CARS.COM — Many car shoppers focus on price, and there is nothing illogical about that. Perhaps no other factor is so concrete in a shopper’s consideration set as the bottom line he or she must pay for a new ride. Just because a new car has a low sticker price or great fuel economy doesn’t mean it’s truly the most affordable one for you.
We have calculated the most affordable cars across different body styles; this time we tackled the tried-and-true midsize sedan. This is a competitive segment that includes the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and domestic entries from automakers including Chevrolet and Ford. Once the traditional vehicle of choice, sedans — especially midsize sedans — seem to be on the outs in favor of the perceived utility and safety of the crossover and SUV.
Related: What Is the Most Affordable Midsize Sedan for 2014?
To calculate our list of the most affordable 2015 midsize sedans, we had to set some parameters. First, we selected trim levels that have what we consider the bare minimum of features today’s car shopper expects. For midsize sedans, we selected cars with trims that included:
- Automatic transmission
- Power driver’s seat
- Backup camera
- Bluetooth connectivity
- USB port
We were surprised to see how many models include this content on base and lower-level trims or with few option packages needed.
We also looked at five years of fuel costs and, for the first time, we have taken into account each sedan’s residual value after five years, which was provided by ALG. This should give a clearer picture of a car’s true cost to the consumer. Here are our results.