The cheapest cars on sale right now
It’s quite possible to get a brand-new car, even if you have a tight budget right now, and even if the pickings at that price point are quite slim, there are still pretty good options with reasonable features. This year alone, we seem to be down to just a handful of subcompact cars on the market, and only two of them have a starting price of $20,000 or less.
For this very reason, we have included a couple of models here that are a bit over $20,000 and could be achievable at that price with the right negotiating skills or the right deal. We will highlight one model with factors worthy of mention, such as performance, quality, safety, as well as reliability.
2024 Mitsubishi Mirage
The Mitsubishi Mirage is by far the cheapest car you can buy brand new, but it’s still quite hard to recommend it, even if on a tight budget. It’s more than enough for city driving, and it gets great fuel economy, but it is also borderline miserable in nearly every other aspect.
It also has a mediocre crash-test score, which is why we recommend avoiding this car model if you can. We would also advise shopping for a good deal on any of its competitors before buying a Mirage.
However, despite its numerous shortcomings, we must give some kind of credit where credit is due. Besides its great fuel savings, the Mirage comes standard with an infotainment system, with a 7-inch touch screen, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay smartphone capability, as well as voice recognition, which makes the car a bit easier to live with.
2025 Hyundai Venue
If you can stretch your budget and include the Hyundai Venue, or even if you can find yourself a better deal, we’d say it’s worth it. This particular Hyundai definitely has less cargo space than it normally should have, and it’s not especially fast, both of which are common flaws for a subcompact crossover.
But it’s still a wonderful value. The Venue’s dull performance easily pays off, as far as good fuel economy ratings go, which is always a good sign, especially if finances are tight. It’s also very well-equipped, with all kinds of user-friendly technology and infotainment features.
You might get an 8-inch touch screen, and the base trims get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Hyundai also has safety tech, such as forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and even driver-attention monitoring.
2025 Nissan Versa
For this year, the Nissan Versa keeps its position for its wonderful value below $20,000. It earns a spot quite high in our subcompact car rankings, probably because of its surprisingly comfortable cabin and user-friendly technology.
The Versa is known to be underpowered, but it’s still fine for city traffic, and its practicality as well as value outweighs any drawbacks. The vast majority of cars in this segment aren’t especially fast anyway. The Versa’s four-cylinder engine doesn’t truly impress in terms of acceleration, but it’s still quite efficient.
2025 Chevrolet Trax
Chevy managed to pull off some impressive feats with the Trax subcompact SUV, like balancing cargo space and passenger space, in a specific way that few others in the same class can do. The Trax is a bit dull to drive, but then again, that’s really no surprise.
We should take a closer look at its value proposition. The Trax generally comes with a fuel-efficient turbocharged three-cylinder engine, but that’s the only interesting thing as far as performance goes.
As far as tech and safety features go, this Chevy comes standard, with an 8-inch touch screen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, General Motors’ Teen Driver safety settings system for brand new drivers, and forward automatic emergency braking, as well as pedestrian detection.
2025 Kia Soul
Since the Kia Soul was introduced, it’s been on the list of top candidates in our subcompact SUV rankings. It’s a wonderful choice for a brand-new vehicle on a tight budget, even if it’s just a bit cheaper than $20,000.
Performance from the four-cylinder engine is quite basic, especially in terms of acceleration, but it still rides and drives quite smoothly. The Soul truly impressed with its spaciousness, offering great cargo room without cramping passengers.
That’s one of its best attributes, since some other small vehicles require serious compromises when it comes to allocating cabin room. The Soul comes standard with an 8-inch infotainment touch screen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, driver-attention monitoring, forward collision warning with pedestrian and cyclist detection, and forward automatic emergency braking.
Stay away from these cars
Automakers turned out to be really good at making cars that can serve buyers’ needs, which has oftentimes translated into solid options for used car shoppers. But there’s still an arduous divide between the best models and the worst.
If you buy a used car, some models are still worth avoiding. We can definitely help you find your car by giving you guidance on which models you don’t want to buy. The cars in this slideshow have U.S. News overall scores and are quite undesirable choices.
The models in our list are all 2019 or even newer, and they span many vehicle categories. We have listed them in order, so take a look.
2022 Chevrolet Spark
After the 2013 model year launch, the Chevy Spark’s run ended with the 2022 model. This subcompact, four-door car definitely has a couple of things working in its favor. First, it’s small enough to be an easily maneuverable companion in the city, and its infotainment system is quite a breeze to operate.
However, those strengths are only a drop in the bucket compared to Chevy’s shortcomings. With less than 100 horsepower on tap, the Spark is still quite underpowered, which could lead to hairy moments on the highway. Moreover, the passenger room is quite tight, and the cabin looks low-rent.
2021 Nissan Rogue Sport
The 2021 Nissan Rogue Sport isn’t the worst, that’s for sure. It definitely has one of the largest cargo holds in its class, which provides up to 22.9 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row, and 61.1 cubic feet behind the first.
Nissan’s subcompact SUV also comes with tons of standard equipment, including Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. But the Rogue Sport has a couple of unappealing qualities, most important of them being its anemic powertrain. Moreover, passenger space is quite tight in the second row, and the base trim’s cabin is filled with hard plastics.
2021 Toyota Tundra
The Tundra manages to impress with its stout V8, and it treats passengers to a roomy cabin. It also packs a reassuring predicted reliability score. However, it’s not enough to make it a worthwhile purchase, since it falls short in ways to really matter to truck buyers.
For once, it is less fuel-efficient than other full-size trucks. While its cabin is quite roomy, it looks super ancient and cheap, with plenty of hard plastics and styling from another area. Ultimately, the 2021 Tundra underwhelms when it’s time to put that tow hitch to use. It tows much less than key rivals in its class. Luckily, this Tundra was completely redesigned for the 2022 model year.
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