contents
- Which car brand is good and cheap?
- What is the cheapest new car?
- Which cars are available for less than 15,000 euros?
- Which new cars are particularly cheap now? electric
- Conclusion: If you buy cheap, you don’t necessarily buy twice today
Which car brand is good and cheap?
In recent years, the Romanian automaker Dacia made a name for itself as the brand with the best value for money. Since the restart as a budget provider under the Renault flag in 2004, the quality has increased step by step. The result: In almost all European countries, the brand is now at least in the top 5 for private customers. With the Dacia Sandero, Dacia not only has a cheap entry-level offer for less than 9,000 euros – Dacia also has an SUV in its portfolio. Cost of the Dacia Duster SUV: 12,290 euros. The cheapest that is currently available on the market, of course.
How it works? Up to and including 2019, Dacia used the parent company Renault’s aged B0 platform, which was once developed in 1998 for the Clio II. One reason why Dacia was able to offer its blockbuster Sandero for just under 7,000 euros. The Romanian Renault offshoot has been using the CMF-B platform since 2020 (Common Modular Family), which debuted in the Clio V in 2019. This not only offers more stability and safety, but also the possibility of integrating modern assistance systems. Accordingly, the prices also had to go up a bit.
What is the cheapest new car in 2022?
In recent years, the Dacia Sandero changed away from the cheap cheap offer to the attractive small car with significantly more luxury and safety. And will remain the cheapest new car in Germany in 2022. The third generation is available from 8,990 euros. You can see immediately that you are dealing with a modern new edition: the front with the large radiator grille and the standard LED headlights, the wider track and the flatter roof sloping towards the rear radiate new self-confidence. While the predecessors were still based on the technology of the old Clio generations, Dacia now has access to the Renault Group’s current small car platform – including engines, connectivity and assistance systems.
The Dacia Sandero has front-wheel drive as standard, is 4.08 meters long, including the exterior mirrors 2.01 meters wide and 1.49 meters high. The trunk volume is 328 liters. If all seats are removed, it brings it to an impressive 1,108 liters. However, the height of the loading sill is 74.1 cm, which requires some muscle power when loading. The trunk is just over 102 cm wide. The roof load contributes 80 kg, the maximum vertical load 75 kg. Interesting for camper fans: Even the smallest SCE 65 drive has a maximum trailer load of 980 kilograms. A camping family holiday with a smaller caravan is definitely possible. The Dacia Sandero Stepway, which is available for 13,050 euros, can even pull 1,100 kilos. If you value a few extras that are not entirely superfluous, such as air conditioning or electric windows, you have to go for at least the third and highest equipment line “Comfort” with a 91 hp engine and five-speed gearbox, which now starts at 12,650 euros.
Find your Dacia now at AutoScout24.
Which cars are available for less than 15,000 euros?
There are many reasons to look around when buying a car in the lower price segment. Expensive new cars usually lose a lot of value in the first few years. According to ADAC, the monthly (!) depreciation of a Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid (new price 96,237 euros) is a whopping 978 euros. With cheaper vehicles, such as models up to 15,000 euros, the loss is much less significant. On the other hand, owners of these residual value giants benefit from a number of advantages: Most brands that specialize in cheaper models are affiliated with large automotive groups. Therefore, the technology usually comes from well-known manufacturers.
For example, Skoda uses the technology of the parent company Volkswagen and uses the same platform in the Skoda Fabia as in the Seat Ibiza and VW Polo. While the VW Polo is available at a starting price of 17,575 euros, Skoda the Fabia from 13,990 euros at. As a spartan basic model, of course. Nevertheless, the current Fabia offers something that you would not actually expect in the price-sensitive segment – above all the generous amount of space. Because the fourth-generation Fabia has new proportions: the small car has become a really mature car. While the predecessor, with a length of around 4 meters, was still a good fit in the small car class, the new Fabia surpasses itself. With a length of 4.11 meters and a width of 1.78 meters and a wheelbase that has grown by 9.4 centimeters, the Czech is now tending towards the Golf class. Inside, you sit comfortably and airily in the front and rear – there is even room for four adults, which is certainly not a matter of course for a small car.
Discover Skoda Fabia and VW Polo at AutoScout24.
Dacia, in turn, builds on the technology of the parent company Renault and shows with it 12,290 euros expensive SUV Dacia Duster among other things, that clean exhaust gases are also possible in the price-sensitive segment: in all individual tests in the ADAC Ecotest, the limit values were clearly undershot, including in the RDE road tests. In the ranking, the Dacia Duster Blue dCi 115 has a good four out of five stars. The Duster is available with a total of five different engines: three petrol engines with 91, 131 and 150 hp, a diesel with 116 hp and a liquid gas variant with 101 hp. Since the market launch of the revised version in September 2021, it has also been available with an automatic transmission, but only for the most powerful petrol engine with front-wheel drive. Dacia has also done a lot in the interior to create something like a feel-good atmosphere. The seats are noticeably more comfortable than on the predecessor and the noise insulation appears to be significantly better. You can see in the detail that savings have to be made somewhere: the door frames are not covered and the mat on the trunk floor looks a bit cheap.
Anyone aiming for a cheap offer in the station wagon or van segment should take a look at the Dacia Jogger, which will be available from March 2022. Dacia discontinues the Lodgy and Logan MCV series – and brings the Jogger as a replacement. The crossover comes with up to seven seats and is the brand’s first hybrid model.The Dacia Jogger replaces the brand’s van and station wagon and is available from 13,990 euros. As is usual with the Romanian brand, the Jogger is not a technically sophisticated vehicle, but rather remains down-to-earth. And with that: inexpensive! However, the rather sparsely equipped basic model “Essential” is only for purists. Air conditioning and cruise control are missing, the exterior mirrors have to be adjusted manually. But: At 4.55 meters in length, the jogger can accommodate up to seven people. The third bench is available for an extra charge of 800 euros. With five seats, the jogger family-friendly has a capacity of 607 liters. When folded, it takes up to 1819 liters. In terms of drive, customers can choose between two three-cylinder turbo engines, each with a displacement of 1.0 liters: a petrol engine with 81 kW/110 hp and an LPG engine with 74 kW/101 hp.
Which new cars are particularly cheap now?
A time-limited offer from the Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi is currently stirring up the market in the good and cheap segment: Still The Mitsubishi Spacestar (combined fuel consumption: 4.5-4.7 l/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 102-108 g/km²) is available until April 30, 2022 at a price of 9,490 euros. As a leasing vehicle, it is available from as little as 80 euros per month. Regularly available from 11,490 euros, the basic version of the Japanese offers six airbags, light and rain sensors and hill start assist. However, the customer has to do without air conditioning, central locking or an audio system – there is only one “radio preparation”. The engine of the Japanese star is a pure three-cylinder naturally aspirated engine with a capacity of 1.2 liters. This brings the small car to a maximum of 71 hp, which is transmitted to the manual 5-speed gearbox or the continuously variable CVT automatic. In addition to the standard “Basic” equipment, the equipment lines “Plus” and “Top” are available.
Due to the e-purchase bonus, attractive bargains are currently possible, especially in the electronics sector. The Dacia Spring (regularly from 20,490 euros) is available for 11,490 euros after deducting the lavish purchase premium of 9,000 euros. This corresponds to almost halving the purchase price. The best thing about the mini SUV with electric drive: It is relatively economical: The average power consumption in the ADAC Ecotest was 17.9 kWh per 100 kilometers, charging losses included. Result: The very good consumption rating of 0.7 and a full five stars in the ADAC Ecotest. The 33 kW/44 hp output of the electric motor doesn’t necessarily sound like a powerhouse – because of its relatively low weight of almost 1000 kilos, the Spring can also be driven lively and nimbly with this power, because, in comparison, large E-SUVs sometimes bring results over two tons on the scales and therefore need the correspondingly higher performance.
The Smart EQ Fortwo (combined power consumption: 14.0-16.0 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km²) is available for EUR 12,939 after deducting the EUR 9,000 premium. Since the facelift of the small car in 2020, the Smart family has only been whirring across the streets electrically. The EQ Fortwo’s electric motor delivers 82 hp and 160 Newton meters of torque. This allows the electric Smart to move fun and lively at city speeds – after all, the runabout does it from 0 to 50 in 3.9 seconds. The battery has a capacity of 17.6 kWh and brings the Smart to a specified range of up to 159 km. Anyone willing to pay 16,200 euros after deducting the premium can afford the smallest of its kind on the market with the EQ Fortwo Cabrio. It’s actually not a real convertible, because the roof is more reminiscent of a large sunroof – but there’s no other solution for a small car.
Conclusion: If you buy cheap, you don’t necessarily buy twice today
In some life situations, lifestyle, design, comfort and sporty driving fun are not so important. If you have a small budget at your disposal, it is much more important that no superfluous bells and whistles drives up the price unnecessarily. The good news: Due to the many mandatory specifications for the manufacturers, the price-conscious customer no longer has to do without sophisticated technology and safety, even in cheaper models.
