Today’s Ask is a tough one for me, because I find all new cars to be interesting. Some more interesting than others, of course, but even the cheapest models (which some, I assume, consider to be “least interesting” by default) I find to be very interesting, for two reasons. First and foremost, cheap cars are where my new-car budget is, and it’s only natural to be more interested in cars one can actually afford. That doesn’t mean I’m disinterested in the many, so many cars I can’t afford, but I’m not going to bother configuring cars with a vase price twice what I can afford or poring over hypercar specs.
Second, cheap cars are interesting because the designers and engineers are so much more constrained, and every penny is pinched with a hydraulic press. I’m fascinated by where and how a little extra is spent and where corners were cut to make up for it. I recall my old Honda Civic DX’s glove compartment was a single piece of plastic with molded-in nubs that popped into holes to serve as the hinge points. Just a spectacularly cheap design, but hey, that allowed for a little extra cash to be applied to more important parts of the car.
That said, and with no research beyond a quick brain-racking, I’d say the cheap new cars I find most interesting are …
Chevy Trax. Every time I see a Trax, I think “those look good.”
Another “those look good:” the Kia K4 hatchback.
I just rented a Mazda 3 sedan in Hawaii and enjoyed it a lot, so it’s definitely on the list (and it would be even if I hadn’t, TBH. Give it to me in Soul Red Crystal with a hatch.
How about you? What cheap cars do you find most interesting?
Miata
Huh… Weirdly enough, probably the Corolla Hatchback? It’s interesting because for 2026 it’s actually a properly compact hatch. It’s competitors have bulked up into midsizers at this point, making the Corolla hatch sort of an anomaly.
I can find something interesting about any new car.
That doesn’t mean I’m interested in buying it though.
All of them. No, seriously. The new cheap car segment is my favorite segment because of all the constraints they need to work with. Where they make compromises and where they push the envelope.
It makes sense when a $250k Mercedes has an interesting or cutting-edge feature, it’s far more fascinating when that feature appears on a $25k vehicle. Plus, cheap new cars have to compete with used not-so-cheap cars. What makes them more compelling to a prospective buyer?
My go to recommendation for friends and family is Civic Hybrid or Corolla Hybrid AWD. If they need more car or want to spend a bit more, I go from there. I used to recommend the Trax but after working for GM and seeing the issues they’re having with the turbos on those engines, it’s off the list.
Is the Corolla (Hybrid) available with AWD?
Kia Picanto, just because it’s a teeny manual hatchback.
I find no new cars interesting, especially in my price range. I’d be into something SUV to replace the Outback, but they are too much cubic feet not enough length, unless you get something on a truck chassis.
2027 AMG GT it is then.
Slate. Nissan Leaf. New Leaf looks great. It could be an electric Ferrari with one stick-on side scoop.
Most interesting to me is the Nissan Kicks. I haven’t driven the face lifted version, but older ones were much better than the price/reputation had me believe. The face lift look really good, it comes in a huge variety of actual colors, even two tone with actual roof colors, not just black. I think it looks and works crazy good for 23k starting.
Good call. I liked the old ones too…I just disliked Nissan’s attempt to Scion the thing and cringily pitch it to kids.
How serious are you about the word “car”? I’m starting to see Ford Maverick Hybrid FWD XL for under $30k, and that strikes me as a lot of value for maybe $5k over the cheapest car you can buy, and $20k under the general ATP. Mazda 3 hatchback would be my next choice, and that’s more dependent on use case than any tangible value difference.
Any car is better than no car at all.
So on the basis Dacia Sandero SCe 65 – €13,490. 1000cc normally aspirated three cylinder, 65bhp and a five speed manual.
Car that actually find really interesting?
Mazda 3 2.5 Skyactiv-G Centre Line 5 door – €28,065. 2500cc normally aspirated four cylinder, 140bhp and a six speed manual. Actually came close to buying one recently.
Renault 5 E-Tech 110kW Evolution 52kWh – €29,650. 150bhp electric motor. I would’ve loved one but found BEV a bit of faff. Also there are cheaper versions with smaller batteries, but discarded.
Honourable mentions (cheaper than those two): Renault Twingo (80bhp BEV, €18,230) Leapmotor B05 (218bhp BEV, €23,775, interestingly rear wheel drive) and BYD Dolphin G DM-i (175bhp PHEV, €23,750, the first Chinese car designed specifically with Europe in mind).
Is there a tax penalty for the 2.5 in the Mazda where you are?
That was one of the most surprising things when I started talking to car guys in the UK. An engine displacement penalty in taxes or insurance sounded crazy to me, where one of my first cars had a 5.7l V8.
Not when buying, but road tax is impacted by displacement (and number of cylinders).
It’s been long since I last looked at it, but (at least back then) one of the thresholds were 1000cc 3 cyl and another one 1600cc 4 cyl. Probably the reason why a lot of European cars were in those brackets.
The differences aren’t huge though, today. The Alpine (1800cc 4 cyl) pays €145 annual road tax and with the M140i (3000cc 6 cyl) I used to pay €190 annually.
Here in Spain now the label the car carries also impacts what you pay. Both the BMW and the Alpine carried the C label (cleanest for non-electrified vehicles) and the Clio (which incidentally also has a 1800cc 4 cyl) has the ECO label. Ironically both MHEV and full hybrid share the same ECO label, and something similar happens with O emission label, PHEV with an EV range over 100km have it (as well as BEV, of course).
I think I gotta go with the new Panda. It truly looks so well done, and think if Fiat had come back to the US swinging with something like this in the first place, they’d be in a very different position.
Agreed. Although I love the 500, I would buy the Panda
K4 sedan. I’ve become quite taken with its Blade Runner design ethos (“entropic design” it’s called I hear), which, almost for once, makes the de rigueur be-screened interior look appropriate.
The oddball rear quarter has even grown on me for its strangeness/uniqueness.
It absolutely looks like it could be a lower-end ride in Cyberpunk 2077.
Mazda3 – For sure.
But I’d really like a Renault Twingo EV, or a VW Polo EV
Outside of a Dacia Spring (the mother of all penalty boxes), the Twingo is one of the cheapest BEVs currently on sale.