These Are The Last Under $20,000 New Cars Left In The U.S.

There are only six now, down from 17 just three years ago

PublishedSeptember 26, 2023

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Image for article titled These Are The Last Under $20,000 New Cars Left In The U.S. — Image: Mitsubishi

Things are dire on the new car market right now if you’re looking for basic transportation. Average transaction prices have been trending toward the 50 grand mark for the last three years at least, and part of the reason for that trend has been the total gutting of the inexpensive end of automakers’ new car lineups.

When I did one of these rundowns in 2020 there were 17 new cars on the market with MSRPs under $20,000. We ran another one just under a year ago and there were still 12. Right now there are just six, and three of them are Kias. And some of those might be headed for the door, too. In the last year we’ve seen the death of the Hyundai Accent and Chevrolet Spark, while the Nissan Sentra and Subaru Impreza have increased beyond the $20,000 mark.

So what will twenty thousand American greenbacks buy you these days? Click through to find out.

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Nissan Versa - $15,980

I remember during the post-2008 recession when Nissan would sell you a Versa for just $9,990. While the car has admittedly gotten better in the last 15 years, that price has ballooned to nearly sixteen grand.

There’s a little margin here for Nissan to introduce a Versa SE-R in the same vein as the tiny Sentra coupe from the 1990s, and still have it come in under 20 grand. Instead of sixty-five-thousand-dollar Nissan Zs, let’s have a 20K mini heater!

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Mitsubishi Mirage - $16,695

In 2020 you could still get Mitsubishi’s diminutive four-door for $13,995, and over the last three years it has expanded its price (but not its footprint) by $2,700. Yowza.

It’s not a bad car, because nobody really makes bad cars anymore, but I don’t know that I would go so far as to say it’s a good car. Fine. It’s a fine car.

The rumor mill says Mitsu is sending the Mirage to the chopping block by the end of the year, taking one more option off this list.

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Kia Rio - $16,750

The Rio is rated at 41 miles per gallon highway, which is pretty impressive, all things considered. It’s amazing what happens when a car is small and lightweight. I wonder if we’ll ever learn that lesson as a society, or if we’ll just keep buying 7,000 pound trucks and SUVs.

This is by far Kia’s least expensive vehicle, and it’s probably a step above the Mitsu. Not bad.

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Kia Forte - $19,790

When it comes to regular family sedans, the Forte makes a lot of sense. It’s a Civic competitor for five grand less. It’s not quite as good as the Honda, but not much is. If you care about the cash, don’t forget about this one.

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Kia Soul - $19,990

Souls make a good daily transportation appliance with some stylistic verve. This is the move if you want to have something a little quirky on the cheap. And it’s just a decent all-around car. I wouldn’t call it great or fun, but at this price you can’t afford to choose.

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Hyundai Venue - $19,650

If you like the Soul but want something a little more standard looking, step into a Hyundai Venue. Again, a competent machine, because nobody makes truly bad cars anymore, but hardly an inspired choice.

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Conclusion

If you’re going to buy an inexpensive car, your choice is pretty much Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, or Mitsubishi. So many great choices (I’m looking at you Mazda 2 and Honda Fit) have been killed in the last decade, and there isn’t much to recommend to people these days. I’d love more inexpensive options, especially some option packages that give up on “standard” features to drop the price a ways. Can you get away without air conditioning and power windows and locks? We used to in the 1990s, and you probably could today, too. Give us the choice again!

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