Which Super-Clean Sedan Is Your Pick? 1986 Mazda 323 vs 1989 Mitsubishi Galant

Good morning! We’re ending the week, and starting the month, with a pair of Japanese sedans that I haven’t seen for sale in a very long time. And I can’t even recall the last time I saw either of them in person. They’re both in great shape, too, so you can’t complain about me offering you junk today.

We looked at a couple of wagons yesterday, one battered French survivor and one squeaky-clean Accord. It sounds like quite a few of you really wanted to like the Peugeot, but its condition, especially next to that Honda, put you off. The Accord wagon took an easy win, but I think the Peugeot voters were more passionate about their decision.

For me, the decision comes down to one simple fact: Hondas with automatics are boring to drive. For me, with no commute and a non-boring automatic already in the garage, the Accord is utterly useless. The Peugeot is a manual, rear-wheel-drive, and is known for surviving in some of the harshest conditions on the planet. Plus, it’s got character, and I admire that in a car. If the Accord were a manual, then it would absolutely be the better choice. But it isn’t.

Living in Portland, Oregon for sixteen years made me forget that certain cars go extinct in other parts of the country. Look around hard enough in the Pacific Northwest, and you’re bound to find an example of almost any car you can think of. Since I moved away, I’ve missed seeing all those old survivors casually street-parked all over town. Maybe that’s why I feature so many of them here. But I haven’t seen either one of these cars on the road, even in Portland, in ages. They’re nothing special, except that there are hardly any of them left, especially in this condition. Let’s check them out.

1986 Mazda 323 DX – $3,000

Engine/drivetrain: 1.6 liter OHC inline 4, three-speed automatic, FWD

Location: Brentwood, CA

Odometer reading: 140,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

Before there was the Mazda 3, before there was the Protege, there was the 323. And before that, there were two generations of what Mazda called the GLC, for “Great Little Car.” The 323 is sort of the forgotten middle child of the line, except for a couple of special versions, but it doesn’t deserve to be. These truly are great little cars. This humble little DX sedan isn’t the GT or GTX that we all know, but it shares the same basic bones.

The engine is a 1.6 liter four cylinder with electronic fuel injection, a welcome update from the GLC’s carburetor. It’s not powerful, but it is very reliable. Unfortunately, what power this one has is delivered to the front wheels through an automatic transmission, and worse still, it’s an old three-speed non-overdrive unit. It’ll probably run until the end of time, but it won’t be a particularly fun ride. Mazda’s small cars are generally more fun to drive than, say, Toyota’s, but that gearbox is a real buzz-kill.

The seller calls this car a “bit of a beater,” which makes me think they’ve never actually seen a beater. This interior photo could almost have come from a Mazda brochure. There aren’t many photos in the ad, but the ones that are there show a really clean car. It’s a pretty simple car, with crank windows and no air conditioning, but that’s just less stuff to go wrong.

It’s really clean outside, too. The black plastic bumpers are faded, of course, and some chrome has come off the badges, but honestly that appears to be the worst of it. Even the headlights aren’t clouded up. Someone took good care of this car, and kept it in a garage.

1989 Mitsubishi Galant LS – $5,499

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

Location: Austin, TX

Odometer reading: 104,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

This is another somewhat forgotten car, but it was a big part of Mitsubishi’s boom in the US in the late ’80s and early ’90s. The previous generation Galant was a pretty frumpy car, but this one became the darling of reviewers when it came out. The Galant was available with all kinds of high-tech features: all-wheel-drive, a turbocharged engine, and electronically controlled suspension, but this LS model keeps things fairly simple.

This Galant is a one-owner car, with just over 100,000 miles on its 2.0 liter engine. It has an electronically-controlled automatic transmission with “power” and “economy” modes, terms taken from Mitsubishi’s old twin-stick “Super Shift” manual. I’ve never messed around with one of these, so I don’t know how much difference there is in performance between the two modes. The dealership selling it says it runs and drives well, but don’t expect any history or service records.

The interior is in beautiful shape, and it looks really comfy. This one is a little better equipped than the Mazda, with power windows and locks, and air conditioning. The seller claims the stereo has Bluetooth, but it looks like the stock stereo from 1989 to me. There must be some add-on doohickey in there.

Outside, it’s clean, shiny, and rust-free. What more could you want? You don’t realize until you look closely just how much chrome there used to be on cars. There are little bits of brightwork all over this car. It’s a nice change of pace from all the black plastic cladding on cars today.

Yeah, I know that both of these cars were offered in turbocharged all-wheel-drive versions that were a lot more fun. But those command silly prices these days, if you can even find them. These both seem like reasonable deals, especially considering their condition. Which one interests you more?