Best New Cars and SUVs for Under $30,000
These top performers cost less than the average new car
It feels like forever, but after three years, automakers and their dealers have finally returned to “normal” levels of inventories. According to Kelley Blue Book, the average car dealership has a 72-day supply of vehicles at the start of April, which is higher than they usually like to have. That means you have a very good chance of going to a car dealer and driving home that day in a car, minivan, SUV, or truck of your choice. But that doesn’t mean they’re all affordable models, because automakers continue to build more expensive (i.e., profitable) vehicles at the expense of cheaper ones. Still, while prices remain stubbornly high, the average price of a new vehicle was $47,218 in March 2024, according to Kelley Blue Book.
But there are many excellent vehicles that sell for far less than that. To assist bargain hunters, we’ve assembled a list of the best new cars and SUVs under $30,000 based on their Overall Score, factoring in road-test performance, owner satisfaction, predicted reliability, and safety.
