Six new cars that shifted from affordable to unaffordable

These days, it’s almost impossible to quantify what counts as “affordable” when it comes time to shop for a new car. With only a handful of new vehicles available for less than $20,000, the dollar figure clearly needs to be higher than that once-achievable sum. But where exactly is the nebulous line drawn?

Using an algorithm that includes data points like the average cost of a new car in America ($49,499 according to this study), median household income and loan rates and duration, iSeeCars’ Car Affordability Index pegs the “affordable” limit at $36,217.

What does that mean in practical terms for would-be new-car buyers? One way to look at it is by selecting vehicles that previously qualified as “affordable” but have inched up past the mark for 2023. Hence this list.

Now, before you click over to the next slide, it’s important to note that some cars raise in price because they are redesigned to add more performance, more room, better efficiency or for any number of other similar reasons. Other cars get repackaged with greater equipment levels and subsequently higher starting prices, and others just creep up over time. In other words, consider this list of six vehicles an interesting data point, but don’t consider it entirely at face value.

Without further ado, let’s begin with a vehicle with the lowest starting price — or, if you’d rather look at it another way, the vehicle that’s closest to the “affordable” mark.