Mitsubishi Is Reportedly Killing The Mirage, Quitting Sedans

The era of the cheap car might just be over.

The Mitsubishi Mirage was never a well-loved thing. Rocking only 78 horsepower, and probably the worst 0-60 time of any vehicle sold in the US or Canada in the past five years, the Mirage would win no awards for comfort or pleasantness. However, it was cheap – the Mirage’s low cost of entry made it attractive to new car shoppers on a razor-thin budget. In fact, it was the US’s only car with the ability to transact under $20,000.

But, rumors are rumbling that the Mitsubishi Mirage may die for the 2024 model year. According to Automotive News, Mitsubishi will kill the Mirage hatchback and Mirage G4 sedan, by mid-decade, exiting the sedan market altogether. The Mirage has already been discontinued in Japan.

As we’ve said earlier, the Mirage certainly wasn’t a very nice car, but it was cheap. The average new car price continues to trend upward, and small basic cars have fallen by the wayside. In Canada, the Nissan Micra was discontinued in 2020. Just this past year the Chevy Spark also was removed from the Chevy lineup, and the Kia Rio and Hyundai Accent are also likely on their way out. Nissan Versa might be the only vehicle that still exists as a car-shaped method of transportation that could be had for under $20,000.

However, we don’t see Mitsubishi abandoning the cheap vehicle market entirely. The Chevy Trax’s base $21,699 ($24,498 CAD), has allowed the Trax to generate strong sales in its first few weeks of sale. The recently named Mitsubishi XForce crossover could potentially act as a replacement for the Mirage, maybe the Outlander Sport/RVR.

Those new crossovers could be reasonably priced, but it looks like the era of a car in the low five digits is over and might not ever come back.

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