Most Popular Cars in America

Most Popular Used and New Cars for 2019

The study looked at over 19 million vehicle sales for 2019 to determine the most popular used and new cars across the United States by metro area and state. 

Most Popular Used Cars

The second most popular vehicle type among American used car buyers is the sedan, which were the most popular vehicles in 17 metro areas. The midsize Nissan Altima was the most popular used car in seven metro areas, followed by the Honda Civic in six, the Honda Accord in two, and the Toyota Camry in one. “While the overall popularity of sedans is declining, popular sedans remain in high demand in areas of the country with more temperate climates that don’t require all-wheel drive,” said Ly. 

SUVs account for the most popular used vehicle in seven metro areas. The Chevrolet Equinox is the most popular SUV in four metro areas, followed by the Nissan Rogue in two and both the Toyota RAV4 and the Ford Escape in one. “The Chevrolet Equinox is among the most affordable vehicles in its class and has favorable reliability and fuel economy, which makes it an attractive option for used car buyers,” said Ly. “These SUVs are all in the compact category, which shows that more used car buyers favor smaller SUVs that aren’t expensive as their larger counterparts.”

Most Popular New Cars

Similar to the most popular used vehicles, the most popular new SUVs are all in the compact category. The Honda CR-V is the most popular new car in nine metro areas, followed by both the Chevrolet Equinox and the Toyota RAV4 each in two. “Compact SUVs are a popular vehicle segment that appeal to those buying SUVs for the first time as well as those who want a family vehicle and don’t require a large SUV,” said Ly.

Rounding out the most popular new vehicles are sedans, which are the most popular new car in seven metro areas, and the lone sport wagon, the Subaru Outback in one. “These best-selling new cars show that there is still a demand for sedans, especially in areas that don’t experience harsh winters and have flat terrain,” said Ly. 

Most Popular Used Cars by State

Other pickup trucks joining the Ford F-150 as the most popular used vehicle are the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 earning the title in five states and the Toyota Tacoma in one. “This shows that pickup trucks are the most popular used vehicle across the country,” said Ly. 

The Most Popular New Cars by State

Methodology iSeeCars.com analyzed over 8.9 million used car sales from the last five model years (2014-2018) and over 10.9 million new car sales in 2019. Each model’s share of used car sales and new car sales within each metro area and state was mathematically modeled to determine the best-selling cars in each geographical region. Heavy-duty vehicles were excluded from further analysis.

About iSeeCars.com

iSeeCars.com is a car search engine that helps shoppers find the best car deals by providing key insights and valuable resources, like the iSeeCars VIN check reports. iSeeCars.com has saved users over $200 million so far by applying big data analytics powered by over 25 billion (and growing) data points and using proprietary algorithms to objectively analyze, score and rank millions of new cars and used cars.