The 10 Most Affordable Cars in the U.S.

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published Oct 19, 2:00PM EDT

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

The 10 Most Affordable Cars in the U.S. — © SergeyTikhomirov / iStock via Getty Images

Supply chain issues in the auto market have hurt dealers and car buyers this year, with prices. Dealers often have few vehicles, and the small number they get often go to customers within days. Manufacturers have shuttered assembly lines, and their bottom lines have been affected.

In addition to car shortage, another new wrinkle for buyers has been created by high gasoline prices, which recently surged above $4 per gallon of regular gas, on average, nationwide. In some areas of the United States, the figure has passed $5. Cars that get high gas mileage have become extremely attractive.

The average price of a new car sold in 2021 was a staggering $43,072. That is equivalent to the entire annual household income of about a third of Americans. (This car holds its value better than any other in America.)

Car and Driver recently analyzed new car prices to find the lowest ones available. Notably, its editors reported, “The cheapest new car sold in the U.S. is nearly $13,000 cheaper than the average price of a used car.” To find the least expensive cars in America, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed Car and Driver’s 10 Cheapest New Cars for 2022. All other data is from the report.

The least expensive new car available in America is the Chevrolet Spark with a base price of $14,595. The Spark will be discontinued next year. Chevy puts the price of the Spark slightly lower than the Car and Driver analysis. Chevy’s number is $13,600.

The Spark gets very good gas mileage at 30 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates. That is mostly because the Spark has a tiny 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine, which puts out only 98 horsepower.

The Spark gets relatively good reviews. Car and Driver rates it 7 out of 10. Kelley Blue Book rates it 4.5 out of 5, and Motor Trend rates it 7.1 out of 10.

Click here to see the cheapest car in America

10. Nissan Sentra
> Base price: $20,635
> Fuel economy EPA combined/city/highway: 33/29/39 mpg

[in-text-ad]

9. Kia Soul
> Base price: $20,505
> Fuel economy EPA combined/city/highway: 27/25/31 mpg

[recirclink id=1091801]

8. Hyundai Venue
> Base price: $20,245
> Fuel economy EPA combined/city/highway: 31/30/33 mpg

7. Kia Forte
> Base price: $20,115
> Fuel economy EPA combined/city/highway: 35/31/41 mpg

[in-text-ad-2]

6. Subaru Impreza
> Base price: $19,790
> Fuel economy EPA combined/city/highway: 26/23/31 mpg

Hyundai Accent 1.4 Plus 2021 by RL GNZLZ

Hyundai Accent 1.4 Plus 2021 (CC BY-SA 2.0) by RL GNZLZ

5. Hyundai Accent
> Base price: $17,690
> Fuel economy EPA combined/city/highway: 33/29/39 mpg

[in-text-ad]

4. Kia Rio
> Base price: $17,275
> Fuel economy EPA combined/city/highway: 36/33/41 mpg

[recirclink id=1063158]

3. Nissan Versa
> Base price: $16,205
> Fuel economy EPA combined/city/highway: 30/27/35 mpg

2. Mitsubishi Mirage
> Base price: $16,125
> Fuel economy EPA combined/city/highway: 36/33/41 mpg

[in-text-ad-2]

1. Chevrolet Spark
> Base price: $14,595
> Fuel economy EPA combined/city/highway: 33/29/38 mpg

About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.