QOTD: What's the Best "Bang For Your Buck" Vehicle on Sale Right Now?

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

“What’s the best car right now?”

This question is the bane of existence for any automotive journalist. Not only is there no answer for this particular line of questioning, the inquirer is also looking for validation on their decision to buy a Honda Civic. Then you’re required to explain “it’s about your needs” and the best car is probably one costing more than the inquirer can afford. However, if your need is to have a really annoying CVT wedged in a cramped two-door coupe that can only be driven by those under 5’10” when equipped with the optional sunroof – well, they’ve hit the nail on the head.

But, what about best value for money vehicles on the market?

Everyone can argue about value and they typically do. Yesterday was a good example of that with the “garbage can full of pistons” X-Type. Even if you can pick one up for $3,000 or less, you’re committing to a lifetime of possible expensive issues dependant on its level of care from the five previous owners who’ve cut and run. You’re typically better off in the long run with a Toyota Corolla with twice the mileage costing twice as much. There’s something to be said for ease of maintenance and a trouble-free mind whenever you pull onto the freeway.

But, when it comes to best value – at least in my eyes – you can’t beat the Dodge Grand Caravan.

It’ll seat seven people in relative comfort and comes with “tailgate seating” for those times at the beach or while actually tailgating. Take out the seats and it can be used as a plywood transportation mobile or makeshift roadside tent if you have a blow up mattress. You can option all sorts of nifty storage solutions: Stow-and-Go, fold-flat seats, etc. Oh, and the base model? 283-hp V6 engine for under $20,000 if you play your cards right while haggling. Catch a Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram dealer on a bad month while the mothership is throwing cash at these things and you can score one for under $17,000.

What say you, Best & Brightest? What’s your pick for best value vehicle on sale right now?

Mark Stevenson
Mark Stevenson

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  • Shawnski Shawnski on Apr 29, 2015

    Ecoboost Mustang - looks, handling, speed, nice interior, decent FE. Non-Premium can be haggled between $25 and $28.5k depending on options...a bargain for its content!

  • Fred Fred on Apr 30, 2015

    Yea I'm late to the party, but for new cars look for the less popular models or those that are soon to be updated. To that end my choice would be the Audi A4, especially if you can find a low end manual, which according to cars.com lists one at $35,758

    • Corey Lewis Corey Lewis on Apr 30, 2015

      Lol, Fred you're late to the party and you went to the wrong house.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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