When it comes to seriously, genuinely cheap new cars in America, football season is over. The Nissan Versa is dead, and with it, the notion of ordering a new car with a sub-$20,000 sticker price, along with the entire non-premium subcompact car segment. So what’s next? What’s the absolute cheapest new car you can buy in America? Why, it’s the Hyundai Venue.
If you’ve forgotten that this little crossover exists, here’s a little background. In the late-2010s, the subcompact car market was dying while the subcompact crossover market was booming. At the same time, Hyundai was turning the bones of its Accent subcompact into a crossover, and decided it could be the entry point to its American lineup. Smaller than a Kona, less expensive than an Elantra, job done, right?
Unsurprisingly, this was the right call. While sales volumes have never threatened the Elantra or Kona, last year saw a 21-percent uptick in volume to 29,805 units. That’s not bad for a relatively niche product that had already been on sale for six years. After all, the walk-up to an Elantra or a Chevrolet Trax or a Nissan Kicks is fairly small, but in this end of the market, every Benjamin counts, and the cheapest gets bragging rights. We’re talking about a price tag of $22,150, including freight, for the cheapest Venue SE, after all. So what do you get for the money?
Well, even this base Venue would’ve been a bit ritzy by the standards of 20 years ago. Air conditioning, power windows, and power door locks, sure, but also automatic high-beams, alloy wheels, and projector headlights. At the same time, standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto would’ve been inconceivable in 2006, so let’s call that more than just the basics ticked. Hyundai also claims the Venue has five-MPH bumpers, but judging by the headlight locations, I don’t want to test that the hard way. Legal would probably get mad.
Mind you, the figures coming from under the hood are very years-ago. While 121 horsepower and 113 lb.-ft. of torque are solid numbers from a naturally aspirated 1.6-liter inline-four, fuel economy figures of 29 MPG city, 33 MPG highway, and 31 MPG combined aren’t spectacular, especially for a small-engined, CVT-equipped, 2,612-pound machine. At least that relatively modest curb weight does give the Venue decent acceleration. Figure zero-to-60 mph in under nine seconds, which blows the Versa into the middle of last week.
It’s been years since I’ve last driven a Venue, but it’s still best to temper expectations. It’s not going to offer the quietest highway ride, or the most nimble handling, or the nicest plastics, all stuff you shouldn’t expect from America’s cheapest new car anyway. It’s $22,150 and comes with a bunch of creature comforts, and seems more focused on urban commuting. However, thanks to a modest 159.1-inch length, the Venue is expectedly easy to park and should ride alright over bumps at city speeds.
So yeah, the Hyundai Venue is America’s cheapest new car for 2026. Does a $21,500 Chevrolet Trax feel worth the premium? Quite likely, but it doesn’t come with a ten-year powertrain warranty. In the meantime, pour one out for the sub-$20,000 new car. Twenty grand is a lot of money to a lot of people, and it’s uncertain whether any new car will fall below that barrier again.
Top image: Hyundai
Makes me miss the Fit even more. Much of me is sad that we didn’t get the 4th gen in the States…but it’s CVT only now, so I guess we didn’t have to see such a fun car lose the fun gearbox (cough cough GTI).
This is enough car for most people. And if you live someplace where they dump tons of salt and it is routinely below zero this can be a less rusty alternative to a abused car.
Despite my general love of turbocharged motors, I would trust Hyundai’s basic n/a four over the General’s little turbo-triple for the long haul, especially with the warranty.
But I would buy a used something better over either one. $22K will buy you a low miles RAV4. There is an AWD LE (bonus – no CVT) at Watertown Toyota in Boston with 17K on it for that price, though 40K is more typical for the upper trim RAV4s. I know which I would trust to go the distance if I was looking for cheap motoring. If you can swing $25K there are a zillion nearly new ones out there in the 30-40K range. This is why cheap cars are a hard sell. New crapcan, or mildy used MUCH better car? I don’t love the RAV4, but there is a reason it’s a bases loaded home run best seller for years now. Or if you can deal with not being in a CUV, a billion almost new Civics and Corollas for $22K. For that matter, a NEW Corolla is under $23K.
FWIW – when we were shopping for my sainted Mother’s next, likely last ride three years ago, these had just come out. She hated it. Cramped little tin box. The Soul was a much, much, much better deal, much more spacious and generally nicer for rather less money. But of course they have killed that car off. The Soul was the only really cheap car that I thought was any good, and we tried them all. $20.5K MSRP with the Tech Package, and we got some money off and cheap financing such it wasn’t worth paying cash for.
I’m seeing $22kish for the cheapest last generation Ravs within 100 miles of me if I look at 80-90k miles. $25k gets me down to 40k miles, but still a 2020 so a 6 year old out of warranty car. Does it matter that it’s lacking a warranty? Probably not. But the used Rav4 market is just wild. $28-29k gets me a up to a low mileage 2025 and a couple grand more is a brand new one. We wanted to replace my wife’s 2012 with a newer one she could drive for another 12 years and at the time it just didn’t make sense to buy used, and it seems like it still really doesn’t. Point is I understand why people want to buy new. Not that the Venue is a good option outside of an around-town runabout.
In any case, a new corolla is unbeatable for the price. Yeah it’s not gonna be a hybrid for that money, but it still gets great gas mileage. And if you want something a bit bigger and SUV shaped, GM crossovers depreciate just about as fast as anything out there and are reasonably reliable.
This is like $17k in 2015 dollars, and like $12k in 2000 dollars. I’m not saying this is exactly how it works, but in this context the 2025 price doesn’t seem that crazy?
It’s like inflation isn’t a thing.
So, similar as a base Civic back in 2015 (which listed at 18k for an LX sedan)?
Funny how those have diverged in cost.
You said $22,100 for the base venue, but $21,500 for the Trax, but the Venue is cheaper? I’m confused.
It’s a typo, and a pretty glaring one. According to Hyundai itself, the Venue starts at $20,550. https://www.hyundaiusa.com/us/en/vehicles/venue
I see these quite a bit more than the Kona, at least over the past few years.
The Korean Cousins seems to be doing the same thing I gave everyone else flak about for years — way too many subsegmented crossovers. I can’t even keep them straight.
Kia and Hyundai are closer together in their lineups than anyone since the pre-Carpocapyse badge engineering days. I have no idea how they even continue to market or differentiate their vehicles from one another. I found myself pretty close to buying a new Sportage only because I thought the Tucson was fugly. That’s not a great reason. The dealership was also horrible, so I walked for that reason, too.
Not that anyone asked my opinion, but I drove this in both CVT and manual versions (the manual has long since been discontinued of course) the first year it came out when my sister was shopping for her first new car. Of course it wasn’t epic in any way, but as a regular, around-town commuter and transportation appliance, it was quite decent. The stick version was even a bit fun. It’s smaller in back than some small crossovers (and a Honda Fit dwarfs it in terms of cargo room, but those are long since gone too) but not everyone needs absolute maximum cargo capacity. The economy seems OK, and in terms of longer-term cost of ownership, the relative simplicity of a naturally aspirated engine is a plus. IIRC, there was also a ‘denim’ version the first few years, which came in a metallic blue with a white roof and some interior stuff… it was pretty nice all things considered, especially with a stick.
I may be mistaken, but I think the absolute base MSRP when the Venue came out was in the upper teens. I don’t know the crash ratings on these, but TBH, I’d totally drive one without feeling weird about it, especially that denim edition.