Good morning! We’re up to the letter M, and we’re going to look at a pair of manual-transmission economy cars with nicely alliterative names. They’re fifty-six years apart in age, but almost identical in mission.
Yesterday we looked at two mid-sized luxury rides, and though they were very similar on paper, there is a huge difference in quality and real-world feel between them. One is a pretty good car, but the other feels like it has been carved out of a solid steel ingot. To absolutely no one’s surprise, the Lexus ran away with this one.
I guess I can understand that, and generally speaking, I agree. But I have had bad Toyota experiences before, believe it or not, so if a test drive and inspection revealed something I couldn’t live with, I’d take a closer look at the Lincoln. But the reality is that neither of these cars would ever find a home in my garage; if I never work on a transversely-mounted V-shaped engine again, it will be too soon. You don’t get to choose neither – but sometimes I do.
Today’s challenge was inspired by my lovely wife, and proofreader, Erika. She is a huge fan of the Morris Minor, and insisted that I choose one for an “M” car. I was happy to oblige. But since the Minor has such nice alliteration in its name, I had to find another car with a double M. But it had to fit well with the Minor. Mercury Meteor? Nope, that’s a great big American car. Maserati Merak? A bit expensive and exotic. Mazda Miata? Tempting – but too easy.
Then I figured it out. There is another economy car with a double M name, very similar to the Minor in its purpose and place in the market: the too-oft-maligned Mitsubishi Mirage. They’re not hard to find for sale, but I had to find the right one. It had to be a manual, and it had to be a good color. I think I did all right.
1959 Morris Minor 1000 Convertible – $8,990
Engine/drivetrain: 1.0 liter overhead valve inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Buellton, CA
Odometer reading: 56,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The Morris Minor is another example of a car developed after World War II to put as many people into their own cars as possible. It was designed by celebrated auto engineer Sir Alec Issigonis, later responsible for another British people’s car icon, the Mini. The Minor was in production for twenty-three years, with steady improvements along the way. This is a Minor 1000, the third generation, introduced in 1956.
The original Minor was powered by a Morris-designed side-valve engine, but following the merger of Morris and Austin in 1952 to form British Motor Corporation, that engine was retired and replaced with the BMC A-series engine, which saw duty in millions of Minis, Austin-Healey Sprites, and MG Midgets, in addition to the Minor. It’s a good engine with all sorts of upgrade potential and aftermarket support, even today. This one fires right up and runs great, according to the seller.
The Minor was available in a bunch of bodystyles over the years: two-door and four-door sedans, “woody” wagons (known as Travellers), steel-sided panel vans, and convertibles like this one. It was fully restored back in 1980, and hasn’t been driven much since, but it’s showing its age again a bit. The driver’s seat is a different color from the others under that sheepskin cover; apparently it was replaced at some point. Interior upholstery isn’t quite as readily available for the Minor as it is some other British classics, but a good restoration shop should be able to make the seats match again if it’s important.
On the outside, it’s in need of a good polishing, but it’s completely rust-free, and a lifetime California car. It’s located in Buellton, a town in Santa Barbara County that fans of the movie Sideways may remember. And I can’t think of a better way to tour wine country than in a Morris Minor convertible, personally.
2015 Mitsubishi Mirage DE Hatchback – $7,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1.2 liter dual overhead cam inline 3, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Friday Harbor, WA
Odometer reading: 91,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
These days, the whole idea of an inexpensive people’s car has fallen out of favor. Everything has to be aspirational; cheap simple cars have to pretend to be fancy expensive cars, and even then they’re a hard sell. Mitsubishi’s sixth-generation Mirage has been the butt of jokes for its entire existence, simply because it is a cheap, simple little car. It doesn’t try to be anything it isn’t, and it gets shit for it. Hardly seems fair, does it?
If there’s one word to describe the Mirage, it’s “enough.” Everything is sufficient to the task, and nothing more. Its engine is a twin-cam three-cylinder, making 76 horsepower, which is just enough for a lightweight little car like this. I specifically selected this Mirage for its five-speed manual transmission, and believe me, they’re not easy to find. Most buyers seem to prefer a CVT automatic. This one has only 91,000 miles on it, and it runs and drives just fine.
The no-nonsense motif continues inside, with sturdy materials and a simple design. This one pre-dates the backup camera requirement, so it doesn’t even have a screen in the dash. Many inexpensive economy cars like this get absolutely trashed, but this one has been well-kept. It practically looks new inside.
The Mirage is the very definition of the term “cheap and cheerful,” and such cars should be painted in fun colors. Like, say, bright purple. Why the hell would you choose plain old white or silver when you could have this? It looks well-kept outside too; the paint is nice and shiny, and I don’t see any signs of damage.
One of these is already a classic, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say the other one will be someday, too. Why? Because there probably won’t be anything like it coming along any time soon, and some kid somewhere is making fond memories of one out there right now. In twenty or thirty years, when cars are enormous, self-driving, and dull as dishwater – I mean, even more than they are now – a little purple Mitsubishi is going to turn heads. So what will it be: the already-restored-once classic, or the well-preserved future collectible?
The Morris is cheerful and delighfully postwar British. Nothing against the Mirage, it would make great daily transportation – but the Morris makes a statement (in a very understated way).
Tougher call than I would have expected. The Morris is about as bare-bones as a convertible can get, but it’s old and in good shape. The Mirage is in surprisingly great shape and would be useful for much more than putting around on fair weather weekends. In the end, I guess the Minor has more Shitbox Showdown savoir-faire, so Morris it is.
Erika has good taste in cars. That Morris is beyond adorable, and the whimsy of having your cheap little daily be a convertible warms my usually cynical heart. I have nothing against the Mirage at all. Like the Geo Metro during the Great Recession, I expect well-kept Mirages will have a renaissance of sorts when hard times make people re-examine what they actually need in a vehicle versus what they want. My economical daily need is already covered though.
Speaking of M’s, that Mirage doesn’t look complete without a rear window sticker for some MLM scam that the owner has been sucked into.
I’m in the Minor League!
What’s not to love? Fun little car, open-air motoring, a genuine classic.
Mirage? Meh.
I’ll go with that Mazda Miata you mentioned.
From a frugality standpoint:
I’m quite certain the Mirage can be haggled down in price.
And I’m willing to bet that it’ll fare better in the rain, survive time, cheaper to maintain, cost less-per-mile, and has modern safety features should you need them.
Not to mention that it comes in a colour that you can spot ten miles away.
I would totally get the Mirage for my kids.
I like the Mirage for what it is, but this particular car is overpriced. I see a few 2015 Mirage DEs with a manual transmission, comparable milage, and similar condition for $5,000. Cars are expensive today, but this is still a 10 year old low spec version of one of the cheapest cars for sale at the time (MSRP of this thing was only $13,000 in 2015). If you want a Mirage, you can do better than this car.
I don’t know if the Morris is a decent deal at that price, but I know the Mirage is not. I voted for the Morris.
Morris Minor?
Mitsubishi Mirage?
Mmmm, no.
Mmmmmm….. MM&MMs. Delicious.
I absolutely do love cheap & cheerful little manual cars! But I came here to vote for the Minor. Something about that one just didn’t do it for me. Maybe it’s because of no images or even mention of the soft top going down?
In any case, I’mm mmore than happy to pick the purple (pink?) Mitsu. Grab that Mirage before it disappears!
The Mirage is the better car; the Minor is the better experience. The Morris has classic status now; the Mitsubishi may also, someday. The Minor is a convertible; the Mirage is purple. Both will get looks. I think age plays a large factor here, though not the age of the cars. If you’re young (or relatively so), the Mirage can serve two purposes: daily transportation and future classic, if you choose to maintain it. If you’re advanced in years, as I am, it can only be transportation as I don’t expect to be around by the time it reaches classic status. The Minor is most suitable as a novelty ride, great for top down fun on a sunny day, perhaps with the grandkids, but not so much for getting to doctor appointments or the store, especially if you live in a less hospitable climate. At this stage of life, I’m all about cramming in experiences, so I’m choosing the Morris Minor, but if I were 30 years younger, it’d be the Mirage.
Well done, Mark. Both! It’s fun to see 2 vehicles matched up where the battery appears to dwarf the engine.
Classic > New
Convertible > Hardtop
Easy choice today.
That Mirage looks amazingly well kept. It is also a usable daily vehicle with modern everything and substantially safer. If I was for a small cheap commuter I’d go with it for a little less money. Plus it is a bright colour, that counts for something.
It reminds me of something we would rent in Europe…small, basic, low power, manual, but does just fine in daily operation. I’d rock that as a commuter.
Both, and body-swap the Morris onto the Mitsubishi.
The Morris, of course, but this is another time when “both” should be an option. They’re petite enough to cram into a single-car-width driveway (the elder should rate a garage bay if at all possible), and the Mirage will be good for days when it would be unwise and unseemly to subject the Morris to climactic extremes. Both are well suited to the short trips over flat and straight roads that would characterize my driving should I bother to start again.
I can’t bring myself to spend nearly MSRP money on a Mirage with 91k.
Plus that Morris would be an epic Ice Cream Getter with the family.
Modest Mitsubishi Mirage makes mobile motivation monetarily maintainable, mais, mini Morris Minor makes moments more memorable.
I mean the Morris Minor is the clear answer, but absolutely major props to that paint color on the Mitsubishi!
That Mirage is great – really well kept! I like the Mirage quite a bit, but it doesn’t have as much charm as the Minor (but the Mirage DOES have charm!). Of course the choice here is really between two different lifestyles.
The Minor is an occasional-use project you can use to fulfill your urge to tinker without outrageous expense or exotic, finicky mechanicals. Its design is less persnickety than even the VW Type 1.
The Mirage is most interesting because it’s so well kept. You will have to commit to keeping it that nice. Well, I guess there’s no requirement, but otherwise it’s just a daily driver that you’re going to use up. And it’s fine for that usage, too.
So, I’m going with the Minor for now, because I like the idea of what you COULD do with it. Isn’t that how most cars are sold, anyway? Get the person to romantically overbuy?
LOOK AT THESE CUTE LIL’ GUYS!!!
I honestly had a hard time choosing, but I ultimately went went with the Morris. That’s just too much to pay for the Mitsu, and the value is probably just going down.
The Morris, however is at least going to hold its value, so long as you take care of it.
Anything but a Mirage.
Gotta go with the classics.
Not gonna lie, I came here this morning expecting to vote for a Muntz Jet.
*points at 10001010*
HA ha!
Is that really what 10 year old Mirages command?
Yikes.
No, this seller is a bit cheeky. $5k maybe.