Which Rare Machine Is Worth The Green? 2000 Daewoo Nubira vs 2004 Mitsubishi Galant

In today’s thrilling episode, we’re going to look at two cars that have the same color scheme. They’re both rare, they’re both in nice shape, and if we’re being honest, they both seem a little expensive for what you get. Is one of them more worth the price than the other? That’s what we’re going to find out.

We looked at a couple of two-door sedans yesterday, and it sounds as if a lot of you had trouble choosing. And for once, it wasn’t because you hated them both! From the sounds of it, a lot of people’s heads said Toyota Corona, while their hearts said Volvo. The head won out, but just barely. As of this writing, only about thirty votes separate the two.

I understand your indecision. I’d have trouble choosing between them as well. I’ve low-key wanted a Volvo 240 for years, and that’s a good spec to get, but that Corona is cleaner, and I really like the light, airy look of the interior. I think I’d have to drive them both and see which one felt more like home.

Of all the possible color combinations for cars, green outside and tan inside is one of my favorites. It just looks good on everything. And it doesn’t really matter what shade of green it is; Forest Service Green works just as well as British Racing Green. The combination was really popular in the 1990s, but you don’t see it much these days. You don’t see many interior colors except for black, actually, unless you start looking at higher-end cars. Both of today’s cars are from the end of the green-over-tan era, but they both wear it well, and they’re both cars you don’t see often in any color. Let’s check them out.

2000 Daewoo Nubira CDX Wagon – $4,000

Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter DOHC inline-4, four-speed automatic, FWD

Location: Hillsboro, OR

Odometer reading: 67,000 miles

Operational status: Ad doesn’t actually say

Daewoo doesn’t have a long or distinguished resume of selling cars in the United States. The first Daewoo-built car sold here was the ill-fated Pontiac LeMans revival, based on the European Opel Kadett. It should have been a good little car. It wasn’t. In the late ’90s, Daewoo came to the US as its own entity, just in time to go bankrupt and have to get bailed out by General Motors. This Nubira was the middle child of Daewoo’s lineup in the US, a car that sold so poorly that I haven’t actually seen one on the road since about 2005. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Nubira wagon in green. It’s a fetching color, I have to admit.

All US-market Nubiras came with a 2.0-liter twin-cam four-cylinder engine built in Australia by Holden. Either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic were available; this car, like nearly all Nubiras, I would imagine, has the automatic. Curiously, the seller doesn’t actually mention how well it runs; only that it’s hard to find “in this condition.” I assume that means running and driving? These cars weren’t known for their reliability.

It’s the fancy CDX model, with air conditioning, cruise control, and power everything. The seller appears to have installed a touch-screen stereo in it, but since it’s positioned so low in the dash, I have to imagine it’s a pain in the ass to operate. I think I’d yank it out and replace it with something with knobs and buttons, personally. It does look like it’s in good condition inside, at least.

Little wagons are always useful things, no matter who makes them, and this looks like a very practical car. The cross-bars on the roof racks are apparently a factory option, and I have to believe they’re one of very few sets in existence. I can’t see a reason to go for this over an Escort wagon or something, unless you really want a Daewoo, but if that’s the case, then you do you. You’re unlikely to find a nicer one than this.

2004 Mitsubishi Galant GTS – $4,800

Engine/drivetrain: 3.8-liter OHC V6, four-speed automatic, FWD

Location: San Jose, CA

Odometer reading: 119,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

Some cars seem to exist only in a certain period of time, regardless of how long they were actually produced. Mitsubishi’s Galant sedan is such a car. When I think of the Galant, it’s the early 1990s versions that come to mind, especially the cool all-wheel-drive VR-4 model. Remembering that Mitsubishi still sold the Galant in 2004 is a bit like being reminded that Collective Soul released a new album that same year. Oh right, so they did. Well, good for them.

As it turns out, in 2004, the Galant had a bit of a surprise under the hood: a 3.8-liter version of Mitsubishi’s long-serving V6, making 230 horsepower. That’s not too shabby at all for a mid-sized sedan, though not quite at the level of Nissan’s brawler V6 version of the Altima. No manual transmission was available in the Galant by this point; you get a four-speed automatic with one of those manual-shiftable plus-and-minus gates. (Does anybody ever actually use those?) The seller says it runs and drives well, and just had a bunch of service work completed. It does, however, have a salvage title, though the seller doesn’t know the reason. It needn’t have been an accident; it could have been a theft recovery. If it doesn’t affect the car, and your insurance company doesn’t care, it probably doesn’t matter.

This one is also the top of its range, which for the Galant means the GTS model. It has leather seats, power everything, and nice-looking white-faced gauges. It’s all in good condition, but I do wonder about that yellow plastic bag in front of the vent on the right side. Is that an air freshener? What smell is it covering up?

It looks good on the outside, and this one is a nice color as well. The seller does say it has “scratches here and there,” but what car outside of Pebble Beach doesn’t? None of the panel gaps look off in the photos, which also leads me to believe that the tarnished title is not due to damage.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw either of these cars. Wait – actually, I had a friend in Portland with a Galant from this era, but hers was nowhere near this fancy. A Daewoo of any description, though? It’s been years. If nothing else, you’re practically guaranteed to have the only one in almost any parking lot, and you certainly won’t see another example of either in green. Which one is worth the money to you?