE·US EPA fuel-economy test data·FUEL ASSUMED AT $3.20/GAL FROM JUL 2026·REVIEWED JUL 2026
The whole service history, sheet by sheet
28 model years on file. Read down the combined column: a nameplate that got heavier shows it here long before any brochure admits it.
| Year | Combined | City | Highway | EPA fuel cost/yr | CO₂ g/mi | Trims |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 39 MPG | 36 | 43 | $1600 | 227 | 1 |
| 2023 | 37.5 MPG | 34.5 | 42 | $1675 | 234 | 2 |
| 2022 | 37.5 MPG | 34.5 | 42 | $1675 | 235 | 2 |
| 2021 | 37.5 MPG | 34.5 | 42 | $1675 | 234 | 2 |
| 2020 | 37.5 MPG | 34.5 | 42 | $1675 | 235 | 2 |
| 2019 | 37.5 MPG | 34.5 | 42 | $1675 | 236 | 2 |
| 2018 | 37.5 MPG | 35 | 42 | $1675 | 234 | 2 |
| 2017 | 37.5 MPG | 35 | 42 | $1675 | 234 | 2 |
| 2015 | 37.5 MPG | 34.5 | 41.5 | $1675 | 236 | 2 |
| 2014 | 37.5 MPG | 34.5 | 41.5 | $1675 | 236 | 2 |
| 2002 | 27.5 MPG | 24.5 | 32.5 | $2275 | 325 | 4 |
| 2001 | 27.5 MPG | 24.3 | 32.5 | $2275 | 325 | 4 |
| 2000 | 27.8 MPG | 24.8 | 32.8 | $2250 | 322 | 4 |
| 1999 | 28 MPG | 25.3 | 32.8 | $2225 | 319 | 4 |
| 1998 | 28 MPG | 25.3 | 32.8 | $2225 | 319 | 4 |
| 1997 | 28.3 MPG | 25.3 | 33 | $2200 | 316 | 4 |
| 1996 | 26.8 MPG | 24.5 | 31 | $2350 | 335 | 4 |
| 1995 | 25.8 MPG | 23.5 | 29.7 | $2433 | 347 | 6 |
| 1994 | 27.3 MPG | 24.5 | 31 | $2300 | 328 | 4 |
| 1993 | 27.5 MPG | 24.8 | 32 | $2275 | 325 | 4 |
| 1992 | 25.5 MPG | 23.2 | 29.2 | $2467 | 352 | 6 |
| 1991 | 24.8 MPG | 22.4 | 28.4 | $2544 | 363 | 8 |
| 1990 | 25.4 MPG | 23.2 | 28.4 | $2470 | 353 | 5 |
| 1989 | 26.5 MPG | 24.3 | 30.3 | $2538 | 339 | 4 |
| 1988 | 27 MPG | 24.8 | 30.2 | $2350 | 334 | 5 |
| 1987 | 27 MPG | 24.8 | 30.2 | $2600 | 334 | 5 |
| 1986 | 27.4 MPG | 25.2 | 30.6 | $2580 | 332 | 5 |
| 1985 | 27 MPG | 24.9 | 30 | $2650 | 337 | 9 |
Where a model year offered several engines or drivetrains, the figure is the average across all EPA-tested trims that year — the trim count is shown so you can see how much averaging is involved.
SOURCE·US EPA fuel-economy test data·FUEL ASSUMED AT $3.20/GAL FROM JUL 2026·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Marked against the rest of the subcompact cars bay
Among the 229 subcompact cars models tracked here, the Mitsubishi Mirage ranks 6 on current figures, against a class average of 24.1 MPG — the square tick on the gauge above.
Closest more-efficient alternatives in the same class: Honda Prelude (44), Geo Metro XFI (47), Toyota Mirai (72), MINI Cooper SE Hardtop 2 door (110), Mitsubishi i-MiEV (112).
Tailpipe CO₂ is rated at 227 grams per mile, which works out to roughly 3.4 tonnes a year at 15,000 miles.
Questions asked across the counter
What MPG does the Mitsubishi Mirage get?
The 2024 Mitsubishi Mirage is rated at 39 MPG combined by the EPA — 36 city and 43 highway. Across all 28 model years in the database it averages 30.8 MPG, ranging from 22 to 39 depending on year and trim.
How much does a Mitsubishi Mirage cost in fuel per year?
At 39 MPG and 15,000 miles a year, it burns about 385 gallons — roughly $1231 a year with fuel at $3.20 a gallon, or $0.082 per mile. The EPA's own published annual figure for the 2024 model is $1600.
Has the Mitsubishi Mirage become more efficient over time?
Yes. It has gone from 27 MPG in 1985 to 39 in 2024 — an improvement of 12 MPG, or 44% across 28 model years.
Is the Mitsubishi Mirage efficient for its class?
It ranks 6 of 229 in the Subcompact Cars class on current figures, against a class average of 24.1 MPG. That is 14.9 better than typical for the class.
Pull another logbook off the same shelf
Same class, nearest economy first — the ones a buyer is genuinely choosing between.
SOURCE·US EPA fuel-economy test data·FUEL ASSUMED AT $3.20/GAL FROM JUL 2026·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Cost per mile, per kilometre and per year are computed at a reference price of $3.20 a gallon over 15,000 miles, fixed JUL 2026 — set your own pump price. Estimates based on official test figures and average fuel prices. Real-world consumption varies with driving style, load, terrain and maintenance.
