Two Of The Fastest Cars On The Interstate: 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage vs 2012 Hyundai Elantra

Good morning! We’re kicking off another week of questionable used cars with two absolute rocketships. Or, at least, two cars I’ve seen recently being driven like bats out of Hell down the Interstate.

On Friday, I gave you a rare “Both” option, and I expected most of you to take it. But apparently the automatic in the FX was enough of a turn-off that the little Nissan truck pulled off a win as a solo act. I think that’s the way to go, too. The FX is cool, especially with those graphics, but it would be so much better with a five-speed. As it stands, the graphics are the best part. I suppose you could add some graphics to the truck. Ooh – and a roll bar with lights on the top.

As was pointed out in the comments, it’s difficult to see Nissan D21 and D22 pickups as classics, because so many of them are still earning their keep. I think they’re actually the official truck of independent landscapers all up and down the entire West Coast. But finding one this clean, with only a 1 in the first odometer digit instead of a 2 or a 3, is special, and a good deal for that price.

Some cars just have a tendency to lead easier lives than others. If you see a Lexus ES, or a Mercedes R107, you can probably guess that it has been babied for most of its miles. They get used, of course, but not abused. No one has bounced them over a curb exiting a drive-thru, or delivered pizzas in them, or whipped them in and out of bumper-to-bumper traffic with inches to spare.

At the other end of the spectrum, you have your Nissan Altimas and your Dodge Calibers and other inexpensive, cheaply made but mysteriously tough cars that get flogged mercilessly. Based on what I saw on my recent cross-country drives, I will add two more cars to that list: the Mitsubishi Mirage and the Hyundai Elantra. I found one of each, still in reasonable condition. Let’s see which one you’d rather thrash.

2015 Mitsubishi Mirage – $4,700

Engine/drivetrain: 1.2-liter dual overhead cam inline 3, CVT automatic, FWD

Location: Austin, TX

Odometer reading: 133,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives great

Every automotive era seems to have one car everyone loves to pick on. In the 1970s, it was the Ford Pinto; in the ’80s, the Yugo. For the past ten years or so, the automotive world’s whipping boy has been the Mitsubishi Mirage. But while the Pinto and the Yugo gave us legitimate reasons to diss them – reckless decisions by management in one case and appalling build quality in the other – the Mirage’s biggest sin seems to be being cheap and simple. Really, it’s a lot closer to a modern-day 2CV or Beetle than a Pinto or Yugo: it’s humble, honest, unpretentious, and apparently tough as old boots.

The Mirage is powered by a tiny 1.2 liter three-cylinder engine, until recently available with a five-speed manual, but more commonly seen with a Jatco continuously-variable transmission. Regardless of transmission type, I saw more than one Mirage making the most of its seventy-four horsepower and absolutely hauling ass along the Interstates in the middle of the country, going 90 miles an hour or better at a guess. This one should be able to do that as well; the seller says it runs and drives great.

For a car seen as “cheap” and “disposable,” it does seem to have been taken care of reasonably well. It’s not beat up outside, or trashed inside. It even has all four hubcaps, which is rare for one of these. It does seem to suffer from a set of cheap seat covers, but those don’t always mean disaster lies beneath. The Nissan Versa floor mats are kind of funny.

I still don’t get the hatred for this car, and I couldn’t help grinning every time I saw one go blasting past me. In these days of massive horsepower and “trimflation,” we need more cars like the Mirage. And I’m delighted to see that they’re holding up well. Or at least, this one is.

2012 Hyundai Elantra GLS – $4,999

Engine/drivetrain: 1.8-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, six-speed automatic, FWD

Location: Garden City, ID

Odometer reading: 130,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives, I assume

Out in the western third of the United States, where the speed limits are eighty miles an hour and the distance between exits is longer than “Telegraph Road,” high speeds aren’t uncommon. On my first cross-country drive a couple months ago, everyone was passing me. But on the final trip, in my dad’s old Chrysler 300, I was cruising along at 85-90 with the rest of traffic. There are always outliers, though, and while I wasn’t surprised to see giant pickup trucks and the occasional Mustang pass me at triple-digit speeds, one such speed demon actually worried me a little – a white fifth-generation Hyundai Elantra.

Hyundai has had its struggles with engine reliability in recent years, and this generation of Elantra seems to be a mixed bag, from what I’ve read. This one has 130,000 miles on it, and is for sale at a buy-here-pay-here lot, which means there is likely not much in the way of service history. I’m making the assumption that it runs and drives, but a good thorough inspection is in order.

It does look pretty good, but these guys seem to know how to photograph cars in the most flattering way. The only way to really assess its condition would be in person. Push every button, try out every gadget and gizmo – and since this is a GLS model, there are a lot of them.

I suppose, though, if you’re going to flagrantly flout the law and explore the upper limits of the speedometer, it’s advantageous to do it in something inconspicuous like this. But if you’re going to do it, don’t do it in the middle of Boise traffic. I tell ya, that dude was flying.

These are nobody’s dream cars, I realize, and they’re probably not the most durable or reliable things on the road. But apparently, if you really want to haul ass down the Interstate, these are what you need. Choose your weapon, and step on it!

(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)