Cheap new cars used to be a thing. You had models like the Nissan Versa, Hyundai Accent and Chevy Spark that you could go down to the dealer and pick up brand new, with a warranty for well under $20,000. But then everything changed. Consumer buying habits changed to favor more expensive cars, and supply chain shortages meant automakers wanted vehicles to be profitable. As a result, small cars started to be killed off. If a new report from Automotive News is to be believed, Mitsubishi is the latest automaker getting rid of its small car. That’s right: the Mitsubishi Mirage might be dead.
Sources close to the situation told Auto News that the Mirage is getting canned by mid-decade as Mitsubishi plans to “exit the sedan market altogether.” That last part shouldn’t be surprising. Other than the Mirage, the only other vehicles Mitsubishi sells in the U.S. are three different versions of the Outlander and the Eclipse Cross, all crossovers. I reached out to Mitsubishi for a comment on the situation and was told that the company has nothing to add as they won’t comment on speculation.
It also shouldn’t be surprising that Mitsubishi would be killing off a sedan model. Crossovers are still all the rage and industry experts say that Mitsubishi could pull a move similar to what Hyundai did, sell a cheap car but repackage it as a crossover, like bringing over a small crossover called the XForce to replace the Mirage.
Analysts said the Xforce crossover will give Mitsubishi a more palatable entry model for the U.S.
“It is an illusion that Americans won’t buy sub-$20,000 vehicles; we just need them delivered in the right packaging, either an SUV or pickup,” Ivan Drury, insights director at Edmunds said. “Bringing a crossover to the market is a surefire way to get eyeballs.”
If the Mirage does go away, it’ll be an unfortunate blow to the cheap car market. While Mirage sales were down 44 percent in Q1 of 2023, data from Cox Automotive shows that it was “the only vehicle in the U.S. that transacted under $20,000 in July.”
The Mirage is one of only eight other new car models like the Nissan Versa and Sentra, Kia Rio and Soul and Subaru Impreza that start under $20,000. But that’s only if you exclude destination charges. The only models that start comfortably under $20,000 are the Kia Rio ($18,515 with destination) and Nissan Versa ($17,075 with destination). A no-option Mirage can be had for $18,500. This is all an unfortunate reminder of just how much we still need cheap new cars on the market.