2023 Kia Forte

An increasing number of vehicles with sticker prices of $40,000 or less, some much less, offer heated mirrors.

The list of model-year 2023-24 cars with manual transmissions skews mostly to affordable models and those that are more enthusiast-oriented, but there’s still a decent range of choices.

After first testing a group of small SUVs, the agency put five small cars through the wringer of its updated moderate overlap front crash test.

Our analysis of the best value new cars for 2023 shows that budget-conscious shoppers don’t have to limit themselves to just one vehicle type.

For 2023, the Kia Forte’s FE trim has been benched and is replaced with the LX model, which starts at $20,585.