Believe it or not, it’s still possible to buy a brand-new car for less than $20,000 in 2026. But it won’t be possible for much longer, and it’s also going to depend on how you define less than $20,000. But if you can find a Nissan Versa S languishing at a dealer showroom, you might be able to make that soon-to-be mythical deal happen.
Say Goodbye To The Sub-$20k New Car
2025 Nissan Versa S Rear Three-Quarters AngleNissan
For model year 2026, the lowest-priced new vehicle on the market is the Hyundai Venue. It’s currently $20,500 plus $1,600 destination for a total MSRP of $22,650. But for model year 2025, there was a car that managed to undercut it.
Base Trim Engine
1.6-liter inline-4
Base Trim Transmission
5-speed manual
Base Trim Drivetrain
Front-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
122 hp @ 6,300 rpm
Base Trim Torque
114 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm
Base Trim Fuel Economy (city/highway/combined)
27/35/30 mpg
Infotainment & Features
8 /10
Nissan sold the 2025 Versa sedan with a starting MSRP of $17,390 plus $1,245 destination for a total of $18,635. That made it the last vehicle with a starting MSRP under $20,000, though adding the CVT pushed it to $20,435 including freight.
What does that have to do with this year? Nissan didn’t make many entry-spec Versa sedans, but it still hasn’t sold them all. The manual transmission models are all gone, but as CarsDirect spotted, there are plenty of CVTs still available at dealers. CVTs that are now priced to move.
Take a look at new Versa inventory on Nissan’s website, and you’ll find that there are still more than 100 Nissan Versa S sedans sitting at dealers. They’re all listed at MSRP, but look more closely, and you’ll start to find some deals.
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Despite ever-increasing car prices, these 10 vehicles prove there’s still a great assortment of cars available with low price tags.
Nissan’s site lists the window sticker price, but on the CarBuzz Marketplace, you’ll find what dealers are actually selling the cars for. There are currently 136 brand-new 2025 Nissan Versa models listed on our marketplace for less than $20,000. Some of them are well under, including at least one with an asking price under $17,000. There are even some higher-spec SV models under the bar, if just barely.
Not Luxury, But Has Everything
2025 Nissan Versa 5-SpeedNissan
The Versa isn’t exactly the most luxurious vehicle on the market today – it was the last car with a five-speed manual – but it does have a list of features that we would have called loaded in 2006. It has air conditioning, power windows, proximity key locking, and a modest set of advanced driver assists, to start. You’ll need the S+ if you want CarPlay or Android Auto, though.
Strangely enough, Versa might have been the final car in the US with an MSRP under $10,000 as well. It’s tough to verify pricing that far back, but it seems to have been the last to cross over that threshold, doing so for model year 2012. It won’t be the final car under $30,000, though, whenever that happens. At least not unless Nissan decides that it wants to bring the model back in a few years.
Related
The Most Affordable Nissan Versa Just Died Because Of Tariffs
Nissan is ceasing production of the five-speed manual transmission version of its most-affordable model, the Versa.
While we lament the loss of what was the cheapest new car, clearly the marketplace does not. In 2025, Nissan sold 51,310 units of the Versa against 152,578 units of the larger Sentra. That’s not unique to the brand; Hyundai’s own Venue moved just 29,805 copies versus 148,200 of the more expensive Elantra, or 74,814 Konas.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
2025 Nissan Versa front 3/4Nissan
For buyers who wanted the absolute lowest price for a new car – and the warranty that came with it – the final Versa leaving its showroom home will be a sad day. And with vehicle affordably on the minds of more buyers than ever, a low-priced option leaving the market just means fewer choices for those on a tight budget.
But the figures show clearly that, despite what they say, new car buyers would rather spend more to get more. More features, more size, and more payment.
