Inexpensive cars are a dying breed. For the 2023 model year, automakers manufacture just five cars with starting prices under the $20,000 line – the Kia Rio, Kia Soul, Hyundai Venue, Mitsubishi Mirage, and Nissan Versa.
List prices aren’t the prices you pay to drive home in a new car. Of those affordable models, only one tends to sell for under $20,000. In July, the average Mitsubishi Mirage left the lot for $19,205.
You could buy 2.5 of them for the cost of the average new car that month — $48,334.
But you’d need to do it quickly. Trade publication Automotive News reports that Mitsubishi “will halt U.S. sales of the Mirage, available as a four-door hatchback and a sedan, by mid-decade and exit the sedan market altogether.”
A Mitsubishi spokesperson assures us there will be a 2024 Mirage but says, “I can’t comment on the speculation around the future of the vehicle.”
Cheap and Cheerful With a Long Warranty
The old argument for buying an affordable subcompact car still applies to the 2023 Mirage – its price makes it an alternative to buying a used car. But it comes with a new car warranty.
That warranty might be the biggest selling point in the Mirage’s case. Mitsubishi covers the Mirage with a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty.
For about 40% of the average new car’s price, you get one with a warranty longer than anything Honda or Ford will sell you.
The powertrain that warranty protects isn’t much to speak of. The Mirage comes with a 1.2-liter inline 3-cylinder engine making 76 horsepower. Yes, 76. The standard model rides on tiny 14-inch wheels.
But you get many modern technologies, including standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and automatic emergency braking.
Our expert test driver notes that the Mirage can be an appealing alternative to a used car. But, “it all depends on what the car is going to be used for. Getting around a quiet college town or short commutes are less demanding than road trips. But if the finances allow, another $2,000 or so can open up a greater number of arguably more attractive choices.”
Some shoppers have safety concerns around such a small car, too. A recent insurance industry report found the Mirage had the highest death rate per million vehicle owners among 2017-2021 model-year cars.
The Mirage on dealer lots today has automatic emergency braking. The Mirage in the study lacked that feature but otherwise shares almost all of the current model’s parts.
The Impending Death of Affordable
If it’s true, the end of the Mirage is a symptom of much bigger trends in the automotive industry.
In December 2017, automakers produced 36 models priced at $25,000 or less. Five years later, they built just 10.
Sub-$25,000 cars made up almost 13% of new car sales at the end of 2017. Less than 4% of new cars sold last December fell into that price range.
Americans are spending more on new cars than ever, and automakers are shifting their strategies to chase bigger spenders.
They’re abandoning the low end of the market in the process. The Chevy Spark, America’s least-expensive new car for several years, left the market in 2022. So did the Hyundai Accent.
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. Last month, they barely crested 10%.
That leaves automakers unwilling to spend factory resources chasing them. Mitsubishi’s future lineup appears heavy on mid-priced SUVs, with the well-regarded Outlander and Outlander Plug-in Hybrid likely powering most sales. The company has even teased bringing back its high-performance Ralliart division, which peaked with a successful racing program in the 1990s.
