Best Subcompact Cars for the Money for 2024
The best subcompact cars for the money are ranked based on an analysis of their price and average lifespan, with the top-ranked models offering the longest life at the lowest price.
The best subcompact car for the money is the Mitsubishi Mirage (hatchback) which has the lowest iSeeCars Annual Lifespan Cost. We rank vehicles by how much a vehicle costs to purchase relative to how long the car lasts which we believe is a good determiner of value - the lower the cost, the better the value. The Mitsubishi Mirage (hatchback) has an average new car list price of $18,789 and an average lifespan of 135,418.4 miles or about 11.5 years, resulting in an annual purchase cost of $1,635. Using this method, the second best subcompact car for the money is Kia Rio 5-Door with an Annual Lifespan Cost of $1,752. In third place is Kia Rio which has an iSeeCars Annual Lifespan Cost of $2,101.
The best subcompact car for the money is the Mitsubishi Mirage (hatchback) which has the lowest iSeeCars Annual Lifespan Cost. We rank vehicles by how much a vehicle costs to purchase relative to how long the car lasts which we believe is a good determiner of value - the lower the cost, the better the value. The Mitsubishi Mirage (hatchback) has an average new car list price of $18,789 and an average lifespan of 135,418.4 miles or about 11.5 years, resulting in an annual purchase cost of $1,635. Using this method, the second best subcompact car for the money is Kia Rio 5-Door with an Annual Lifespan Cost of $1,752. In third place is Kia Rio which has an iSeeCars Annual Lifespan Cost of $2,101.
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Annual Lifespan Cost
$1,635.25
- Avg Lifespan: 135.4K Miles (11.5 Years)
- Starting MSRP: $16,695
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
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Reliability
7.1
/ 10
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Value Retention
8.5
/ 10
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Safety
8.0
/ 10
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Annual Lifespan Cost
$1,751.94
- Avg Lifespan: 144.5K Miles (11.3 Years)
- Starting MSRP: $17,690
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
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Reliability
8.2
/ 10
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Value Retention
8.7
/ 10
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Safety
Not Available
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Annual Lifespan Cost
$2,101.49
- Avg Lifespan: 123.5K Miles (8.8 Years)
- Starting MSRP: $16,750
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
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Reliability
7.7
/ 10
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Value Retention
8.7
/ 10
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Safety
Not Available
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Annual Lifespan Cost
$2,153.18
- Avg Lifespan: 133.1K Miles (9.6 Years)
- Starting MSRP: $16,680
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
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Reliability
7.7
/ 10
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Value Retention
8.6
/ 10
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Safety
9.5
/ 10
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Annual Lifespan Cost
$3,161.93
- Avg Lifespan: 110.8K Miles (11.7 Years)
- Starting MSRP: $35,600
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
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Reliability
6.7
/ 10
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Value Retention
8.5
/ 10
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Safety
Not Available
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Annual Lifespan Cost
$3,209.24
- Avg Lifespan: 110.8K Miles (11.7 Years)
- Starting MSRP: $28,950
iSEECARS SCORE
iSeeCars Best Car Rankings are calculated based on an analysis of data from over 12 million cars that assesses how long each vehicle lasts and how well it retains its value over time, along with safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association
See how we rank these cars
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Reliability
6.3
/ 10
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Value Retention
8.5
/ 10
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Safety
8.0
/ 10
Related Rankings
How We Rank These Cars
The Best Cars for the Money list ranks cars by their annual cost, which compares the purchase price of the car against how long the car lasts. We believe this is a good determiner of value--the lower the annual cost, the better the value.
iSeeCars analyzed millions of cars to determine how long each car can last. Then we calculated the annual cost over the lifespan for each vehicle. In the event two or more vehicles have the same annual cost, we use iSeeCars proprietary rating of the overall quality of the car (iSeeCars Score) to break the tie.
The overall iSeeCars Score is an analysis of three factors: reliability, resale value and safety. It is calculated based on the latest research and analysis by our data science team. The data analysis comes from over 12 million new and used vehicles in our Longest-Lasting Cars and 5-Year Depreciation Studies, combined with NHTSA and IIHS Safety Ratings.
Vehicles are scored in three categories:
Reliability
The reliability score represents an analysis of iSeeCars' proprietary research on the longest-lasting vehicles.
Value Retention
The value retention score is based on our data science team's statistical analysis and prediction of 5-year depreciation from MSRP to determine which cars hold their value best, using US Bureau of Labor Statistics data to adjust for inflation.
Safety
The safety score is calculated based on the last five years of crash test ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and incorporates the latest Top Safety Pick information from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).