Are New SUVs Cheaper Than Cars?

An SUV purchase has traditionally required dropping more Benjamins than with a sedan or hatchback, but as sedan choices dwindle, small SUVs are moving in as the cost-effective alternative. Sedans and hatchbacks still carry the lowest price tags for now, but with the growing number of subcompact SUVs on the market, the tide of affordability is turning toward these taller-riding vehicles.

Related: Here Are the 10 Cheapest New SUVs You Can Buy Right Now

Small Cars Rank as Most Affordable

We examined the 25 cheapest vehicles based on median list price among Cars.com dealer inventory for 2021 and 2022 model years as of September. Unsurprisingly, the top five vehicles are all small sedans or hatchbacks, all with median prices of less than $20,000. Subcompact SUVs are also well represented: Out of the top 25 cheapest vehicles, 14 are cars and 11 are SUVs — or higher-riding hatchbacks marketed as SUVs despite not offering all-wheel drive for the U.S. market. (For the sake of this exercise, we’ll call those quasi-SUVs.)

25 Most Affordable Cars and SUVs

The cheapest new vehicles are ranked below in order of median list pricing among Cars.com dealers as of Sept. 27, along with their current starting prices for 2022 unless otherwise noted. All starting prices include the destination charge and, if it’s optional, an automatic transmission. For clarity, we bolded any SUVs with available AWD, and we bolded and italicized models marketed as SUVs despite not offering AWD.

1. Chevrolet Spark: median list price $16,109; starting price (2022) $16,090
2. Kia Rio: median list price $17,281; starting price (2022) $17,145
3. Mitsubishi Mirage: median list price $17,735; starting price (2021) $16,590
4. Hyundai Accent: median list price $17,950; starting price (2021) $17,500
5. Nissan Versa: median list price $18,030; starting price (2021) $17,625
6. Kia Forte: median list price $20,540; starting price (2022) $20,085
7. Kia Soul: median list price $21,220; starting price (2022) $20,365
8. Nissan Sentra: median list price $21,664; starting price (2021) $20,485
9. Hyundai Venue: median list price $21,990; starting price (2021) $19,935
10. Toyota Corolla: median list price $22,580; starting price (2022) $21,100
11. Subaru Impreza: median list price $22,631; starting price (2022) $21,055
12. Nissan Kicks: median list price $22,825; starting price (2021) $20,775
13. Hyundai Elantra: median list price $23,156; starting price (2022) $20,875
14. Chevrolet Trax: median list price $23,260; starting price (2022) $22,595
15. Honda Civic: median list price $24,312; starting price (2022) $22,915
16. Ford EcoSport: median list price $24,805; starting price (2021) $21,640
17. Toyota Corolla Hybrid: median list price $24,837; starting price (2022) $24,675
18. Toyota C-HR: median list price $25,109; starting price (2021) $22,910
19. Volkswagen Jetta: median list price $25,155; starting price (2021) $20,790
20. Honda HR-V: median list price $25,169; starting price (2022) $22,645
21. Chevrolet Malibu: median list price $25,446; starting price (2022) $24,395
22. Buick Encore: median list price $25,663; starting price (2022) $25,795
23. Kia Seltos: median list price $25,861; starting price (2022) $23,665
24. Chevrolet Trailblazer: median list price $25,907; starting price (2022) $22,795
25. Hyundai Kona: median list price $26,020; starting price (2021) $22,375

New SUVs Narrow the Gap

America’s love affair with SUVs is red-hot, and automakers are fueling the fire with new and affordable subcompact options. SUVs totaled 40% of new-vehicle registrations through the first half of 2017 but climbed to 53% for the same period in 2021, according to Experian. Meanwhile, the demand for sedans is fizzling out: New-sedan registrations totaled 19% in 2021, down from 29% four years prior.

A wave of new subcompact SUVs has hit the U.S. in the past few years with price tags that are closing in on small sedans. Out of the SUVs and quasi-SUVs that make the above list, automakers introduced or resurrected seven nameplates stateside in the past five years, all of them subcompacts: the Chevrolet Trailblazer, Ford EcoSport, Honda HR-V, Hyundai Venue, Kia Seltos, Nissan Kicks and Toyota C-HR.

Will SUVs Become the New Entry Level?

As new subcompact SUVs are introduced, they provide a budget-friendly alternative to the batch of recently discontinued sedans and hatchbacks — models like the Chevrolet Sonic, Ford Fusion, Honda Fit, Hyundai Veloster, Toyota Yaris and Volkswagen Golf.

SUVs are giving sedans a run for their money in the affordability race among luxury brands, too. The Lexus UX, a micro-SUV introduced for 2019, has a median price of $35,700 among Cars.com dealers for the gas-only UX 200, undercutting pricing for Lexus’ least expensive sedan, the IS 300 (a $45,200 median price). The BMW X1 SUV and 228 Gran Coupe sedan are also neck and neck, with respective median prices of $41,545 and $42,345.

Vehicle sales across several brands indicate that shoppers are favoring cheap subcompact SUVs over their small-car counterparts. The subcompact Hyundai Kona SUV is nearly five times more popular than the Accent sedan based on Hyundai’s annual sales report through September. The same goes for the Kia Seltos and Soul, which each outsell the Rio sedan by wide margins. The Nissan Kicks is considerably more popular than the Versa sedan, while the Chevrolet Trailblazer and Trax handily outsell the Spark hatchback and Malibu sedan.

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• Here Are the 10 Cheapest New Cars You Can Buy Right Now
• Sedan Vs. SUV: Why Now Is the Time to Buy a Sedan, Not an SUV
• What Are the Best Used Cars for $20,000?
• Best Value of 2021
• Car Affordability Calculator

Cost of Ownership

In addition to the purchase price, a vehicle’s cost of ownership impacts overall affordability. Small sedans are still the most frugal choice when it comes to ownership costs, according to AAA’s annual driving costs study. The study accounts for factors like depreciation, fuel costs, insurance, registration, financing costs, maintenance and repairs to compare nine vehicle categories: small sedans, medium sedans, subcompact SUVs, compact SUVs, medium SUVs, mid-size pickup trucks, half-ton pickup trucks, hybrids and pure-electric vehicles.

Among vehicles driven 15,000 miles per year, subcompact SUVs — a group in which AAA includes the Chevrolet Trax, Honda HR-V and Hyundai Kona — cost an average of $8,017 per year to own. That’s 11% higher than small sedans like the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Nissan Sentra and Toyota Corolla, whose average annual costs total $7,230 apiece. On the other hand, owning a subcompact SUV costs 14% less than a mid-size sedan, including the Chevy Malibu, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Camry; that group totals an average of $9,366 per year.

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