The Kia K4 is a new car model from Kia that is expected to be affordable and has a turbocharged engine, which means it can produce more power than regular engines.
The Toyota Corolla Hybrid is a small car that uses both gas and electricity to run, making it more efficient and better for the environment. The 2026 model will have new features to make it even better.
The Mazda 3 Hatchback is a fun-to-drive small car with a unique design. The 2026 version will likely have new technology and improvements to how it drives.
The 2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is a car that uses both a gas engine and an electric motor to save fuel and reduce pollution, making it a good option for those who want to be more environmentally friendly.
The Chevrolet Corvette is a fast sports car that many people love because of its cool looks and powerful engine. It's often seen as a symbol of American car culture.
The Chevrolet Bolt is a small car that runs entirely on electricity, which means it doesn't use gas at all. It's designed to be affordable and has a good range for driving.
When someone says 'under thirty thousand dollars', they mean that the cars they are talking about cost less than that amount, making them more affordable for many people.
All-wheel drive means that the car can send power to all four wheels at the same time, which helps it grip the road better, especially in rain or snow.
A full electric car runs only on electricity and doesn't use gasoline at all. This means it doesn't produce any exhaust fumes, making it better for the environment.
The Nissan Sentra is a small, affordable car that's great for getting around town. It's known for being reliable and good on gas, making it a popular choice for everyday driving.
The Tesla Model 3 is a type of electric car that you can charge instead of filling up with gas. It's known for being fast and having a lot of cool technology, and it's one of the more affordable options from Tesla.
Two-wheel drive means that only two wheels of the car get power from the engine. This can help save fuel and make the car lighter, but it might not handle as well in slippery conditions as cars that power all four wheels.
The Tesla Model Y is an electric SUV, which means it's a bigger car that can fit more people and stuff. It runs on electricity instead of gas, and it's known for being safe and fun to drive.
The Ford Model T is one of the first cars that regular people could afford to buy. It changed how cars were made and helped many families own a car for the first time.
An electric vehicle is a type of car that runs on electricity instead of gasoline. They are better for the environment because they don't produce exhaust fumes.
The Volkswagen Bus is a big, boxy van that was popular in the 1960s. People loved it for road trips and camping because it has a lot of space inside.
Car
Volkswagen Colley MV
The Volkswagen Colley MV is a type of van that has a lot of space inside and can be arranged in different ways. It has seats that can face each other, making it great for having meals with family or friends.
The Eurovan is a van made by Volkswagen that can carry a lot of people and has a lot of space inside. It's popular for family trips and camping because of its roomy design.
Front-wheel drive means that the front wheels of the car are the ones that get power from the engine. This helps the car grip the road better, especially in bad weather.
Mileage standards are rules that tell how many miles a car should be able to drive on a gallon of gas. It's a way to measure how good a car is at saving fuel.
Car
Lexus SUV
A Lexus SUV is a type of vehicle that combines the features of a car and an SUV, offering more space and comfort. Lexus is a luxury brand, so these vehicles often come with high-end features.
CarPlay is a technology that lets you use your iPhone in your car. It helps you make calls, listen to music, and get directions using your car's screen.
Cruise control helps you drive at a steady speed without having to press the gas pedal all the time. It's great for long trips on highways.
LIVE
He is Robin Leach. He is Jada Markin. This is Car Keys.
Hello to this week version of Car Keys with Jada Markin and Robin Leach. It is
2026
There's a lot going on in the car industry
We'll cover some of those
But one of the things I would like to start out with is the pleasure of knowing that
There are still some
Affordable new cars that you can buy we have covered this in a previous show, but I want to revisit it since I have revisited the list and
These are
New cars that can be purchased for in some cases quite far under thirty thousand dollars
So they there are seven of them the list I will go down the list and Jay and I will comment on any that we want to comment on
the list
consists of a
2025 I don't know whether
2026 will be equally
inexpensive Kia K4 and it happens to have a turbo engine that is a subscript to that a
2026 desan centra a
2026 Toyota Corolla hybrid
2026 Mazda 3 hatchback a
2026 Honda Civic sports sedan hatchback
2026 Toyota Prius and the last one on the list is
2027 Chevrolet Bolt EV which may have not yet reached dealers
They are an interesting list in my opinion. I think they won the what I wrote I read brief
Things about each one in the in the of the list the
2025 Kia 4 interesting point, which I've already mentioned was that it has a turbo 4 engine a turbo engine at this level
Should provide some sporting
Driving characteristics to any vehicle of this size under thirty thousand dollars. I'm not sure there
Well, they're sporting
Uh
Aspect of another one is the Toyota Toyota 26 Toyota Cola Corolla hybrid because the hybrid drive train
Also provides a sporting driving capability as I have found in my
2013 Hyundai Sonata hybrid which I have had since I purchased it way back then
But these are interesting cars, they're all Asian basically
Except for the 2000 Chevrolet Bolt the 27 Chevrolet Bolt, which is American
They're all
Produced by the manufacturers who are producing excellent vehicles throughout their lineup in my opinion
But to be able to buy these particular models at under thirty thousand dollars
The Nissan comes in I think
As a record
Low under that in the 25,000 plus range model as well
Jay have you driven any of these recently I have not no and and
Happy new year to everybody. I just
I'm going to curb your into the enthusiasm already
Although I my one of my resolutions is to have a very positive attitude on things
Here but I don't think we're going to see very many of
These cars in our area for it for different reasons
But but I I think it's a good list. These are great cars and
As I travel southward as we speak
You see more of of some of these cars
I think what you're likely to see in our in our area in our tri-state area is
Certainly the Toyota Prius, but probably not the basic versions right around thirty thousand dollars
But the all-wheel drive versions, which is a pretty interesting thing that the new Prius
That came out last year the year before that looks like a good-looking car nowadays
Unlike the previous models in my opinion
That the current Prius comes
With a four-wheel drive power train. That's true. I'm sure it's not I don't know
I have not seen the list in the pricing, but I'm sure it's not quite at thirty thousand dollars
But it's it's still a pretty good deal. It's right under thirty thousand dollars. I'm looking at it now
So there is a good deal continue
All-wheel drive under thirty thousand dollars. Yes
Okay, that's that is a great deal not a very big car. It is a sedan. We don't see a lot of sedans
But if you're looking for a commuter car, it's absolutely a great way to go
You know, I've always been a big fan of the Chevy Bolt
You could get the first versions of them for under twenty thousand dollars back not so long ago
So I can't actually wait to see the new 2027 Chevy bolt and I think it's going to be
An interesting proposition. It is in your list
I think the only is I'm going through it very quickly. It is the only full electric car
of the bunch
Santra's
Corolla's Honda civics we don't see a lot of
But they are great commuter cars if you're driving alone in a car and drive an hour to work in an hour back
Every day, they are perfectly fine cars and way better cars than the compact cars were 20 or 30 years ago
So, um, yeah, I I agree with you
I actually had occasion to rent a Nissan Sentra
Three years ago, so it's a three years old remodel of what we're talking about
On this show today, and I will tell you it was indeed a pleasurable car to
Drive over many miles of a five-day rental in this vehicle
the mileage was
Superb for in that day three years ago in the high 30s
I think I even was able to manage a
40 plus mile per hour car and the Nissan Sentra was not a hybrid. It was simply a four cylinder
You mean 40 miles per gallon. I'm sure you reach 40 miles per hour
No, 40 miles per gallon. They're correct. Sorry listeners
But the other car that is also apparently available in this list
For just under $30,000 is a 20 is a model version of the 26 Toyota Corolla hybrid
So that's to be done at all wheel drive and I know some people who have had the Corolla hybrids
Previous mark to the 2026 year and they have been absolutely
Also thrilled with its mileage rating, which has been the one the two owners that I know had them was
Well into the mid-40 mile per gallon range
Well, you know you all those subcompact cars are have you know and and you always
Complain about this, but they've grown to the point that they're actually quite comfortable
In our smaller cars, but I've ridden in the back seat of a Corolla in an Uber
And it was a perfectly adequate back seat and comfortable ride. So these are not bad little cars
Even though they're smaller than the big, you know clunkers that we see in
You know, I'm not area. Yeah, by the way, Robin. I thought about you yesterday as I was making my
750-mile drive down to South Carolina
I
Remember, I don't know if it was a rental you had or a replacement car a few years ago that little teeny beat bit
Mitsubishi I forget the name of it with the little a tricycle wheels
Yeah, well there were I passed one in the highway yesterday and
Boy, I
That small and that compact on the highway. I do not recommend that would agree with you the smart fork
To would be another car. I wouldn't recommend to be on the interstate highways and it's got four wheels
But you look at these all micro minis
Driving on the big high-speed highways that we have in our country and I would not want to be
Putting along
Maybe they may go 70 but I would not be like to be putting along in one of those in our highways
It very often have the the tractor trailer trucks careening along those roads
Multilane highways or even single-lane each way highways as 95 is in many cases, right?
20 years ago. I can't I did the track from Florida back to Connecticut in my
1992 at the time Mazda Miata and
It was it was a scary experience up 95 with all the trucks and all the traffic
In a in a Miata
Was was a little intimidating to say the least, right?
So small is not always great in terms of
Size of the car, but I don't think any of these cars in the list are so small as to have that same effect as you
Mentioned. Oh, you know absolutely. No, these are just simply adequate cars
They all probably get mileage is in the 30s to 40s range per tank full
That 10 10 gallon tanks or 12 gallon tanks, which many of them may come with will get you easily over 300 miles per fill
No matter what which one of these cars it's in some cases. You'll get four or 500 miles
Possibly wisdom. So let me add a card to the list here
Which is not a sub thirty thousand dollar car, but it's a sub forty thousand dollar car
Okay, almost almost ten years ago now when the Model 3 Tesla was about to come out
Elon Musk was touting that thirty five thousand dollar price
Target that was never meant met right right correct
They still talk about it's coming, but it is never going to make it unless it's
However, well, don't never say never you know fast forward ten years and you now can get a
You know, I call it a generic product
Tesla why the basic Tesla why
two-wheel drive with the
You know that the basic motor, but you still get three hundred and ten or three hundred twenty mile range
You can get that car for thirty nine thousand dollars, which is you know, just under forty thousand and
on a zero percent lease
for
What I quote qualified buyers, but they there is there's a number on the on the qualified
metric and
I think you need a credit score of something around seven twenty, which you know is not
unattainable and
You can get a five year zero percent or six years zero percent lease
On a Tesla why base model so basically you're dividing you're paying five hundred not a lease. Sorry a
finance I
believe
Loan, so you're looking at five hundred dollars a month for six years with I think three thousand dollars down. That's it and
I'm glad it's the badge. There's not a logo on the car. There's not the
Spelling of a name, but you have a probably that one of the best electric cars granted in two-wheel drive
basic form
For under forty thousand dollars. That's a brand new correct
Brand new well, that's a very good buy for that model Tesla
I assume that even with the you say even with the the basic battery
It's going to get over 300 miles per
Kilowatt whatever it is
Capacity of the battery
That's that's good. So there are indeed, you know, we've been talking in in previous shows
How the average price of the new car sold in the United States has reached the mid 40s. Is that correct?
Mr. Hot yeah, it's going and so this is a
Refreshing to see the this list of under thirty thousand dollar cars
And even now we're talking under forty thousand dollar cars that are available and there are many more under forty thousand dollar cars
Upgrades of the models that we previously mentioned in the sub thirty thousand dollar range and other additional models of vehicles
Including some of the US brands and that kind of thing so
So it's the the ability to buy a a
Decently built what we say all of them are now
Fund a drive vehicle is readily available. I would have to say under forty thousand dollars
So listeners you can go hunting and and I'll see if any of our list
Listed cars are of interest to you as we move through
2026
So as we go through, you know, I was
Just this morning. I typed into Google and looking for an AI answer to the question
What is the outlook for the automobile industry in 2026? What does AI tell you?
Well, AI tells me, you know, it's a compilation of of course of and a pretty good summary of
of our bullet points of what to expect but
Pull it up
Basically the market is going to
Be kind of stable or slightly down
We're going to look at about two two and a half percent less new cars being sold
Being under the 15 million
Car number charts sold. So it we're definitely not in record you territory
But one of the comments that I read and and that I read again in Cox Automotive is
that
There is a widening difference between the high-end and the end, you know, the the high-priced cars and the lower-priced cars
So you just talked about the, you know, lower-priced cars and
Yeah, there are still a dozen of them you can find
But there are more and more very very very expensive cars and there are a lot of mainstream
Cars that are now hovering, you know in the seventy five to a hundred thousand dollar range
Which is you know a bit crazy and and and and basically the word that the
politicians are using a lot these days affordability
Was mentioned in in more than one article
So it's going to be it's going to be an interesting year
One of the analysts was was commenting on the fact that the the whole
Disruptive
You know measures that have been taken on a political level
Have allowed some manufacturers to do pretty well and others to kind of struggle and and it's you know
There's still all these manufacturers are still in the state of wait and see and and try to react to
You know changing political
Decisions, you know, we're talking tariffs
EV tax cuts and and and things like that
So I think there's not going to be huge changes
But you know, we can see emerging
Manufacturers and we've mentioned BYD time and time over again
Which has now surpassed Tesla as a number one
World seller of EV electric vehicles
Yeah, and and keep in mind that you know
BYD also sells a bunch of gas powered and hybrid cars, too
So I think they're total worldwide sales total around two million cars
No, they're electric cars. The total sales are around two million
But they're overall sales are around four million cars for our listeners
Our audience in the US. We are not gonna see by we I don't think we're gonna see BYD
Vehicles for sale anytime soon unless you have some knowledge different to that. So
All right, let's not let's continue. Let's continue the year
2026 car situation along with our less expensive car list that we have
Just mentioned. I think
Manufacturers are trying to figure out a way to bring out less expensive versions of the more expensive cars that they have been
Building which may be a deletion of some of the standard equipment that the more expensively priced versions of the cars
currently seem to exist on
Most dealers lots the other is challenges to find the less expensive versions of the cars even available at dealers lots
Because dealers don't have not normally tended to stock their
Parking lots with with less expensive vehicles because the profit potential isn't as great
But I think the dealers need to to put pressure on the manufacturers to bring in less expensive versions of the of the
Larger vehicles that they're producing to try to keep
Vehicle prices affordable even if they are in higher price range
Model versions that we talked about me. Let me interrupt you here since when do dealers try to sell you less expensive vehicles?
I they don't you have to know what you're doing and you have to be stable in yours
Insistence that you aren't interested in looking at the more expensive versions if you've got a pocketbook that says I've got to buy a
Vehicle under 30,000 or under 40,000 or as you go up the scale
But let's look at the VW buzz because you give me
An opportunity to bring that up as you have brought up in a suggestion of the list
I'm sorry. I'm sorry for your loss. It has suspended
production of the buzz
Those VW
Listers who know all about the buzz. They've only sold they've sold less than 5,000
Buzzes in the
2025 model year or four model year
I don't know what you came out in and they've got apparently
2000 on dealer lots, which is a 200-day supply
Now the biggest problem with the buzz was in my opinion because I went and looked at them was the pricing of
They just were out of my interest in ever thinking about buying an all-electric buzz
The the the the first edition was at seventy five thousand dollars
I believe in that area the one I test drove was in the sixties and as the much as I sort of was intrigued by the vehicle
I had no interest in purchasing it and I'm afraid VW
you know has gone up into the pricing structure of
What I would say are more luxury
types of vehicles that have prices in the sixty thousand seventy thousand range with a vehicle that
Was once known as a very econobox type of vehicle to own and
As well as being very
Much built with a
Flexibility of interior use in mind which I saw it to be less so available in the new in the new line of buzzes
It came out what two years ago, so I to your point. I I I kind of
I I hate to say I told you so because I didn't might not not told you so but I
I kind of knew from the beginning this was going to be a tough sell and to be honest
You don't see any micro buses any buses buzzes in Europe around our area
Not in our area, but not in Europe either when it came out in Europe a few months before it came out here
I was I went in a dealership and looked at one there and it was priced at around eighty thousand euros and I thought
These people are on track. This is never going to sell and yeah, and you're right. I mean people reacted exactly like you reacted
You know people loved the idea loved the concept
But it was way overpriced. It is way overpriced. It is still only a VW ID for
SUV and that's an okay electric vehicle
But it doesn't get near the range that people are looking for so it's got a lot going against it and let me make a
Prediction a prediction the micro bus the buzz is dead for 2026 and it will never come back in the US
Well, you know the VW is objecting to that as you note in the article and and or the news
They claim it's going to come back, but I do not know how they're going to make it less affordable less costly
Given what does it?
Given how it's come to the market in the first place. It's not coming back
Okay, well what our
Listers and VW fans can sit there and wait for that situation which came out of the W fan
I am I have a 2,000 euro van
Listers of this show for a long time. I've heard me mention it. It is a fabulous box and
It has an interior with such flexibility
Because I bought a version that is not yet known to be available in the buzz
Colley MV which had rear-facing second-row seats a table for
Folding out from the side that you could sit in the seats
And the bench seat facing forward and the two rear seats facing back and have lunch
blah blah blah and
You know I
Not that would be my level of interest in buying a buzz if buzz came out with the flexibility of the original
versions of the
Eurovans that came out way beyond the air-cooled engines of of last century
Because it has front-wheel drive it has a v6 engine it has good it has good traction in the winter and
It has range with a
22 or four gallon gas tank that at 20 miles a gallon, which is not great by mileage standards today
Was a 400 mile range before you had to worry about refilling the tank
And there and it was $30,000 back then so be it right so be it
Next another nose bring up some other things you had
Well, I started out 2026, you know just a few days ago with
Like I said trying to be very positive
About things and then I drove, you know, I spent 750 miles 12 hours of my day yesterday on 995
And that of course puts a damper on my positivity
Because it is what were you driving? I
Was driving a I am driving I get a ten-year-old Lexus SUV
You know mid 2015 the years we like vehicles where all you know things are somewhat still analog
There's no carplay. There's no
There's no
iPad in the middle of the dashboard didn't mention all the modern cars
But also you have to look under the steering wheel to find, you know, where to you know to reset the
odometer
and to
Open the fuel tank and things like that
Toyota is not
Always very good at a lot of these little buttons seem to be an afterthought
But anyway, no no point in in in ranting over a ten-year-old car, but my point is
You know and it can it confirms what you you read in articles a New Jersey in the New Jersey turnpike is still probably one of the worst places
Worst roads to be on in the country people are just
It is the one place where people are driving
Erratically you have people who are driving slowly
People are all over the three or four lanes that that's always the case, but then you have people weaving in traffic left and right
It's not a good place to be I also made the miscalculation I thought that
Yesterday was a Sunday. I thought the tail end of the holiday the last day would be kind of a quiet day on the roads
But everybody going home on Saturdays
That was a big mistake
and it was it was there was very heavy traffic and
Actually never went through DC. I I was you know Google Maps guided me around DC
basically from Baltimore
to Richmond on
301 which is like a four-lane highway that goes through a bunch of suburban towns on the east side of DC
So you have a lot of traffic lights, but it was it was easy flowing in there
You know places to stop because it's suburban area
So you had box stores and all the fuel stops and eating places you can think of so it was kind of an it was an interesting way to
Go down I-95
But yeah people
You know my hope was that people would learn to drive better, but that's not happening
So for 2026 the driving is not going to improve
No, I was reflecting. I think it takes 20 years to change drivers habits. I'm not sure you could change them at all
Well, it takes I and again, I've seen that in Europe
With the implementation of automatic automated
radar traps and speed cameras
and over a generation people have adapted their driving to to to new conditions and and and
This is not happening here, and I'm in the first guilty one
I mean if you're driving at night in North Carolina and traffic starting to ease and you have two three lanes of highway and
It's pitch black. You can you can you can cover a lot of ground very fast and and safely, you know safely
Not gathering any attention from any unwanted attention and and also traffic lightens up and and and therefore, you know this
It it's just overall pretty safe
But yeah, it's always a good time to reflect on things and car things
I am reading in the Motor Trend magazine an ad for snap and drag and
Driving do you know anything about that? It's a I assisted driving
That's apparently technology that might creep its way into self-driving vehicles
You've had what's the most advanced self-driving vehicle that you have driven thus far as far as
Allowing a car to drive itself without too much attention to it
So I have not recently and you know, and I've said it before I
As much as I am a fan of automated driving
Because I think automated driving would be better than 97% of the people
Driving their own cars. I you know like like every like 97 is percent of the people
I think I'm part of the 3% who drive better than automated driving tools
and I just I just
first of all, I like to drive and
And I I pay attention to how you drive. I pay attention to how I drive
I like to adapt my driving to
Everything around me
So I I don't do cruise control. I don't you know, I think cruise control
I think automated driving is the greatest when you are in slow traffic
Moving bumper to bumper if you know if in and around New York City, let's say you're on the hutch or you're on
You know any one of the parkways
During commuter times and and you're moving at 20 30 miles an hour
Then I'm all for automated driving and I and I will and I will use it
But I need to answer your question. I I have not driven any very late
Sophisticated driving auto driving
cars to the cruise control comment, which I
I
Almost exactly opposite you with my
preference and my capability and desire to use cruise control, which I do it all time every time I can
the only
cruise control
System that is probably the safest one is the one I like the least which is
Because if I'm not paying attention and this goes against what I claim I'm doing all the time
I suddenly find myself
cruising along
Proper distance between the car ahead and me
But in cases that may be as much as five miles an hour below even a posted speed limit because of the
Self, you know these cruise the automatic cruise controls
Measure the distance between you and the car ahead and if the car ahead slows down
It slows your car down automatically and you can sit there and and be thinking about something
Other than driving and suddenly realize you've been going along in a lot of string of cars at 55 miles an hour
When you could be perfectly doing it without cruise control on driving at 65 or 70 as you probably are doing all the time
So we may carry this further
Until next time it is car keys with J. DeMarken and Robin Leach and happy
2026 to all our listeners car keys with Robin Leach and J. DeMarken is produced at the facilities of
WHDD 91.9 FM Robin Hood radio comm Sharon Connecticut
About this episode
Robin Leach and Jay de Marcken explore the current landscape of affordable cars in 2026, highlighting several models priced under $30,000, including the Kia K4, Nissan Sentra, and Toyota Corolla hybrid. They discuss the driving experience of these vehicles and the challenges of finding them in certain areas. The conversation also touches on the broader automotive market trends, including the disparity between high-end and budget vehicles, and the impact of political decisions on car prices. The duo shares personal anecdotes about driving and the evolution of automotive technology.
