Mitsubishi mulling Mirage sedan for US [w/videos]

Mitsubishi is bringing the Mirage hatchback to the US this fall, carrying a price tag of $12,995, not including the $725 destination charge. Mitsunori Kitao, COO of Mitsubishi Motors Thailand Co., says that the Japanese automaker might consider releasing the sedan version of the Thailand-built compact - called the Attrage in Thailand and the Mirage G4 in the Phillipines - if the little hatchback takes off in the US market, Automotive News reports.

Weight is a key concern with importing the sedan. The non-US Mirage hatchback weighs just 1,900 pounds, but its naturally aspirated 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine makes just 79 horsepower and 78 pound-feet of torque, which can only manage a 0-62 miles-per-hour time of 11.2 seconds. The heavier sedan would take even longer.

Ryujiro Kobashi, Mitsubishi's corporate general manager in charge of North American marketing and global small-car projects, says, "US people might require more acceleration. So we are not sure if [the sedan] has marketability or not." If acceleration is a problem, Mitsubishi says it is exploring the use of a downsized turbocharged version of the engine.

The Mirage hatchback is promised to be the most fuel efficient gasoline-powered, non-hybrid car on the market if equipped with the CVT, with an EPA rating of 37 miles per gallon city, 44 mpg highway and 40 mpg combined. But Mitsubishi reportedly expects to sell only 600 Mirages per month in the US - that's just 7,200 cars per year. For comparison, in 2012, Nissan sold 113,327 Versas in the US, Automotive News reports.

By Damon Lowney