Unparalleled Brilliance: Mitsubishi Mirage Inspires Rival Carmakers to Plagiarism

Here’s a headline I wasn’t planning on writing. The latest Mitsubishi Mirage Sedan, a car that was panned and underestimated by all of us in the USA market, turns out to be *exactly* what others Car Makers wanted. So much so, they asked or plagiarized the little sedan without any regard.

Here in Mexico, you can find the Mitsubishi Mirage and its plagiarized clones all over the place. Mitsubishi should be proud one of the largest carmakers in the world just copy-pasted the design and just added 25HP and that others followed. Our Caradise trip to Mexico is paying dividends on interesting car stories. Lets start with the candidates:

2023 Mitsubishi Mirage G4 Sedan – The Original

The 2023 Mitsubishi Mirage G4 Sedan is a compact and affordable car, perfect for urban commuting. It is equipped with a 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine, producing 78 horsepower and 74 lb-ft of torque. With a smooth CVT transmission or a 5-speed, it offers excellent fuel efficiency. The Mirage G4 can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in around 12 seconds, providing adequate performance for city driving.

2023 Dodge Attitude Sedan – The Rewrite

Sure, Those who know can tell this is indeed the exact same car. Dodge de Mexico first borrowed the Hyundai Accent and cross-dressed it as the Dodge Attitude. For the 2nd generation of the Attitude, they decided instead to ask Mitsubishi for their Mirage and just provided new badging. It is equipped with the same 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine, producing 78 horsepower and 74 lb-ft of torque. The only differences here are in badges.

2023 Chevrolet Aveo Sedan – The Copy

I’m not gonna lie, it took me days to comprehend that Chevrolet just plagiarized the Mirage wholesale.  For a while I thought Chevrolet had also asked Mitsubishi for the Mirage. But why borrow when you can copy-paste? The 2023 Chevrolet Aveo was ‘designed’ specifically for the Mexican market. It is equipped with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, producing 107 horsepower and 104 lb-ft of torque. The Aveo features a smooth five-speed manual or a responsive six-speed automatic transmission. It can achieve 0 to 60 mph in around 11 seconds, offering satisfactory performance for everyday driving needs. At least it has over 100HP, so that might make it the fastest. But It looks exactly the same as the Mirage at first glance

2022 BAIC D20 Sedan – The Remix

The 2023 BAIC D20 Sedan is a compact car manufactured by Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. (BAIC). There are several Chinese Carmakers selling vehicles in Mexico. FAW, BYD, Chery, MG and BAIC are making head ways in the Mexican Market. Many Chinese Auto makers are selling copies of popular cars, so BAIC decided the Mirage was worthy of imitation as well  The D20 is powered by a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, generating 103 horsepower and 108 lb-ft of torque. The D20 comes with a five-speed manual or an optional four-speed automatic transmission. Its 0 to 60 mph acceleration time is approximately 12 seconds, providing reasonable performance for urban driving scenarios.

So, there you have it, the car we underestimated from the very beginning is now sold under 4 different badges south of the border. Which one will you take home? Does it matter?