Cheapest New Sedans for 2020

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a car with a nice interior, the latest technologies, and solid performance. We already wrote about the cheapest new SUVs you can buy, and now we’re taking a look at the lowest-priced sedans on the market. Keep reading to learn about the cheapest new sedans available for the 2020 model year and which ones are worth the money.

The Honda Civic might be the benchmark of the compact sedan segment, but the Corolla offers a lot of bang for the buck, whether that’s the low priced $20,555 base model or the efficient $24,055 hybrid variant that delivers 52 mpg combined. Along with an impressive list of standard safety features, the popular and inexpensive sedan offers a well-balanced ride and good handling.

For 2020, Hyundai has fine-tuned the Elantra by boosting fuel economy 2 mpg on most models, with the most efficient Elantra netting up to 36 mpg combined. Standard features include a 5-inch touchscreen, remote keyless entry, a 3.5-inch instrument cluster display, and a good number of safety technologies such as forward collision avoidance assist and lane keeping assist. It separates itself from many other affordable sedans with its long five-year/60,000 basic warranty and 10-year/100,000 powertrain warranty.

The new 2020 Nissan Sentra has improved greatly from its predecessor. As we noted in our Sentra review, it’s quicker and more stylish than before. Although it’s not among the best driving affordable sedans on the market, it benefits from a spacious interior. A 7-inch touchscreen is standard, as are many safety technologies. Higher trims are still a good value, with SV Premium Package models boasting quilted leather-appointed seats for just $23,655.

What? A German car that’s affordable? One of the cheapest new sedans for 2020, the Volkswagen Jetta, has a spacious, if spartan, interior with many technology features. That includes a 6.5-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Aut, and  LED headlights and 16-inch aluminum alloy wheels are unexpected standard goodies.

Revised for 2020, the Subaru Impreza gets a fresh new exterior design and a spacious interior. Considering it comes standard with all-wheel drive while other rivals don’t, the base Impreza is well-priced. But Subaru’s EyeSight safety suite is optional, bundling together pre-collision braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure and sway warning, and lane keep assist functions.

The Kia Forte is the cheapest car in its compact sedan competitive set. Although it’s one of the lowest-priced sedans around, it’s packed with standard technologies, including an 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Forte boasts fuel economy of up to 35 mpg combined and a roomy back seat.

Slotting between the Spark city car and the Malibu midsize sedan, the Sonic is available as a sedan or hatchback. It offers agile handling, and its 1.4-liter turbocharged engine offers good power for passing other cars.  A 7-inch touchscreen is standard and includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

This hidden gem has a lot to offer. We liked the Kia Rio so much that it was a finalist in our 2018 Car of the Year competition. We’ve praised the Rio for its smooth and quiet ride, along with its attractive interior. Some of the lowest-priced sedans on the market offer few technologies, but that’s not the case with the Rio. It has a good number of standard features, including a 7-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

There are plenty of refined affordable sedans out there, but the Yaris is not one of them. It features a choppy ride even on good roads. That said, the subcompact is nimble around town and offers solid fuel economy of 32/40 mpg city/highway.

Neither stylish nor fun to drive, the inexpensive subcompact Hyundai Accent is easy to forget. But for 2020, the Accent gets an upgraded 33/41 mpg fuel economy rating, which may be enough to entice some buyers.

The Mirage G4 is available in a fun reddish-purple paint color. Unfortunately, other than that and its very low price, there are few positive things we can say about this car. Along with an underpowered three-cylinder engine, the Mirage G4 suffers from a bumpy ride and cheap interior.

Of all the cheapest new sedans for 2020, the Versa takes the cake. It has the lowest starting price of any sedan on the market, and it has its fair share of positive traits. Although slow and underpowered, the Versa has a well-designed interior, and lots of standard features. These include three USB ports, a 7-inch touchscreen, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, and high beam assist. Although it’s the cheapest new sedan, the Versa is not the least expensive new car on the market. That title goes to the Chevrolet Spark hatchback at $14,095.