Some time ago, budget cars were quite simple. They were not considered too comfortable, nice, and fast. Their main advantages were reliability and profitability. However, times are changing and characteristics too. Now the prices for budget-friendly cars are different even considering high demand. Well, let’s check which inexpensive crossovers will not disappoint the future owners with their dynamics.
You can always think about buying a used car in good condition. It will cut the price up to 50%, but you should be careful to check the car before buying it. In case you need any spare parts or manuals – visit the website epcatalogs.com where you can find everything required for the maintenance.
In any case, the below list is indicative and every driver may have a different opinion. Check out the provided information and decide which SUV can match your expectations most of all.
1. Renault Duster
Let’s start with something really affordable. The French crossover was originally developed as a car for emerging markets. This is a front-wheel-drive car with a petrol engine. For an affordable cost, you can get an all-wheel-drive crossover with a two-liter gasoline engine and a 6-speed gear. According to the technical specs, such a car should accelerate to a hundred in 10.2 seconds.
2. Renault Arkana
Renault has prepared another interesting and unexpected proposal. If the Duster was originally planned as a simple and reliable crossover for the family, Renault’s marketers decided to add the words “stylish” and “youth” to the description of Arkana. Well, it really looks unusual and attractive. At the same time, the prices for it are budget-friendly – the difference between a front-wheel-drive modification with a 1.6-liter gasoline engine and a car with a 1.3-liter turbo engine, a VSD, and front-wheel drive is not considerable either.
3. Nissan Qashqai
The second generation of the model shows a good sales dynamic on the world market. Even a car without additional modifications shows an acceptable acceleration of 10.9 seconds to hundreds. Well, the fastest version of the car is equipped with a gasoline two-liter engine and a six-speed gear. This model accelerates to 100 km/h in 9.9 seconds.
4. Peugeot 2008
The smallest crossover in the lineup of the French brand, which is also quite affordable. This car is equipped with a 1.2-liter engine and a 6-speed automatic gear. It accelerates to 100 km/h in 11 seconds, which is not fast, but not slow. All this, combined with a pretty design that makes it an attractive car for ladies.
5. Suzuki Vitara
Now, under the hood of the good old Suzuki Vitara, there is a new 1.4-liter turbo engine with a capacity of 140 hp. It is coupled with a six-speed automatic gear and provides the Japanese crossover with dynamics of 9.5 seconds to hundreds.
6. Chevrolet Trax
This is a cheap mid-range crossover. Trax has many standard features (including a 7.0-inch touch screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Phone integration) and accurate driving dynamics. On the other hand, its style is soft, the turbocharged engine is not as strong, and the available active safety features do not match the offers of competitors.
7. Subaru Crosstrek
Subaru Crosstrek is another crossover in our rating, which comes with all-wheel drive as standard equipment. Nevertheless, the car does not quite belong to the class of SUVs; instead, the Crosstrek is essentially an Impreza hatchback with a modified suspension to increase ground clearance and a small amount of rigid body trim.
Transforming the Impreza is a good idea, taking into account a good quality and a long list of available security features and technologies. The engine is not as powerful, but if you really need off-road capabilities and all-weather traction at minimal cost, be sure to pay attention to the Subaru Crosstrek.
8. Toyota C-HR LE
In 2019, Toyota began offering its C-HR model in a different configuration, and the new base model LE costs a couple of thousand dollars less than the standard XLE. LE has steel wheels with caps, fabric seats, and some advanced technical features. But each C-HR still has automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, and cruise control as standard.
Even though it is one of the most powerful crossovers on this list, the C-HR with front-wheel drive is one of the slowest ones. When tested, it shows consumption of 15.7 liters per 100 km. The stylish design of the C-HR also makes it much less practical than all its competitors, but the style is exactly what Toyota is betting on.
9. Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
Mitsubishi’s Outlander Sport is among the oldest cars on this list that debuted in 2010. Several updates have done little to modernize it. In 2019, Outlander Sport received new active safety features, although none of them can be implemented in the base ES model. Selecting higher REVs quickly raises the price of Mitsubishi, but like the Subaru Crosstrek, Outlander Sport appears with a manual gearbox.
10. Hyundai Kona
Despite the fact that this car debuted in the 2018 model year, it has already released the updated large Kona compact crossover with some innovations in 2019. Currently, standard features are a collision warning, lane assistance, and a driver warning system. A nice upgrade is also the second USB port on the front panel and delicate touch internal panels. Even though new features brought a slight increase in the base price, Kona remains the same affordable option as it was last year.
Now you have at least 10 ideas of great car purchase. The year 2024 will inevitably bring innovations in the market of cars. Probably, you can wait for a while. Feel free to ask your questions and share your impressions from test drives with us. It will be nice to receive your feedback in the comments.
