Year after year, my list of the least-expensive new cars remains one of the most popular articles on this site. This year, we see some changes to the list; most notably, the least expensive car on the list, the Nissan Versa, has had a price increase of $1,000, though a couple of cars (including the Smart ForTwo and Ford Fiesta are priced the same as last year. The Suzuki SX4 is gone -- as is Suzuki -- but we have a promising newcomer debuting in the #2 spot, the cheap-n-cheerful Chevrolet Spark. And Hyundai has finally gotten honest about the price of the Accent, eliminating the special-order-only stripped down model -- but bumping the car down to #9 on the list. Check out what's good and bad in cheap motoring in my list of the least-expensive new cars of 2013. -- Aaron Gold
Photo © General Motors
Sounds like a decent set of small cars for those whose primary criteria in a vehicle is low price. At least these cars are much better quality, and thus a better value than they once were.
Unfortunately, not one of these cars speaks to me on a personal level, so I doubt that any of them would be on my radar if I were in the market for a new car. That’s just me, though. I like the prices, but, none of the types of cars I like are priced in that range, which means I won’t be buying a new car any time soon.
I will address one car here that I spent a week with and many hundreds of miles…the Ford Fiesta. I was totally psyched about this flashy econoride untill I drove it. Not only was the interior cheap and mundane, but the performance of the car was in total conrrast to its racy looks. Nothing, absolutely nothing about this car made me feel like I was driving a solid car. Only the words cheap, flimsy, underachieving come to mind when I think of the Fiesta. Hope the Focus turns out better.