An improved electrochromic rearview mirror for motor vehicles, the mirror (110) incorporating thin front and rear spaced glass elements (112, 114) having a thickness ranging from about 0.5 to about 1.5. A layer of conductive material (118a-c) is placed onto the mirror's second surface (112b), and either another layer of transparent conductive material or a combined reflector/electrode (120) is placed onto the mirror's third surface (114a). A chamber (116), defined by the layers (112b, 114a) on the interior surfaces of the front and rear glass elements (112, 114) and a peripheral sealing member (122), contains a free-standing gel (124) comprising a solvent and a cross-linked polymer matrix. The chamber (116) further contains at least one electrochromic material in solution with the solvent and interspersed in the cross-linked polymer matrix. The gel (124) co-operatively interacts with the thin glass elements (112, 114) to form a thick, strong unitary member which is resistant to flexing, warping, bowing and/or shattering and further allows the mirror (110) to exhibit reduced vibrational distortion and double imaging.