Mitsubishi Motors South Africa (MMSA) is gearing up for the August launch of the Mirage, to be introduced as part of a programme to expand the brand’s local foot- print.

The entry-level, five-door, three-model Japanese hatchback range will compete in the budget- and youth-focused A-segment.

“Mitsubishi is renowned all over the world as one of Japan's foremost automotive brands and we are on a resurgence in the South African market,” says MMSA GM Wynand Pretorius.

“With the new Mirage, the brand will be entering the A-segment for the very first time in South Africa, and with a fun little car at that,” he adds.

“We exhibited the new Mirage at last year's Johannesburg International Motor Show, where we received extremely positive responses from showgoers.

“In these increasingly difficult economic times, it makes all the sense in the world to introduce our new supermini, which will be very competitively priced.

“In this vein, we are taking a strong approach on the viability of Mirage as an entry-level vehicle, specifically targeting a market where purchase price, fuel efficiency and ownership costs play vital, determining roles in the buying process.”

All the Mirage derivatives will be powered by Mitsubishi’s 1.2 ∙, three-cylinder petrol engine, mated with a five-speed manual transmission.

Average fuel economy on the combined cycle is promised as 4.9 ∙/100 km.

Pretorius says Mirage is acclaimed the most fuel-efficient nonhybrid petrol vehicle available in the US, supported by the fact that is also the lightest five-door, five-passenger car in this market.

The Mirage comes standard with keyless entry, antilock brakes, electronic brakeforce distribution and dual airbags, packaged around Mitsubishi’s impact-absorbing chassis structure.

The new Mitsubishi Mirage will be backed by MMSA’s three-year/100 000 km warranty.

Pricing will be announced at the vehicle’s launch in August.