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How much is a cheap car?
Money is tight, but I need a small car to get around the city, so what should I plan to spend on a cheap car?
Jason Tushinski · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
If you’re looking for a cheap car, expect to spend between $15,000 and $18,000 if you want something new. In this range, you should find a vehicle that has some pep and gets good gas mileage—the Chevy Spark, Mitsubishi Mirage, Kia Rio, Nissan Versa, and Hyundai Accent are all solid picks.
- Chevy Spark LS—$15,695: The cheapest new car on the market, the Spark is a four-seat subcompact featuring automatic transmission that gets a solid 33 miles per gallon. You won’t get much power, but you do get Bluetooth, a 4G LTE WiFi hotspot, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.
- Mitsubishi Mirage ES—$16,990: The Mirage is a shifty subcompact that gets a very solid 39 miles per gallon and seats five people. Its teensy 1.2 L 3 cylinder engine won’t give you much power, but it handles well and will help you scoot around town. The Mirage features a 7-inch touchscreen and standard safety features such as automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection. There’s a trunk, but not much of one.
- Kia Rio LX—$17,275: The Rio offers a more robust four-cylinder engine with continuously variable transmission, and it gets 36 miles per gallon. It boasts an 8-inch touchscreen and rear camera, but you can’t get standard driver-assist technology unless you move up to the S-trim.
- Nissan Versa—$17,625: A sedan that gets 35 miles per gallon, the Versa is full of top-notch driver-assist features and is worth the money. You get standard automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, high beam assist, lane-departure warning, and reverse automatic braking. Cruise control is also standard, as are push-button start, Bluetooth, and automatic headlights.
- Hyundai Accent SE—$17,670: a subcompact sedan clocking 36 miles per gallon, it’s a 4-cylinder that gets decent mileage for what you’re paying. The Accent SE doesn’t offer smartphone connectivity on the base trim, but you do get power windows and locks. Automatic emergency braking isn’t offered here, unfortunately.
Whichever cheap car you go for, protect it with a robust
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