12 Of The Cheapest New Cars You Can Buy In 2026

It’s no news that getting a new car these days costs an arm and a leg. That has been the state of affairs in the automotive industry since the dawn of the 2020s and the days of the pandemic, and there doesn’t seem to be any relief on the horizon. According to Kelley Blue Book (KBB), as of September last year, a new car set the average buyer back by more than $50,080 – marking the highest-ever average transaction price for new vehicles in the United States. 

Factors like trade tariffs, investment in EV infrastructure, and high consumer demand for modern cars have all contributed to this state of affairs, and even entry-level cars are drifting out of reach of those who need them. In fact, with the discontinuation of the Nissan Versa for North America last year, the last sub-$20,000 MSRP vehicle on dealership lots officially vanished from the menu. No single car model offers a trim below that mark in its 2026 options. The same goes for used cars, and we have some theories on why used cars aren’t getting cheaper.

However, if you’re looking for a new car and want to spend the bare minimum on your purchase, what options do you have? The are 12 of the cheapest cars you can get brand-new right now in the United States.

The Versa model may be gone from Nissan’s listings for 2026 and beyond, but that doesn’t mean its units suddenly fell off the face of the Earth in one fell swoop. Used units trade for just under $18,000, but new options still sit in Nissan dealerships across the United States; an SV trim is in the neighborhood of $22,800, while the SR is slightly more pricey at around $23,500. Given that there’s no official successor for the subcompact sedan, you should probably expect prices to go up slightly as Nissan’s supply dwindles.

In terms of the Versa’s actual abilities, the model has a great selling point in its gas economy. You’ll get anywhere between 30-35 mpg combined out of the engine, which goes a long way to keeping your savings in your pocket in light of today’s rising gas prices. On the interior, the Versa is surprisingly comfortable for its price bracket; there’s considerable head and leg room for you to fit into in the front, although the back can feel cramped. The build material also doesn’t scream cheap from the mountaintops — it’s got soft-touch surfaces covering the door and dashboard.

Where you’ll really notice the Versa’s limitations are in transit. Its 122 hp engine is painfully slow, so highway overtaking maneuvers can get a little dicey. You’ll also hear and feel every bump in the road, and wind noise can be particularly irritating.

The closest any vehicle on this list gets to the $20,000 mark, the 2025 Kia Soul has an MSRP that starts at $20,490 for the LX, its barest version. Its most expensive trim starts at $24,790, so it’s still relatively cheap. From the outside looking in, you can probably guess why — the Kia Soul has a very compact build that can immediately signal red flags if you’re big on space considerations. However, don’t let its small appearance and its classification as a subcompact SUV fool you; the Kia Soul has plenty of room for its occupants to stretch out. It features a low hip point that gives more headroom allowance, with manufacturer measurements coming in at 39.9 inches, and there’s also 41.1 inches of legroom. If you’re on a budget and on the taller side physically, against conventional wisdom, the Kia Soul might be right up your alley.

That’s the Kia Soul’s most defining positive — it’s roomy for its class, which translates into a feeling of comfort that’s uncommon with cars on the cheaper end of the MSRP spectrum. In terms of drawbacks, the Soul isn’t the quickest car on the menu; it runs on a 147 hp four-cylinder that takes 8 seconds to go from 0-60 mph. You won’t necessarily feel like you’re lagging behind other vehicles on the road, though, and it’s got decent gas mileage at 30 mpg combined.

If any brand’s made delivering reliable cars on a budget its bread and butter, it’s Hyundai. At first glance, the first model names that might come to mind are the Elantra or Sonata. However, while the Elantra is pretty cheap, there’s an even pocket-friendlier option for buyers to explore in the Hyundai Venue. It’s a competitor in the subcompact SUV class just like the Kia Soul, and you can find its base SE trim at an MSRP of $20,550, with its most expensive option reaching $22,600. It also has the distinction of being the smallest SUV you can purchase in America. 

The Venue is the cheapest of 2026’s car class across the brands, and that means you can expect the very basics of what a typical entry-level vehicle would offer. You’ll get a practical cabin design that won’t wow you — it’s only 13 feet long, plastic dominates the touchable landscape, and space runs thin. The engine is a shy 121 hp four-cylinder that needs active encouragement to speed up, so you won’t be overtaking liberally in the Venue.

The driving dynamics also aren’t the best; the engine can get really noisy when you push it, and there’s some body roll due to the shorter-than-average wheelbase. However, as a bare minimum budget option, it can get you from A to B with some decent gas mileage of 31 mpg combined.

With the Versa officially phased out of North American production, Nissan’s new cheapest available model is the Sentra. When Versas were in full supply, they were known for going under $20,000 a pop, by for shoppers this year, the Sentra hovers around the $22,000 category. You could subtract or add a few hundred dollars from that figure depending on your dealership, but the big question is whether that price gulf is worth it.

Well, for starters, the Sentra has a 149 hp engine that goes from 0-60 mph in 8.8 seconds. That’s not quick by any stretch of the imagination, but it does outpace the 2025 Versa by 0.7s; not a lot, but significant enough to not feel like you’re crawling. The design is where the Sentra places its bread and butter; its trims all have a jagged sporty look to them that doesn’t give off cheap vibes, and the interior is lined with faux leather that has decent cushioning.

Another thing to note is the legroom, particularly in the front. You’d expect a compact car on this end of the price spectrum to be pressed for space, but the Sentra posts 44 inches of legroom for its front seats. That’s plenty to stretch into — it actually rivals and beats mid-level options like the 2026 Toyota Camry (42.1 inches) in this department.

Chevrolet’s flagship vehicles in terms of raw sales numbers are the Silverado and Equinox, and while there’s a considerable gap, Chevrolet’s budget-friendly Trax subcompact crossover is third on the list, with more than 200,000 unit sales to its name.

The powertrain is a polite 137 hp that takes roughly 9 seconds to go from 0-60 mph, so it doesn’t have enough of a leg up on its rivals in the budget class to justify the sales numbers. You’ll discover that the magic isn’t in the engine; it’s in the ecosystem as a whole. For starters, the interior is particularly attractive for its comfort. The plastic panels are few and far between, with Chevrolet favoring soft padding — a stance that’s rather rare for the Trax’s price point.

The seats are also configured to give the driver a lower driving position, and coupled with the longer wheelbase design introduced in 2024, there’s plenty of leg room (41.9 and 38.7 inches for the front and rear, respectively) and cargo space (25.6 cubic feet) to suit a starter owner’s needs. Tech features vary with the trim package; you could get the full array of heated seats, remote start, and an 11-inch infotainment screen if you opt for the higher-level trims starting from the LT, which has an MSRP of $23,200.

The second Hyundai on this list, the Elantra, is one of the standard go-to options for buyers seeking entry-level cars. Granted, it has had its fair share of problems in the past, from the high-profile engine malfunctions in the 2010s to the keyless entry saga it shared with Kia vehicles — it’s consistently been one of the most stolen cars in America. However, considering the number of features on offer and the price tag, it’s no wonder the Elantra is one of the best-selling compact cars in the U.S.

The reason for the Elantra’s popularity isn’t immediately obvious; at 147 hp for the base trim and a 0-60 mph acceleration of just over 8 seconds, the engine’s pretty ordinary. If you’re the sporty kind, you could opt for the N-line trim, which houses a 201-hp turbocharged powertrain, but that’ll cost you just under $30,000. The fuel economy is one of the Elantra’s main boons, and that extends to the base SE — it reaches up to an EPA-estimated 35 mpg combined. 

Tech features are another area where the Elantra shines; it uses a nice mix of screen displays and buttons for climate controls. SE trims come with a 4.2-inch instrument cluster and an 8-inch dashboard, and a six-speaker setup is on hand to serenade passengers.

Another subcompact SUV on this list (and the third Nissan model), the Nissan Kicks is the design upgrade on the Kicks Play line, with the manufacturer ditching the previous theme of fuel economy in favor of all-around performance. The extra juice comes from a 141 hp 2.0-liter powertrain that goes from 0-60 mph in just about 9 seconds, which isn’t exactly eye-popping. However, when you consider the 2025 Kicks Play’s comparatively mute 122 hp engine that needed 9.7 seconds to accelerate to 60 mph, you can appreciate how far the Nissan Kicks has come.

The tradeoff in fuel economy isn’t that severe either; the 2025 Kicks Play gave its drivers an estimated 36 mpg on the highway, and the 2026 Nissan Kicks gives 35 mpg — although the Kicks Play’s superiority in this regard is more pronounced when driving in the city (31 mpg vs the Kicks’ 28). In terms of other defining metrics, the 2026 Nissan Kicks comes with 8.4 inches of ground clearance, and it’s got an intelligent AWD system that produces valuable grip in adverse weather conditions. You should note that the AWD-enabled trims cost about $1,000 more than their FWD counterparts.

In the infotainment department, the base S trim gets a 7-inch touchscreen, though it doesn’t support smartphone mirroring. The SV and SR trims sport a 12.3-inch display, but will cost you about $1,800 and $5,000 more, respectively.

The second Kia on this list, the K4 is the successor to the Forte, which competed in the compact sedan market for nearly 15 years. That means K4 has some big shoes to fill in the market. Depending on your needs, you could opt for the sedan or the hatchback; the sedan’s MSRP starts at $22,290, while the hatchback is a bit pricier at just under $25,000.

Under the hood, the Kia K4 faces the same issues as most of the other cars on this list — there’s a distinct lack of acceleration power, at least in its base trim. Its engine is a 147 hp 2.0-liter powertrain, although you can opt for a 190 hp turbocharged GT-Line Turbo if that’s more to your tastes. The base K4’s fuel economy is one of its more defining features, though; according to EPA estimates, you could get 30 mpg city and up to 40 mpg highway, so there are some gas savings on the table for you to consider.

Another area in which the K4 shines is in its tech system. The base trim comes with a 12.3-inch display equipped with wireless connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There are also four USB-C ports in the K4’s ecosystem, and higher trims get a second, similarly sized screen that’s combined into one huge panel to interact with.

Toyota has developed a reputation for its reliability and relative affordability as a brand over the years. There’s a reason it and its subsidiary Lexus both top our most reliable car brands. So it should be no surprise that the 2026 Corolla model has popped up on our radar as one of the cheapest new cars on the market. For this year, the Corolla is powered by a 169-hp engine – a figure that blows most of the other entries on this list out of the water on paper. However, in reality, the Corolla has never been a particularly sporty vehicle, and that hasn’t changed. It still takes around 9 seconds to accelerate from 0-60 mph.

If you’re on the lookout for a Corolla, chances are it’s the fuel economy you’re largely concerned with, and the metrics on the 2026 model don’t disappoint; the base non-hybrid can get you up to 32 mpg city and 41 mpg on the highway. The tech is also decent — you get an 8-inch infotainment screen with the standard compatibilities you’d expect, and depending on your trim, your gauge display could run anywhere between 7 and 12.3 inches. You might want to consider the headroom (it can run a bit tight for taller passengers) and the level of noise in the cabin, though.

This one’s got some clout; according to J.D. Power the Chevrolet Trailblazer was the highest-quality small SUV in 2025. The Trailblazer is Chevy’s pricier entry in the subcompact crossover SUV market, costing around $1,500 more than the aforementioned Trax at starting MSRPs. That price gulf doesn’t show up underneath the hood; the Trailblazer has a 137 hp 1.2-liter engine at its base LS trim, and its acceleration is arguably even slower than its cousin — its 0-60 mph time is 9.4 seconds. That’s off the pace from many of the options on this list, but you could explore the turbocharged 1.3-liter for an upgrade in this department.

So, what makes the Trailblazer the more expensive (and ostensibly, attractive) option? One of the primary reasons for this is that it sips fuel slightly better in regular city runs — it delivers 30 mpg compared to the Trax’s 28. Tech is the next area of marginal improvement. Where the Trax restricted its 11-inch infotainment screen to higher trims, the Trailblazer makes it available from the base, and there’s a complementary 8-inch instrument cluster to match. The Trailblazer also has a fair bit of cargo space for you to haul stuff about, with the base LS trim reaching a capacity of 25.3 cubic feet. 

The Kia Seltos is something of a crossover between the subcompact and compact genres. With the base LX trim starting at $23,790, the Seltos is just over $3,000 costlier than its Soul cousin, and with that gap in mind, you’d expect clear upgrades. It’s not immediately obvious; the Seltos runs on a 146-hp 2.0-liter, but there’s an option for a turbocharged 190-hp 1.6-liter, which accelerates from 0-60mph in a 6.9 seconds. You should also note that it’s one of the best Kia models for off-roading.

The fuel economy is less impressive than the Kia Soul, coming in at 29-mpg combined. However, the acceleration power alone means you won’t have to step on the gas pedal too much to feel comfortable when merging on the highway. In terms of cargo hold, there are 26.6 cubic feet to explore when the seats are in place, a figure that goes up to 62.8 at maximum capacity. The base LX doesn’t have the 10.25-inch infotainment screen that comes standard across all the other trims, so that’s a bit of a downer tech-wise.

The final entry on this list, the base trim of the Volkswagen Jetta, the S variant, has an MSRP that starts at just under the $24,000 mark. For the 2026 model, the compact car uses the same powertrain as 2025 and even the previous generation — a turbocharged 158 hp 1.5-liter. That translates to a 0-60 mph acceleration time of 8.4 seconds according to Edmunds for the SEL trim. In terms of ride quality, the base S trim comes with 16-inch machine alloy wheels, which should help soften the blows from bumps in the road.

Volkswagen’s basic infotainment layout is a topic for another day, but the Jetta S gets an 8-inch cluster for digital instruments, USB-C ports, wireless connectivity via hotspot, and a four-speaker audio system. According to EPA estimates, the fuel economy is also decent, with the Jetta S projected to deliver 29 and 40 mpg city and highway, respectively. The Jetta’s not the most eye-catching vehicle out there, but for the features and spacious cabin (41.1 inches of leg room for the front seats), it’s great value.