Mitsubishi has canceled its Mirage subcompact car. Car shoppers in America will soon see only one new car for sale for under $20,000 — the Nissan Versa.
The Mirage’s death has been rumored for some time. The company confirmed the news this week, sending journalists a description of its 2025 lineup without the little car. Reached for comment, a Mitsubishi spokesperson confirmed, “Mirage is being discontinued in the U.S. market, and there will not be a 2025 model.”
Shoppers who want a Mirage still have options. Dealers have plenty of already-built Mirage sedans and hatchbacks in stock. The spokesperson explained, “Production will cease late this year, and we expect to have sufficient dealer stock to last into the summer of 2025.”
Dead Despite a Recent Rally
The news comes despite a sales surge for cheap cars. In the first quarter of 2023, Mitsubishi sold just 5,316 Mirages. In the first half of this year, the automaker sold 9,862 – an 86% increase.
The Versa saw a similar rally. Nissan sold 62% more in the first half of 2024 than in the first six months of 2023.
Cheap, With a Long Warranty
The Mirage has long been attractive for one reason and one reason only – it’s a way to get a new car under warranty for comparatively little money. That makes it an attractive alternative to a used car.
The Mirage comes with a 1.2-liter inline 3-cylinder engine making 76 horsepower – the only car still available with a two-digit horsepower rating. The standard model rides on tiny 14-inch wheels.
“Then there’s the noise,” says Kelley Blue Book expert test driver Eric Brandt. “The engine in the Mirage always sounds like it’s being driven hard, even when you’re just trying to keep up with traffic. The Mirage reminds us of a cheap economy car from the 1990s. Loud and slow aren’t a great combo.”
Safety could also be a concern. An insurance industry study found the Mirage had the highest death rate per million vehicle owners among 2017-2021 model-year cars.
The study isn’t entirely relevant today. The 2024 Mirage currently on dealer lots has automatic emergency braking. The Mirage in the study lacked that feature but otherwise shares almost all of the current model’s parts.
The Versa — the last sub-$20,000 car standing — makes 122 horsepower and doesn’t appear on the insurance industry’s list of cars with high death rates.
But Mirage buyers lock in basic transportation without expensive surprise repairs for a long time – Mitsubishi covers the Mirage with a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. We should note that Kia and Hyundai vehicles offer the same excellent powertrain coverage.
The Affordable Car Is Dying
The Mirage’s end is part of a long-running auto industry trend: Automakers are abandoning affordable cars.
In December 2017, automakers produced 36 models priced at $25,000 or less. Five years later, they built just 10.
Now, most of those 10 are gone.
The Chevy Spark, America’s least-expensive new car for several years, left the market in 2022. So did the Hyundai Accent. Then, the Kia Rio.
The Hyundai Venue and Kia Soul remain, but inflation has pushed their prices over the $20,000 line.
That’s squeezing out buyers rebuilding their credit. Subprime and deep subprime buyers – those with credit scores under 620 – made up about a quarter of all new car buyers in 2018. Now, they routinely make up less than 10%.
With interest rates remaining at a two-decade high, automakers see little reason to chase car buyers seeking low-cost models.
