Exactly no one wants to spend more on a new vehicle than they have to, even the people paying for bananas markups on GR Corollas. It’s all about value for the dollar, whether that means you’re working the salesperson over for a break on floormats in a Thriftmiser Grey Lady or negotiating for a less egregious markup on a Deluxo Elegance Cabriolet Poupon with the Ostrich Hide Oligarch package. More for less, please, as even the most affordable cars aren’t cheap.
And so, we put it to you, Autopians: which new vehicle (be it hatchback or hypercar, SUV or sportscar, truck or van) delivers maximum value in exchange for your hard-earned dollar? And is your call based on—performance? Features? Reputation? Personal experience? We want to know! We can talk motorcycles too, if you like. It’s your comment section!
So there you go, this is your chance to evangelize for your favorite high-scorers on the all-important Bang for the Buck scale. To the comments!
Mazda in any segment they have an offering in with the exception of the MX-30 (though that will be way more compelling if they bring the rotary REx here). Even the base models are decently equipped and fun to drive.
For $27,415 with fees, the Base Toyota Camry with nothing extra is a steal. AC is standard, it gets 40 MPG on the highway, has a real transmission, no CVT, being a midsize sedan it has plenty of room for a small family and it is known for reliability and longevity. I think it is even Apple Car play and Android auto compatible standard
27k for a Camry, what a world.
No shade on the Camry, it’s a good car, but 27k?
Yah man, that’s cheap!
I think the Model S Plaid can be a completely terrible deal or one of the best deals in cars, depending on your priorities. You’re getting dodge demon speed in a car you can easily and happily daily drive, but you’re also dealing with nissan altima interior quality.
Glad to see an ElantraN in your photo up there, i love mine, amazing car at an amazing price!
Hello friend! I have a Kona N
100% agree. You beat me to it. This truck-like thing is hard to beat – seats 5, gets 40 mpg, can tow a small trailer, has a little bed for hauling dirty stuff, and small enough to fit on your garage. It is an unashamedly cheap, decent-looking, no BS vehicle that can do anything most anybody really needs to do. When I see someone driving one, I think to myself “that is someone that has nothing to prove”.
+1 to all of those comments. Unfortunately, the Maverick is sold by franchised dealers, who are abusing the heck out of potential customers with absurd markups over MSRP.
and this is because Ford purposely limited production numbers so the demand could artificially be increased. this allows them to up the price later on without as much griping or stopping the buying cycle
Correct, the Maverick is only a great value in a world without dealers, and in a world where manufacturers actually build what the people want (the hybrid) in quantities that don’t force the customer to order a year in advance.
I agree. The base model for around $28k OTD is a screaming bargain. If/when Ford dealers will let me have one at that price, I will buy one. But at current ADM, it’s not nearly a bargain.
the ’99 911 that I picked up for 18 large.
The ’77 911 I picked up for $3500
{ shakes fist } goshdarnit, I need an aircooled
It needs the Samurai paint scheme.
I picked up my ’01 for $15k but ADDvanced beat us both. Now I just need a time machine!
The Corolla hybrid at $25k offers nearly the same fuel efficiency as the outgoing Prius, and better than the generations of Prius before that (under the same EPA test rules – but even matches the original combined figure of the 2010-16), for basically the same coin – without adjusting for inflation. Or add AWD for just a little more. Even against the new Prius, the hybrid Corolla has an older powertrain and not as high mpg, but also costs ~4k less.
Corolla Cross hybrid seems like a decent buy too, a smidge less to start than the AWD Prius with the same powertrain. At 42 mpg combined it does sacrifice some mpg without the swoopy roofline, but also…no swoopy roofline to duck under for entry/exit.
If that’s too spendy, the new Trax really does seems like a good buy even if we’re tired of talking about it. A top trim Trax with a power driver’s seat is $26k, most small cars don’t have that at that price, heck even most of the midsize cars don’t (Accord LX).
Someone else mentioned the Forte, I agree with that. Had one as a rental last year and was pleased with it for a budget car. The Jetta too, actually – both low $20s and the Jetta you can still get a manual if so inclined.
A worst bang-for-buck would be an interesting question too.
Also – I’ve done very little in the way of comparisons, but I’ve been feeling like the Acura RDX might be a buy against some of the non-premium midsize 2-row SUVs, like the Edge or Atlas Cross Sport. Especially now that many have dropped or scaled back the choice of a V6 which would have been a draw for those against the 2.0T RDX. I’m far from a brand-conscious person, but for close money you at least can step up to a better brand and theoretically better dealers.
If only they could shake that Mercedesesque belief that the larger the logo is on the grill, the more prestige the car carries.
MB’s on light up logos now, the serving-platter-size-front-logo honors are up for grabs.
MB light-up stars are tackler than Kid Rock at a black tie event.
And more popular than a T Swift free summer concert!
I can’t believe I’m admitting that from personal experience, my 2019 Chevy Bolt EV is a solid bang for the buck vehicle. Routine maintenance is virtually zero, although we have a second ICE car, we hardly drive it and maybe buy gas once a month. Other than charging, the car does 99% of everything we need a car to do and virtually no running costs. It’s not the most powerful or attractive vehicle but it’s funky and the low center of gravity and instant torque make it a hoot to drive for what it is. I have also learned to love the one-pedal driving mode and have learned how nice it is to take a road trip in a car that eliminates the continuous droning of an engine at cruising speed. I never thought I’d love the EV revolution, but I’m a convert and I highly recommend it.
The ’23 models once again qualify for the $7500 IRS credit. IF you qualify, AND have a place to charge them up AND home AND have an alternative ICE option for trips over 100 miles or so, then hands-down the Bolts are the bargain of the year. Those IFs and ANDs are all pretty common.
We picked up a loaded 23 Bolt EUV premier trim with most of the options and will wind up (after the IRS credit) with a damn nice new car (EV at that!) for ~$25K (not counting taxes, etc). Too bad they’re going to stop making them this year. It was originally designed as an ~ $40K car. The gen-2 models are quite nice, and the battery issue from GM’s supplier has long since been fixed.
We like ours so much I may pick up a 2nd before they’re gone for good if I find one with the options we like and a dealer that won’t screw us on the price.
Ninja 400. 5300$ new, 50-60 MPG, slow bike fast. I can wreck 6 and still be cheaper than a Civic SI
not including medical costs from crashing six bikes /s
Love my Ninja 400. Wrote one off in front on crash with car which was cutting a corner and snapped my arm. Bought another one as soon as my arm healed. Amazing bike!
I’m often tempted to downsize bikes to a Ninja 400, but I don’t know if I’ll fit. Do you think a 6’2″ long-torsoed gent could fit comfortably?
ICE: Ford Maverick Hybrid: 1500lb payload, 2000lb towing, 40+ MPG, ~$23K starting price. This is coming from someone who hates the Maverick.
BEV: Tesla Model Y: Seating for 7 (if optioned) with the best charging network, no dealership ADMs and other BS to deal with.
This is tough, because most of the great value cars of today are only hypothetical; Either they’re difficult to find or marked up. So I’m going to go with something you can actually find on a lot and that you can get for MSRP.
Mazda3 hatch (or sedan if you wish). Based on my searches you can get one well equipped under 30k, and for that you get a perfectly acceptable powertrain that’s better than your typical compact, a way, way nicer interior than anything else in the segment, and overall a car whose quality is a step above.
That red car you put there on the lead pic.
The mid-engine Corvette is my answer.
My gut vote is the Civic Si. You get a lot of sport for less than $30k, and a decent amount of usable space.
On paper a Hyundai will give you more performance for less money, but I still don’t know how I’d feel about it after 8 years. For me, value is a long-term proposition.
Unfortunately no one is getting an SI at $30,000 these days.
Kia Rio Under $20k with a warranty.
Ford Transit lots of van for minivan money.
Impressa awd cheap.
Any base model hybrid is the average persons best value
Depends on what bang you’re looking for. I constantly get compliments on my $20K BRZ so if you’re looking for attention it’s got great bang for the buck.
If you’re looking for performance though, well it handles better than any other car I’ve driven but that’s something people with slow cars say.
Rip Honda Fit
I love my second gen so much
And I love my 3rd gen. I hope I can keep it forever.
I’ve considered dropping different powertrains in mine when the engine finally goes, or doing something funny like a safari treatment. Unfortunately, I think that I may use it to fund an EV and Miata garage :/
GTI. Legit hot hatch with reasonably nice fit and finish for well under $40k.
The MK7s had excellent fit and finish but the MK8s are a big step down. You also have to budget for VW stuff. The cost of entry is reasonable but serious issues are a matter of when, not if.
F-150 crew cab. More rear seat legroom than an S-Class. Actual luxury features (BlueCruise, ventilated seats, panoramic sunroof). Eats up highway miles like it’s nothing. Handles all weather conditions. V8 with 400 hp or twin-turbo V6 (optionally a hybrid with even more power). And then all the Truck Stuff you could ever want to do and more. Truly a jack of all trades.
F-150 crew cab will do everything but fit in my garage.
and commute economically
Same. Even pulled all the way up to the wall, it still hangs out by about six inches. Oh well, more room for the S2000.
Pretty much any garage is out. I’ve tried.
IF you can find a decent dealer, I think most Kia models are great values (very similar to Hyundai obviously but I like the styling better). If it suits you, I’d recommend the Forte LXS (starting about $20k), especially when factoring in the 10 year / 100k mile warranty. Basic, simple, last forever, fun (admittedly, not exciting) to drive.
Here are a few of my nominees:
1). LT1 Camaro. For about $36,000 you can get a Camaro with a 450 horsepower V8, a Tremec manual, and front Brembos. If I was going to buy something solely for track purposes this could very well be my starting point. The auto option is amazing too.
Which leads me to the:
2). ZL1 Camaro. For around $60-70,000 you get a legitimate supercar killer and absolute track weapon. 650 horsepower. 0-60 in the low to mid 3s. Top speed around 200 MPH. Absolutely absurd braking and grip (C&D recorded a 137 foot 70-0 stop and 1.17 gs of lateral grip). Also available with a Tremec stick or the excellent 10 speed.
I mean dear god. You can find used ones in the 50s all day and it’ll absolutely eat legitimate exotics for lunch. Why don’t we talk about it more?
3). *commentariat groans* your preferred flavor of Hyundai N. For $32-36,000 or so you get an out of box track capable, versatile daily that has exponentially more character than pretty much any other turbo 4 platform. Unapologetically fun and rough around the edges. Sure, the GRC, Golf R, and CTR outperform them, but not by as much as you think…and you can actually go out and buy an N at or below MSRP all day.
You can’t say that about the others, which are more expensive at MSRP and much, much more expensive after markups. They also come with a great warranty and 3 years of free maintenance that covers 2 visits per year. The catch is obviously that you have to deal with Hyundai dealerships but there are some that don’t suck. Most definitely do though…
4). The Supra. It offers a lot of performance for the price and the tuning potential is off the charts. History will be kinder to it than the present is.
I have not been more uncomfortable on a track than trying to see out of a Camaro. I don’t care how well it performs, I can’t see anything out of that POS design
+1. I almost got one as a rental once – I sat in it long enough to shut the door and then immediately got out to insist on getting something – anything – else.
I’ve driven a few and more or less got used to it after a while. Don’t get me wrong-it’s bad, and as I said in my comment below I wouldn’t want to daily one, but I didn’t find it to be quite as bad as the internet says it is. Although like I also said in my comment below, the tech package that adds a rear view camera that replaces the normal mirror is a HUGE help.
Really makes me want to drive a CT-# V TBH. Probably loads of fun since you can actually see out of them
I have my eye on a CT4V BW in a couple years. Would be an extremely dumb use of my money right now but when it’s time to move on from the Kona N that might be my move. The reviews are absolutely stellar and frankly I’m not surprised…as you say, it’s literally a Camaro without the compromises
I wanted to like it so badly, but was very uncomfortable changing lanes and parking it during the test drive. This was back in 2017. I loved the V6 and manual, but just couldn’t sign up for that visibility. I ended up going in a completely different direction – an old 1st gen TSX that I still own today, so no complaints.
One of the best things about driving is watching the world go by, especially if you’re say, on a vacation. Driving something with slits for windows sucks.
I don’t know what the internet is talking about. I dailied a 2010 Camaro 2SS 6MT for five years and I never once even NOTICED a visibility issue. I will concede that the side mirrors were kind of smallish. I’m 6’1 and have a longish torso, so maybe that explains it (because the general complaint was that the hip point was low relative to the door height) but I enjoyed that car more than any other vehicle I’ve ever had (I’m 45 and have owned at least a dozen). Strange thing was that it was also the most reliable vehicle I’ve ever owned (?!?) –apart from the wear items, I never once had a failure of ANY kind–impressive considering that I can tell that the previous owner abused it. In fact after being away from it for four years I’m currently shopping for another. And yes, I hear the siren song of the ZL1…its surprisingly attainable for a car that performs so well!
On the practical front (lame, I know), it’s probably the Elantra Hybrid. Starts at $24k and gets 56 MPG highway. With 139 raging horses!! LOL
For the enthusiast buyer, hard to beat the Elantra N.
I promise I’m not a Hyundai fanboi.
Hm, how are we approaching this?
Would this be as many possible explosions per period of time for the least money? So you’d want the cheapest, highest-revving vehicle with the most cylinders?
I think that’d be the most objective way to measure bang/buck.
So if we are using (cylinders * (rpm / 2)) / price, I think the current answer would be the 2023 Ford Mustang GT if any are still left on the lot. The 2024 was price hiked.
It could be had for $38,345. Its redline is 7500rpm, which means you get 3750 explosions per minute. So (3750 * 8) = 30,000. 30,000 / $38,345 = 0.78237 bangs per buck.
If you look at the 2024 it’s now $41,495, so that drops it to 0.72298 bangs per buck.
The Camaro LT1 coupe puts up a decent fight at $37,045, but that 6500rpm redline hurts it. So that’s only 0.70185 bangs per buck.
Now put gas into the equation.
And it’s a good thing they said car because otherwise I’d say we need to bring up motorcycles.
Ooh, would we also need to consider how large the explosion is as well? I think the challenge there is we wouldn’t have hard data on the size of the combustion chamber for a given engine most of the time. Granted, manufacturers tend to standardize on a combustion chamber design (typically for a given bore) for an engine family, but I don’t believe it’s a readily available figure for most engines.
Yeah, displacement and then a gas mileage coefficient would improve the formula.
I know the cheapest V8s are found in trucks, so I ran the numbers:
Ram 1500 Classic I thought would do better at $33,585, but the low 5800 redline means only a 0.6908 number.
F150 with the V8 starts at $37,925 and the redline is lower than the Mustang at about 6800, which equals 0.7172
Mustang retains the narrow lead.
Love the measurement – quantifiable “bang for the buck”!
It’s unquestionably the Camaro LT1 for anyone who values power, handling, and sound.
If you can find something better to buy for your $37k, do so. I certainly wouldn’t be able to.
The list of mediocre automobiles that start at a higher price is too long to lay out in one post.
The worst bit of the Camaro is that the worst parts of it weren’t cost compromises, compromises because of styling. Poor sightlines, small trunk, almost unusable back seat for adults. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s a Camaro, and I also recognize that GM made it the way it is because they heavily listened to current and previous buyers. Props to them for that. It’s just a shame that such a good car could have been so much more if it had been a bit easier to see out of, with a big bigger trunk, and a bit more space in the back seat. Would it have increased sales? I dunno, but I doubt it. But I’m being selfish and I may have actually have considered it… ah, who am I kidding, I wouldn’t have.
I think the Camaro is judged based on somewhat of an unfair standard. It is basically a 2 seat sports car, with the compromises that usually entails.
Plenty of sports cars have poor visibility and small trunks. Ironically, if the rear seats were deleted, I think people would have a better opinion of the car.
GM is happy to sell you a CT4-V if you want what’s basically a Camaro with more practicality. Ford doesn’t have that option, so they have to make the Mustang more of a general purpose vehicle. At least that’s my take on it.
I lived with an SS drop top for over a week as a vacation rental. Can confirm…it’s needlessly difficult to live with. Optioning the rear view mirror camera helps with the visibility a bit, but it’s still horrendous. We couldn’t fit our suitcases through the trunk opening and had to put the roof down and stash them in the back seats. The doors are so huge that you can’t open them fully in a parking lot and have do this weird hold/wiggle out of the car thing that’s super annoying.
But driving it? Nirvana. One of the most engaging cars I’ve ever been behind the wheel of, even with the automatic. It’s mind bendingly capable. I had the thing hustling on a twisty mountain road like a damn V8 Miata. The wife had to ask me to slow down because the levels of grip were making her carsick.
They make for awful dailies but if I had the budget for a pure weekend car a Camaro would be at the top of my list.
This is so relative, the Corvette offers really good performance value for money-but only if you’re shopping in that price bracket. For the average (middle class person who can afford even a modest new car payment) performance bang for yer buck should easily be awarded to the GR86/BRZ, followed by the Miata. Depending on what actual build quality is at Ford the Maverick 2.0L turbo seems to be quite a deal for the practical enthusiast. And of course the trio of Elantra N, Civic Si, and WRX deserve to be mentioned. [Also insert obligatory the best bang for you buck is something used comment here.]