The Most And Least Expensive Cars From These 6 Automakers

If you've been paying attention, you will have noticed that automakers don't really build cars for every tax bracket anymore. If you're not at least upper-middle class, you probably can't afford a new car. It's way easier for a company to make profit margins selling those higher-priced cars, so they don't even bother building high-volume, low-margin compacts anymore. It's a shame, but it's kind of the way free-market capitalism works, right? 

I saw a tweet this week that made me think about the disappearing bottom end of the market, and the growing disparity between least- and most-expensive cars. Manufacturers who used to build stuff for the everyman are now building low-volume cars for the same couple of hundred collectors who buy all of this stuff. At what point are they no longer building cars and instead building value stores for the ultra-wealthy? I would be surprised if anyone who bought a Ford Mustang GTD actually drove it anywhere instead of sitting on a low-mile car to sell at auction in a few years for a massive profit. 

In honor of this trend, it's time to look at a few automakers with wide disparities in their lineups. While most of the cars under $25,000 have been killed off, there are still a few out there, but there are so many more cars available over $100,000 that it's bordering on ludicrous. Let's take a look at a few automakers that used to be the kind of company to build millions of cars a year for normies, and throw in a couple of higher-end automakers to see what their price range is like as well, for giggles. 

At the low end of the market, the Chevrolet Trax is widely regarded as a pretty decent, cheap car. Back when we reviewed it in 2024, we said, "The trick is putting the nice stuff in the right place to create the impression of a nice interior." Chevrolet is pretty good at this. The designers have learned what matters to people and how to make a cheap car feel more expensive than it is. Unfortunately, things aren't as cheap as they once were, and a bargain basement Chevrolet will still run you $23,495 (including $1,795 destination fee) to get one off your local dealer lot before tax. 

If, however, you've got about twelve times as much money as a base model Trax, you could drive home in a brand new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X Convertible 3LZ pack with all the options. Absolutely built to the hilt with all the trappings, you can get Chevy's new all-wheel drive hybrid 1,250-horsepower super-Corvette for an absurdly low $270,244 out the door before tax, title, and license. That's a ton of dosh to drop at a Chevy dealer, but it's hard to imagine ever being able to get more than this for anything less. It's hard to call a quarter million dollar car a bargain, but the ZR1X has the most bang-for-your-performance-buck you can get on a dealer lot in 2026. 

There is definitely something absurd about a single dealer lot catering to the lowest tier new car buyers possible while also having room for literal millionaire cars. The juxtaposition of the Trax and ZR1X is a bit beyond the pale, but credit where due, Chevrolet is kind of killing it with both of these models, delivering more value than their MSRP would suggest. 

The Ford Maverick was a sensation of a deal when it launched with an MSRP of just $19,995 (not including destination). Sadly, just four years later and the price for the least expensive model has ballooned by nearly 50%. After Ford's $1,845 destination charge and $695 acquisition fee, you'll pay a hefty $30,685 to get one of these off the lot, and that's for a front-wheel drive truck with steel wheels. Admittedly, this is the fuel-sipping hybrid model, so you'll save on gas compared to most trucks, but what was a steal at 20 grand feels overpriced at 30 grand. Since Ford has killed off all of its sedans and small hatchbacks, there's nothing on the Ford lot with a lower price tag than this. 

If Ford's least expensive vehicle is overpriced, what's the company's most expensive vehicle? That would be the ultra-limited production Mustang GTD. Ford hasn't officially announced an MSRP for the super Mustang, but even more special versions of the already-special Mustang, like the Carbon Series or the Spirit of America edition, exceeded $430,000. And you can bet the new Competition model will be even more. I still genuinely do not understand this car, as even with 815 horsepower from a supercharged 5.2-liter V8, it is over 4,000 pounds and kinda ugly. It's basically the old GT500 but with special suspension and some carbon fiber. In what world is this worth 430 grand? Fools and their money easily part, I suppose. 

In both cases, these cars feel extremely overpriced and underwhelming in the 2026 new-car market. I'm a Mustang homer from back in the day, and I've owned several, but I can't help but wonder what my once-beloved Michigan Blue Oval has been doing, or where it will go from here.  

The long-in-the-tooth Nissan Versa is technically still available to buy from Nissan right now, but it has been discontinued following the close of the 2025 order books. That's a crying shame, because this was one of just four cars left on the market under $20,000. It's also one of the very few cars still available in the U.S. market with a manual transmission. After a $1,245 shipping and handling fee, you could still go pick up a base model Versa S with a stick for just $18,635. Regular American consumers are losing their options in this range, and that's not great. 

Once Versa stock runs out on dealer lots, the Sentra will inherit the position of Nissan's least expensive new vehicle. The base model Sentra S is quite a jump up in price from the Versa S — it has an MSRP of $23,845. 

Nissan's high end cars don't get nearly as expensive as the Ford and Chevrolet models do, largely because its six-figure GT-R is long dead. Initially, I thought you could option a Nissan Z Nismo up to a pretty high price, and you can at $82,803 delivered (the NISMO LMGT4 wheels make up nearly $5k of that out-the-door price). But that pales in comparison to the Nissan Armada Platinum Reserve, which maxes out at $94,706 delivered with nearly $12,000 in options and accessories. 

I'm not sure I can be mad at Nissan here. I mean, it definitely sucks that the company is killing off its price leading car, but the company's most expensive luxury automobile doesn't even get over the six-figure mark. The disparity between low and high end isn't nearly as large as some others, but the Armada's topped-out price tag is too high for a non-GT-R Nissan, if you ask me. 

I think Hyundai might have the most sane lineup of any automaker right now, with a little of something for everyone, without going off the expensive deep end. If it weren't for the ultra-luxurious electric three-row Ioniq 9's Calligraphy Design package, most Hyundais would be priced under $60,000. That's still a lot of money, don't get me wrong, but to be able to go into the Hyundai dealer today and pick from a wide variety of normal cars with the vast majority available for less than the average new car budget should be applauded. 

Speaking of that Calligraphy Design package, a fully-optioned Ioniq 9 gets pretty expensive. With everything tacked on that you possibly can, the MSRP is a whopping $83,530. I would say that this is a better value than the aforementioned Armada Platinum Reserve, but neither are particularly good ways to spend your cash in 2026. This is just a normal family car with some lux trimmings, and it's over 80 grand? Something has gone seriously wrong in the car market for that to be true. With huge monthly payments and longer loan terms, this kind of pricing is going to come around to bite automakers, mark my words. 

At the opposite end of the spectrum, however, is Hyundai's bargain basement Venue crossover, which isn't the greatest car in the world, but it sure beats the best entry-level machines from twenty years ago. The little cute ute now starts at $22,650 after delivery fees, so it's not as cheap as the Versa, but it edges out the Trax by a smidge. I think I'd rather spend that little bit more and get the Trax, but Kudos to Hyundai for still offering a car under $25,000. 

A base model four-cylinder Porsche Macan is priced at $67,750, without any options. For that money, you don't even get any color choices, just black or white. That's not to say that the Macan isn't a good car, but Porsche's least expensive car on the lot is already significantly more expensive than the average new car sale. Obviously, Porsche isn't exactly a car brand for the proletariat, but the company used to offer sports cars that a normal middle-aged dad could stretch to afford. Some of the best Porsche models from history, including the 356, 914, 944, and Boxster, were all available at one time or another for less than a current base Macan, inflation adjusted.  

That Macan might be kind of expensive in 2026, but it pales in comparison to how hardcore Porsche will let you get with your checkbook. Porsche will do pretty much anything if you have enough scratch to pay for it, but it wouldn't be too far out of the ordinary to pop six-figures worth of options packages on your brand new 911 Turbo S hybrid, for example. I didn't even go hog wild with options, and I was able to get the configurator to spit out an absolutely hideous color combination with a whole lot of options for $421,640. Porsche charges $40,990 for their Paint to Sample Plus custom paint jobs, for example. Yikes! 

What's more, this is the current 2026 Porsche lineup that doesn't even offer a hypercar at the moment. Whenever Porsche decides to trot out a successor to the 918 Hybrid, you can bet it'll cost into the seven-figure price range, which I think more or less breaks this experiment and gives them the widest disparity between the cheapest and most expensive models. Don't worry, it's coming sooner than you might think. 

Ferrari absolutely beats the pants off of any of the others when it comes to the biggest gap between an entry-level model and a keystone model. The least expensive Ferrari costs more than quite a few houses in the U.S. right now (another overpriced commodity), but you could buy an entire dealership of Nissans for the price of one of Ferrari's highest priced cars.  

Ferrari has seven models right now. The least expensive new Ferrari you can buy is the new Amalfi coupe. More or less a facelifted version of the Roma, which dates back to 2017's Portofino, itself based on the similar design underpinnings of the California, which bowed in 2008. In any case, that front-engine 631-horsepower twin-turbo V8 grand tourer is going to run you an estimated starting price of around $266,000. Ferrari doesn't really advertise prices, and you'd be hard pressed to order one with zero options anyway, so even that number is largely an academic exercise. Also, that sounds like a whole lot of money, but just wait until you hear about the brand's most expensive car. 

That's right, the flagship F80 is an F1-inspired 1,184 horsepower active-aero twin-turbo V6 hypercar with tons of electric hybrid boost, and a big price to go with it. Limited to just 799 units, the F80 was alleged to have a starting price of $3.735 million, though custom options and "market adjustment" pricing meant that some people claim to have paid over $8 million for the privilege of ownership. Don't worry, they're all sold out anyway, so even if you had a spare ocho in the bank, Ferrari wouldn't sell you one.