Where each one leads
Mitsubishi Mirage
- Against cars of the same age, the Mitsubishi Mirage comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 7% more often than average) than the Volkswagen Fox (passes 11% less often than average).
Volkswagen Fox
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Mitsubishi Mirage | Volkswagen Fox | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1984–2024 | 1987–1993 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 11,539 (2013–2020) | 36,718 (2010–2018) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 10,923 | 10,450 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | — | 15,847 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Mitsubishi Mirage | Volkswagen Fox | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 83% | 52% |
| … against cars of the same age | +7% | −11% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 2.4% | — |
| … against cars of the same year | +68% | — |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | — | 5.4% |
| US owner complaints | 703 | 81 |
| Most complaints about | Air bags | Engine and engine cooling |
| Model year with most complaints | 1997 (74) | 1988 (23) |
| US recall campaigns | 11 | 5 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 997 | 34 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 28 | 5 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Mitsubishi Mirage | Volkswagen Fox | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 4★ (2024) | — |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Mitsubishi Mirage | Volkswagen Fox | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 6.2 l/100 km (2024) | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 121 g/km | — |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 59 kW (79 hp) | 40 kW (54 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 963 kg | 1,119 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €11,568 |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).