My Idea of a Perfect Bare-Bones Economy Car

Has this happened to you? You buy a lower-priced car intending to save money only to end up dropping paychecks into it later in the interest of upgrading things. I don’t mean spending money on necessary repairs – I’m talking about non-essential things that could be lived without. Air intakes and exhaust systems for a little more power. Performance suspension or brake components for handling improvements. Or, one of my perennial favorites, the timeless wheel-and-tire “upgrade” that makes a vehicle look the way you think it ought to.

I’ll admit that’s happened to me a number of times, and it didn’t matter whether my money-saving vehicle purchase was used or new, winter beater or everyday driver, luxury ride or economy car.

This has been on my mind lately because my wife and I are in search of a second daily driver. In other words, a basic family car that must remain mobile and reliable at all times. Because we’re on a budget, this means low car payments with nothing extra spent on it after it arrives in our driveway.

To protect us from our own temptations, we’ve decided a $0-down lease on a new 2022 model basic economy car will work most effectively. No money need be extracted from the bank for a deposit, which seems silly for a rental, and future payments will be as low as we can realistically haggle them based on MSRP. We’ll be minimally invested in this vehicle because we don’t plan on keeping it, so upgrading anything will always remain pointless.

Normally, styling and design preferences would weigh heavily into any new car decision involving my own hard-earned money. But that’s not the case this time. I’m actually hoping for something I can barely tolerate the look of in order to fully crush any desire to improve it. In my eyes as the beholder, a proverbial sow’s ear.

All of that said, I’m fine with driving a basic economy car. However, I’ve decided this one must be equipped with two things: A manual transmission (5-speed, 6-speed, 7-speed – whatever) and rear disc brakes – both of which contribute highly to the joy of driving a slow car fast. Life is too short not to enjoy whatever you have, right?

For the purposes of this article, when I reference any vehicle prices, it’s the MSRP window sticker I’m using plus the cost of any manufacturer destination charges. To me, separating mandatory shipping costs from a vehicle’s base price seems like nothing more than trickery in advertising. Whether or not I end up paying sticker price or getting a deal in this year’s strange market is immaterial for the moment. Whatever final choice I make won’t be based on price differences of less than a thousand dollars. As long as the MSRPs are in the same ballpark, I’m shopping more on the merits of the vehicle itself.

In all cases, I’ll choose a base color that isn’t extra cost, and keep options to a minimum with the exception of an engine block heater if it’s available – an inexpensive option that’s well worth every penny. Things such as floor mats, cargo mats, storage organizers, auto-dimming mirrors, and other popular accessories are way overpriced by dealers, so I’ll purchase any of those items aftermarket.

The first round of strikeouts came from American carmakers who had no offerings meeting my criteria. The Chevrolet Cruze has been discontinued, Ford no longer offers passenger cars other than the Mustang in the U.S., and Chrysler/Dodge’s parent company Stellantis has basically given up on entry level vehicles altogether. The Chevrolet Spark microbox starts at only $14,595 but comes only with rear drums. Chevy’s own Malibu sedan looks like a nice car for its base price of $23,265 – however, it offers no manual shift.

On to Asian carmakers. Honda’s entry-level Fit model – no longer offered. As for the Civic, manual transmissions are not available on any trim level except the Si starting at $28,315. Mazda’s 3 looked promising, but the only stick shift hatchback offered is the Premium trim level starting at $29,365 – about where the Miata starts also. Mitsubishi’s Mirage base ES 4-door hatchback starts at $14,645 with a 5-speed manual, but does not offer rear discs.

I had high hopes thinking about choices from Kia and Hyundai because, after all, haven’t they always been about a wide selection of entry-level-priced vehicles? Turns out times have changed. Kia’s base $18,085 Rio 4-door hatchback requires the $1,800 “technology package” to get rear disc brakes, but only comes with a CVT automatic. Interestingly, the lower-priced Rio LX 4-door sedan version ($17,145) includes rear discs but comes only with the CVT automatic. Likewise, all versions of their other low-priced models such as the Soul hatchback, Forte sedan, and K5 sedan include discs but do not offer a manual transmission.

When it comes to Hyundai, their entry-level Accent model is only available in automatic form, and their Elantra must be ordered in N-line trim at $25,275 to get a 6-speed manual. All Hyundais except the base Accent model have rear disc brakes. Nissan’s low cost Versa model starts at $15,955 in el cheapo trim with a 5-speed manual, but no rear discs are available for that or any other trim level. Conversely, all trim levels of Nissan’s $20,485 Sentra sedan and $20,775 Kicks crossover are equipped with discs, but offer no manual shift.

When it came to European carmakers, there weren’t a lot of choices at the low-price end of the field. Fiat dropped their 500 2-door hatchback from the U.S. market, and their 500X AWD crossover model starts at over $27k. This leaves only Volkswagen to consider. I’ve owned a few VWs over the years, so I had confidence something in their lineup would meet my criteria.

My first contender comes in the form of the base Volkswagen Jetta S sedan. I would have preferred to price a Golf hatchback, but VW now only offers the GTI and R versions of the Golf in the U.S. – both of which are performance models starting at over $30k. Apparently, they are under the mistaken impression that nobody in my entire country wants to buy a base trim Golf. Regardless, the lowest Jetta S base model starts at $19,990 with 6-speed manual and rear discs standard.

Its 1.4-liter turbo 4-cylinder engine produces 147 horsepower, and the red paint I like is no extra cost – making this car well worth considering at an unchanged $19,990 MSRP. One note here – as of this writing, no 2022 Jetta models were available on VW’s website, only 2021s. The factory must still have a large number of ’21 models to get rid of, and it can safely be assumed that 2022 models will be pricier whenever they end up surfacing.

Back to Asian automakers, which I hadn’t finished my search through. Toyota’s Yaris has been dropped from the U.S. market, leaving the Corolla – all trims of which had rear discs. In 4-door hatchback form which I preferred, the lowest-priced SE ($21,840) hatch features a 6-speed manual with a tempting 168-horsepower, 2.0-liter naturally aspirated 4-cylinder engine. There were no options I wanted, so my desired MSRP stayed at $21,840.

The Corolla sedan model was a little different. The lowest-priced L ($21,100) and LE ($21,550) versions came only with a CVT automatic, leaving the SE ($24,250) as the only sedan available with a manual 6-speed transmission.

I left Subaru for last, because I’ve always respected them as a company run more by engineers than accountants or marketing people. I wasn’t surprised to find that their lowest-priced Impreza 4-door hatchback and sedan featured standard rear disc brakes and an available 5-speed manual. They were powered by a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder producing 152 horses.

Opposite of the Corolla, the Impreza sedan is priced slightly lower ($19,755) than the hatchback ($20,255). Refreshing is the fact that none of the seven available paint colors are extra cost – a chintzy scam which most automakers pull. I did see an engine block heater offered as a factory option for $183, bringing my preferred hatchback choice up to $20,438.

Which one of these three would be the first-place winner? When it comes to preferred styling, I have no choice but to go with the utility of a hatchback over the more attractive looks of a sedan. It simply isn’t possible to fit much of anything into the narrow mail-slot-sized trunk openings of today’s modern sedans, so the Jetta lost a point there. The Corolla lost a point for a price that was $1,800 more than the Jetta and $1,400 more than the Impreza.

Lastly, the Jetta and Corolla both lost a point simply because they are not equipped with all-wheel-drive like the Impreza is. Since my driveway is steep, the grip that 4-wheel-drive systems provide for winter traction is a big plus. Without spending more on snow tires, two-wheel-drive is very challenging when my driveway has snow or ice on it.

So the Impreza is my clear winner, a choice that’s cemented by the fact that I find its design to be the least attractive of the three. Simply put, the fact that it has greater overhang in the front than in the rear makes it appear very ungainly. But, as I mentioned earlier, styling I won’t fall in love with is actually a plus. In this instance, the Subaru’s got the look I want to know better.

What vehicles are on your list of perfect economy cars?