Used-Car Unicorns: 1991 Honda CRX HF vs 1991 Toyota Corolla GT-S

There is a decent chance that, by the time you read this, one or both of the cars I’m about to show you may be sold. If that happens, I apologize. As of this writing, however, both are miraculously still available. They’re cars that rarely come up for sale these days, especially at this price and in this condition.

On Friday, we looked at a couple of cars that were nowhere near as sought-after. Well, one was an OK car, but vastly overpriced, and the other was a full-on Monet. Something about that tacky yellow lump of an AMC appealed to a majority of you, though, giving the Pride of Kenosha a decisive win.

You all can have it. I’ll take its, um, challenger – the Mitsubishi with the famous Dodge name. Sure, it’s expensive and slow, but apart from the name, it’s not trying to be something it’s not. That “AMX” just reminds me of those guys who peaked in high school and are still bragging about their football triumphs while they’re trying to sell you new carpeting.

Once upon a time, the classified ads were thick with sporty little Japanese compacts, simple and fun cars that could be bought for cheap and wouldn’t put you on a first-name basis with tow truck drivers. But because they were cheap, and fun, and kinda sporty, young drivers snapped them up and did horrible things to them. Suddenly they were all mere millimeters off the ground, making obnoxious fart noises at everyone in traffic through “mufflers” that seemed designed to do the exact opposite, and being driven in terribly antisocial ways. Finding stock examples of such cars got harder and harder.

Oh, they’re still out there, if you’re willing to pay a premium at an online auction site. But once in a while, if you’re lucky, a bargain comes along. Neither of these are really screaming deals, but they both feel fairly priced to me, which is about as good as you’re going to get these days. Let’s check them out.

1991 Honda CRX HF – $3,250

Engine/drivetrain: 1.5 liter OHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD

Location: Vancouver, WA

Odometer reading: 272,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well, but idles a little weird

Who doesn’t love the CRX? Honda’s little two-seat Civic has been charming drivers ever since its introduction in 1984. It’s simple and lightweight, and even the frugal HF version is fun to chuck around. And somehow, the second one got even better, which is a trick usually reserved for Sigourney Weaver movies. It’s not often you find a stock second-generation CRX these days for any sort of a reasonable price, especially with a manual transmission. As expected, it’s got a bazillion miles on it, but it has held up well.

This is the HF model, tuned for fuel efficiency rather than performance. Its little 1.5 liter engine makes only 72 horsepower, but it’s a lightweight car, so it’s more sprightly than you’d imagine. Because the HF was the lightest and plainest CRX, it was a favorite of the street-racing crowd, and a whole lot of these engines got yanked out in favor of something more powerful. It’s nice to see that this one is still in there, doing its thing. It runs and drives well, but the seller says it idles unevenly; they suspect a vacuum leak, though lots of other things can cause idle issues. It does have a new clutch, driveaxles, brake master cylinder, battery, and more.

It’s as threadbare as you’d imagine for the mileage, but it’s all there, and it’s all stock. Well, almost; the seller says it has a short-throw shifter, but everything else is original, including the steering wheel. I don’t see a stereo, but that’s easily remedied. Clean it up, and throw on some seat covers – I think those hibiscus-pattern ones would look good in here – and don’t worry about it too much.

The paint is faded, but I don’t see any glaring body damage, and it shouldn’t be rusty. It’s the stock ride height, which is nice to see, but it does have aftermarket wheels, and that’s definitely not the stock muffler. Hopefully it’s not too offensive-sounding.

1991 Toyota Corolla GT-S – $3,900

Engine/drivetrain: 1.6 liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD

Location: San Jose, CA

Odometer reading: 171,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

Now, before you get too excited, let’s clear something up: This car is front-wheel-drive. The previous generation of Corolla coupe was rear-wheel-drive, and famous for it, but don’t expect to try any drifting shenanigans with this one – unless you steal a couple of trays from the school cafeteria, stick ’em under the rear wheels, and set the parking brake. (Does anybody still do that?)

Don’t despair, though; driven by the “wrong” wheels as it may be, this car has the goods. It’s powered by Toyota’s rev-happy 4A-GE four-cylinder, good for 135 horsepower, and a five-speed stick. It doesn’t sound like a lot these days, but you have to remember how light cars this age are. It’s plenty. We don’t get much information about this car in the ad, and what is there is in Spanish, but they do say it’s in excellent condition and has current tags.

This photo, and a photo of the back seat, are the only glimpses we get at the interior, but it looks promising. There’s some wear on the steering wheel, but the seats look fine from what I can see. You can just barely see it in this photo, but this car also features the absolute best HVAC controls anybody ever designed. Toyota’s “four sliders and a button for AC” system is the gold standard; you don’t need anything more complex, and once you learn it, you can operate it without looking, and that’s how controls like that should be.

It’s not quite perfect outside, but it’s really, really nice. It looks good in white, too, as a lot of slightly special Japanese cars from this era do. And it’s got pop-up headlights, which will never not be cool. It is a little worrying, though, that they’re up in every photo. Hopefully they both go down as well.

Neither of these cars were particularly rare when they were new, but now that there are so few left in stock condition like these, they’re sure to turn heads. And I doubt either of them will be on the market for long, so if you want one, get moving. Assuming they’re both still available by the time you read this, which ad are you answering?