1991 Mitsubishi Mirage — 1.6L

In the federal record, the 1991 Mirage posts 42 complaints, 2 recalls, 4 investigations, and 12 TSBs—figures virtually identical to 1990 and notably lower than the mid-generation peaks that follow, when complaints later reached 88 and recalls hit 5 in multiple years. After 1991, the 1992 model dips across all metrics before the generation trends toward substantially higher complaint volumes, escalating TSB counts, and zero investigations from 1995 onward, placing 1991 at the quiet beginning of an arc that grows more turbulent through the decade. For 1991 specifically, the top complaint areas are seat belts with 14 reports, electrical system with 8, and engine/cooling and hydraulic brakes with 4 each, alongside 6 crash-related and 2 fire-related complaints, though the data does not specify root causes. Relative to the generation’s later years, 1991 carries lighter federal scrutiny and far fewer technical service bulletins, suggesting it avoided the more pronounced systemic visibility that emerged mid-decade. Given its position before the escalation and its comparatively modest federal footprint, 1991 represents one of the more stable early years in this generation’s record and is a comparatively reasonable used-car choice within this Mirage lineage.