10 Biggest News Stories of the Week: Mitsubishi Mirage, Kia Rio Precede Honda Prologue
Cars (as in, like, car cars, not as a synonym for light-duty passenger vehicles) may be out of vogue with Americans seeking a new set of wheels, but Americans hoping to pay as little as possible for those wheels will be working off at least one automotive shopping list on which car cars outnumber SUVs. With the average price of a new car now hovering around the sum your parents or grandparents might’ve paid for their houses, Cars.com has taken the legwork out of determining your most inexpensive options in our most popular news story of the past week: a roundup of the 10 cheapest new cars you can buy right now.
Related: 10 Biggest News Stories of the Month: Ford F-150, Jeep Gladiator Get Shown Up by Nissan Rogue
As it happens, small cars (sedans, hatchbacks and the like) comprise some 60% of the most modestly priced cars available at the moment, with pipsqueak SUVs (some of which are really just glorified hatchbacks puffing up their chests) comprising the balance of the list. Prices range from just under $18,000 up to just over $22,000, which includes both the destination charge as well as any upcharge for an automatic transmission (a prerequisite for our lineup). Cars making the grade include specified trim levels of the Mitsubishi Mirage, Kia Rio, Nissan Versa, Kia Forte, Nissan Sentra and Hyundai Elantra, while SUVs (which make this list because they don’t offer all- or four-wheel drive) include the Hyundai Venue, Kia Soul, Chevrolet Trax and Nissan Kicks.
For full details on each of these cheap new car choices — including specific pricing, specified trim level and fuel economy — follow the link below to the No. 1 news story of the week.
Running a close second place is Cars.com reviewer Aaron Bragman’s account of getting up close to the forthcoming 2024 Honda Prologue all-electric SUV — developed in a cooperative effort with GM. Bragman’s takeaway? The 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV, with which the all-new Honda model shares more than a passing resemblance, feels like a precursor to the Prologue. The Prologue boasts a smoother, simpler exterior design than the Blazer EV, while also offering Apple CarPlay smartphone integration — a desirable feature not on the menu for upcoming GM-family EVs — for a comparable price to the Chevy.
“For buyers who don’t want to give up something they may rely on every time they get in a vehicle, having a viable alternative like the Prologue might be a deal breaker for the Blazer EV and a serious win for Honda,” Bragman says.
For the full details on what the 2024 Honda Prologue is like up close — including further Blazer EV comparisons — follow the link below to the No. 2 finisher on this week’s countdown of most read articles.
Beyond that, we’ve got headlines on the Honda Pilot, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Toyota Grand Highlander, Honda CR-V, Mini Countryman and much more — so don’t stop reading till the digits double. Here are the top 10 news stories Cars.com readers couldn’t get enough of in the past week:
1. Here Are the 10 Cheapest New Cars You Can Buy Right Now
2. 2024 Honda Prologue Up Close: Better Than the Blazer EV?
3. Here Are the 11 Cheapest Electric Vehicles You Can Buy
4. Electric Cars With the Longest Range
5. Honda Pilot: Which Should You Buy, 2023 or 2024?
6. Pickup Truck Buying Guide: How Much Truck Do You Need?
7. Jeep Grand Cherokee: Which Should You Buy, 2023 or 2024?
8. 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Review: Do We Still Need the Regular Highlander?
9. Honda CR-V: Which Should You Buy, 2023 or 2024?
10. 2023 Mini Cooper S Countryman Review: Untamed Melody
Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.
