Gallery: 13 Sweet, Affordable Cars to Take Back to School
Mazda012014 Mazda3 5D NYC (11)
Just as reliable as a Corolla or Civic but way more fun, the Mazda 3 offers a manual transmission for the student who wants to be serious about driving. The long hood makes it better-looking than most of its sedan peers. Prudent parents will want the base 3i engine with 155 hp over the 184-hp Skyactiv 2.5 liter. With a highway mpg figure in the 40s, it’s a fuel-sipper, too. MSRP $19,750 and up
Ford022014 Ford Fiesta
The Ford Fiesta 1.0L proves you don’t need lots of displacement to have fun. With a 3-cylinder turbo engine, lithe handling, and somewhat funky looks, it’s a hot hatch that gets 45 mpg on the highway. The 2014 1.0L comes as a manual only, so this is your chance to teach your teenager to shift. MSRP: $16,080
Lexus032006 Lexus LS
If you’re an MBA or law student and you want to look like you’ve already arrived, or you’re a parent who needs a car for both carpooling and client dinners, go for an older Leuxs. The big back seats on the 2006 LS offer limo-level luxury, the ride is smooth, and since it’s basically a Toyota, it’ll last for years as its milage cranks up into six figures. Driving excitement? Not so much, but it has quiet dignity with durability. $18,000 and up.
Craig Wyzik/Flickr042004 Acura TSX
One of the great recent sporty sedans, even early variations of the Acura TSX have features like voice-activated navigation and can be found with a manual transmission. Add bomb-proof Honda/Acura reliability, and you have a sedan that’ll provide driving thrills at legal speeds with everyday usability. It’s cheaper to go for the first-generation model, so anything between 2004 and 2009 should do the trick. $8,000 and up.
Subaru05010112Outback3
Heading to college somewhere with snow and ice? Though it suffers from a reputation as the standard-issue car for music festival attendees, the Outback has the best all-wheel drive you can get on the cheap, and it’s small and just as capable as any mini-truck. The base 2.5i also comes with Bluetooth and Subaru’s Vehicle Dynamics Control, a proprietary traction control, which is a lot of tech for a bare-bones model. MSRP $24,000
Fiat062014 Fiat 500
One of the best urban vehicles, the Fiat 500 is cheaper than a Mini Cooper and more compelling than a Toyota. If we were begging our parents for a car, we’d push for the Abarth version with its 160-horsepower engine, manual transmission, and and styling to make the high school parking lot feel like a Monaco mansion driveway. MSRP $17,000
Volkswagen07volkswagen-golf-gtd-2937
If a Tesla is out of your price range, consider a diesel as an environmentally-friendly fuel-sipping alternative. The 2.0-liter turbo-equipped VW Golf TDI can be paired with a six-speed manual for more involved driving, or you can go further and get the GTI two-door hot hatch. If you need to go far on a single tank — like heading home from campus to do your laundry — it’s the diesel we’d get. MSRP $26,000
Toyota082008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid
If you absolutely must have a truck but hate spending money on gas, the 2008 Toyota Highlander with the hybrid engine is as close as you’ll get to an eco-friendly SUV. It’ll get over 25 mpg if you’re careful, an astronomical number for a three-row cargo-hauler. The hybrid first arrived in 2006, but the 2008 model comes with a bigger third-row seat, if back-to-school means carpooling and sports equipment. $15,000 and up
Chrysler092015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat
In an age where engines are getting smaller and MPG figures are going up, Dodge pushed back with the Challenger Hellcat. The muscle car is an exercise in batshit crazy engineering, all to keep this burnout-mobile running, even with 707 ponies under the hood.
Mazda10Mazda-MX5-Miata-25th-anniversary-edition
Just got accepted to UC Santa Barbara, or some other sun-drenched campus? Pick up one of the best two-seat roadsters, ever. With a new generation coming out next year, the 2014 Mazda Miata MX-5 will be cheap, but still have all the components that make it great. The car exemplifies how much more fun it is to drive a slow(er) car fast than a fast car slow, though it’s a handful on slippery roads.
Newspress11FR-S Scion gallery
For sporty, non-license-losing fun, it’s impossible to beat the Scion FR-S. Outfitted with skinny Prius tires and a rear-wheel drive system, it’s easy to lose the tail for some parking lot donuts. As long as winter driving and cargo-hauling aren’t a top priority, this is what we’d take for tame, but exuberant driving on a budget. The FR-S is cheaper than the nearly identical Subaru BRZ. MSRP $25,500
Newspress12Honda fit gallery
The car the Honda Element should’ve been, the Fit is a miracle of interior efficiency. Its seats can be rearranged Tetris-style to turn the interior into empty cargo-hauling space. Since the 2015 model is an all-new third-generation variation, the 2014 model can be found for cheap. MSRP $16,215
Newspress13Chevrolet Sonic
The 2014 Sonic packs a ton of tech into a cheap hatchback. Go for the $16,380 LT model and you get Chevrolet’s MyLink infotainment system, which runs Pandora, TuneIn, and SiriusXM, and is free for three months with the car. The real pull for concerned parents is Siri Eyes Free, which allows an iPhone user to make calls and handle text messages through voice commands. MSRP $14,770
