A warranty is like a guarantee that the car will be fixed for free if something goes wrong within a certain time. However, it doesn't cover everything, so it's good to read the details.
Electrification means using electricity to power cars instead of just gasoline. This includes electric cars, hybrid cars that use both gas and electricity, and plug-in hybrids that can be charged from an outlet.
A hybrid car uses both a regular gas engine and an electric motor. This helps the car save fuel and produce fewer emissions than a regular gas-only car.
An electric vehicle is a car that runs only on electricity and has no gas engine. It doesn't produce any exhaust fumes, making it better for the environment.
The Kia Niro is a small SUV that uses a hybrid engine, which means it combines a gasoline engine with an electric motor to save fuel. It's a good option if you want a car that is easy to drive and gets great gas mileage.
A subcompact SUV is a small type of SUV that is easier to drive and park than bigger SUVs. They are great for people who want some extra space without the bulk of a larger vehicle.
The Kia K4 is a new compact car that offers good value for money. It's expected to be popular because it has a lower starting price compared to other cars in its class.
The out-the-door price is the final amount you pay when buying a car, including everything like taxes and fees. It's important to know this number so you understand the total cost.
The Honda Civic is a small car that many people like because it's dependable and saves on gas. It's a good choice for those who want a car that's easy to drive and maintain.
The Toyota Corolla is a small, affordable car that people trust to last a long time. It's known for being easy to drive and not costing too much to keep running.
A trim level is like a version of a car that comes with different features. For example, one version might have more luxury options than another, and that can change how much the car costs.
A certified pre-owned car is a used car that has been checked and approved by the manufacturer or dealer. It usually comes with a warranty, so it's a safer option to buy.
The Chevy Equinox EV is a new electric version of the Chevrolet Equinox, which is a popular SUV. It's designed to be a good choice for people who want an electric car with plenty of space and features.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is a new electric car that looks modern and has a lot of cool technology. It's a good option for people looking for an electric vehicle that stands out.
The Ford F-150 is a large truck that many people buy because it can do a lot of heavy work, like towing trailers or carrying big loads. It's popular because it's tough and reliable.
The Toyota Tundra is a big truck that can handle tough jobs and rough roads. It's also available as a hybrid, which means it can save on gas while still being strong.
The Kia Sorento is a type of SUV that can fit up to seven people, but it's smaller than many other SUVs that can also carry that many. It's a good option for families who don't need a huge vehicle all the time.
The Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport is a smaller SUV that looks sporty and is good for families. It has a lot of technology features and is comfortable to drive.
The Chevrolet Equinox is a small SUV that is popular for being roomy and good on gas. It's made in the same factory as the Buick Envision, which shows that GM is focusing on making more SUVs.
The Polestar 3 is an electric SUV, which means it's a bigger car that can carry more people and stuff. It's designed to be comfortable and eco-friendly.
A glass roof is a roof made of glass instead of metal. It lets in more light and can make the inside of the car feel more spacious. Some glass roofs can even change how much light comes through.
A dimming roof is a special type of glass roof that can change how much light comes through it. You can make it darker to block out the sun, which helps keep the car cooler.
The Dodge Charger is a big car that looks sporty and can go really fast. It's a good option for people who want something fun to drive but still need space for passengers.
A level 2 charger is a device that charges electric cars faster than regular home outlets. It's usually installed in garages and can fully charge a car in a few hours.
The Tesla Model Y is a popular electric SUV that can drive long distances on a single charge. It has many high-tech features and is known for being very efficient.
The Houston Auto Show is a big event where you can see many different cars and trucks. It's a fun place to learn about new vehicles and even try out some off-road experiences.
Ram makes tough trucks that are great for work and everyday driving. They're known for being strong and reliable, making them a favorite among truck lovers.
Polaris makes vehicles that are great for off-roading, like ATVs and side-by-sides. They're popular for outdoor adventures and are built to handle tough conditions.
LIVE
Welcome to another in-wheel time podcast
Welcome to the in-wheel time car talk show just ahead we talked to alex quanton with us news and world reports about the best cars for the money
plus
Jeff has his motor minute and i'll review the all new Polestar four
What yes, all new vehicle all new brand
It's all just ahead on the in-wheel time car talk show
And howdy along with mike out of this world mar is coming to us today from neaterville, texas where it's
90 degrees
It's always hot over there
We always need more jeb seakin chief engineer david aisley i've dealt armstrong so glad that you could join us on this
Turning in to be a chilly saturday. Yeah, and just if you're listening wherever you're listening around the world we have a
Hard freeze warning. Yeah, you're in fact that it's supposed to
Begin like at midnight tonight and go through
tuesday, yeah
Remember today tuesday, not pay tuesday, you know the little fun fact on that oklahoma is getting hit pretty hard
dallas getting hit pretty hard. We heard that from jack
oklahoma has
35
snow removal trucks
The whole state the whole state detroit michigan new york they have in the thousands
Yeah, so they're a little bit on your hand
You have found something else out that if the storm goes through the panhandler florida
They're going to use uh margarita salt for the roads
No, yeah, they can't use that
Oh
Well, and you know, if you've ever said when hell freezes over here's your chance
Go for it. Yep. Well the getting's good
Yeah, we were getting those. Do we have alex? Yes, sir
We do alex quanton us news and world report best cars for the money
We love talking to you about this sort of stuff. So who is it that gets to decide alex?
The best cars for the money who decides that? Well, it's a combination of
Our individual car reviews and how we rank them and also total cost of ownership over time
So five-year total cost of ownership and the cost of the average transaction price
So it's a data determined award. I mean our preferences. We test a lot of cars. We test hundreds of cars a year
so our basic observations go into the
Baseline ranking and then we cross-reference that with those two data points. So we want to the goal of these awards is to provide
A car that's affordable now affordable over time and which is also a good experience because I think we all know by a cheap car
You hate it. That's not really a good. That's not a good doubt
And then you're stuck with it for you that the remainder of the lease or you know, 12 year
And it just gets worse and worse the longer you keep it because you hate it so much
That's right. And I dealt with that not too long ago about three years ago
With a friend of mine that had a jag you off
That could not get the thing fixed
Costing thousands of dollars even including with the stupid warranty that she bought
It was just awful finally got rid of that thing
And then got into another one that's not really on the popular list either
But at least it it's not costing us as much money anymore
Yeah, you know, it's funny you should mention having to stick with things for a 12 year loan
So, you know this year
MSRP's were up this year obviously sales
Increased a little bit as you were just saying in the previous segment
You know that was because a lot of people sort of push forward
They're they're buying in the first half of the year thinking well things might get more expensive due to shifts in trade policies
so
You know also we're noticing that people are taking out longer and longer loans to
Make those payments go down just keep those monthly paid
Well, you know like seven year loans are like a 20 part of the mix now, which is really a little unsettling
So the goal with best cars for the for the money is to you know, give people a baseline of vehicles that we
Understand our good vehicles that they're affordable now. So if you guys want to talk about the winners the big winner here is kia
There's they won seven of these awards this year, which is like a really big
achievement
I think we all know that if you look at a kia now and you think back to like kias in like 2007 2008 you're like
Wow, is that really the same brand at all?
You know, they've made a huge investment in
technology and style
In electrification there's gas kia. There's hybrid kias on this list
There's plug-in hybrid kias on this list and there's an electric kia on this list
So do you remember when the kias came out and how ugly they were?
We all thought that they were really ugly and funky looking
I remember the first kias when they were selling only on the west coast like in the
Nights and they were really really basic and I think if you look back in that now and you think how on earth
But you know, they have really put a huge effort into improving the product and it shows
And i'll say like I've driven most of these cars and the last one when I drove was the kia nero
Which is our best subcompact SUV for the money this year
I drove that about a month ago
And uh, you know oftentimes as you guys know you you get loans from manufacturers and they give you the top trim with all the stuff
We actually decided we would try to sample a base model
Which was what we did and uh, you know the base model kia nero. It's a subcompact hybrid SUV
So it's pretty small
But I am 64 I can sit in the back just fine with the front seat adjusted for me. I got 50 miles per gallon out of it
Uh, you know, it looks pretty good. It's not exciting drive, but it's not bad to drive either
Uh, and you know, it has a 10 year powertrain warranty and like even with the most basic features on it
Like the car I had had only formats and new fails. Those were the only options. So under 30 k
I think maybe even under 29 k out the door
and um, you know for that like it's just a fantastic little vehicle and
I feel like, you know, I'm not sure that would have been possible for them 30 years ago
But uh, they've really up their game. It's I mean if you haven't tried one you should
Well, I have to tell you that yes, and you're correct with most of the vehicles that we get
At least our mid trim level if not full trim level
And those cars go down the same assembly line as the base model
And it's truly amazing when I do get something that's close to a base model
Ain't that bad the problem is finding them on a dealer lot because those are the ones that seem to go first
And they don't want to stock them because they don't make as much money off of
Yeah, I think uh, uh, a lot of folks would rather stock the mid grade and high trim just because you know, there's more money in it
Uh, but you know like even some of some of these vehicles even like the kia k4 is our best compact car for the money for 2026
That starts at like 22 for or something like that and even the top even the top
So then with the turbo, uh, I drove that in
Austin about a year and a half ago
Even that is out the door under 30k and they just added the kia k4 hatchback the the big uh media push that's happening right now for that
Uh, and the k4 hatchback only comes in like the top trims
So you can get it with the turbo or the fancier stuff, but even that's really affordable and um, you know, we had three good contenders with compact car
We had the k4 and the civic and the
Corolla and you know the civic is great vehicle and someone was asking me
I bought my civic and I love it and I love the civic too, but it does cost a little bit more than the k4 out the door
And the warranty isn't as long
So, you know, like you can get a good deal if you're willing to just shop for a little while, but you're right
base models are hard to find
And you know, we we would like it if automakers focused a little bit more on affordability
And all the automakers on this list have done exactly that
Well, and that seems to be a big growing trend
Bubbling up underneath the surface that they're realizing that the cost of vehicles has gotten out of touch
With reality
Muse car sales are going up because they're cheaper to buy and you get typically if you're looking for it
Much more in a trim level for the same amount of money granted the warranty generally isn't there
But I think that the manufacturers are going hey, we got this car
Let's back off of some of these trim levels and see if we can't get more of these cars in customers hands
Just because of the price alone
Yeah, I mean people are really clamoring for affordability and you know
Part of it is that some manufacturers have just abandoned like small cars
Very there's no domestic small cars anymore
And you know, there are a couple of domestic small crossovers like the Chevy Trax is one of our nominees for best subcompact SUV
I think it it's one of the runners up the Nissan kicks is the winner there
Uh, but you know like a lot of manufacturers like well, I'm not gonna continue
Building these smaller more affordable models and now people are like, where are they and
We're sort of stuck in like a used car hangover from the last five years
Exactly
Yeah, so like most of the time, you know, when someone's like, I really can't afford a new car
What do you recommend? I say buy a certified pre-owned car. I bought
Pre-owned cars in the past in fact, I have a certified pre-owned Buick in my driveway in my with my other cars
There you go
You know, but the problem is that cpo cars are in relatively short supply
So the price difference sometimes isn't really that much between that and a new vehicle and people are like, well, what do I do now?
I'm stretched and everything's expensive
Yeah, you talked about how these awards are given out and the the numbers of the vehicles that are purchased
Are there certain pockets of the country that are buying more of these?
Like is it more of the west coast? Is it more of the southeast?
I mean, can you actually look at that data and say, okay
The key is our purchase more in this particular part of the country versus another part
You know, most of the mainstream vehicles most of the gas powered and hybrid vehicles the sales numbers are pretty uniform
I would say that, you know, uh, kia maybe has more penetration in urban areas than
Deeply rural areas, but you know, there's also fewer buyers in very rural areas. So
It's really mostly the electrics where we see more regional kind of things going on
So we have two electrics on this list. The shedi ikunoxy v is the best compact electric SUV
For the money this year and the kia ev9 is the best mid-size electric SUV for the year
And you might be wondering why did we break them up into sizes and that's basically because you know
In years past we would have like one best electric SUV or
one best
hybrid SUV and
There's a lot of electric SUVs and hybrid SUVs now
And you know, not everybody's life is going to fit in a kia nero
Back in the EVs like I live in Seattle. I'm in Washington, DC today
And I'm a little envious of your cold snap in Texas because it's 17 degrees
But uh, you know in seattle like the nearest cities are like portland, vancouver, british, columbia and spokane
Spokane is like six and a half hours drive and beyond that you're probably going to fly because anything else is more than a day
And so in seattle like most people are not driving more than 300 miles of the clip and an ev works perfectly
Well, it's temperate most of the year the electricity is cheap, but it's not like that in other places
So right in hampshire or montana, you know the case for it is much less
So I think you know, those are great values and and they're great cars for the money
You know, we were particularly surprised at the Chevy Equinox EV that that beat out like the Hyundai ionic 5 and you know
Little heavy hitters
But those the appeal of those vehicles is a little more niche just because not everybody can live with them
And you know in some places it's easier to have an electric in other places. It's harder
Well, you know one of the things that I think is really
indicative of
The cost of cars these days is the average price now average meaning across the board average
$50,000 for a new vehicle if you can find something for 30, you're doing good
Yeah, the ATPs
crested 50 in
September of last year now they've come down a little like I think this in december we saw some softening
So it's just under 50 now
but you know most of the analysts
JP Morgan and
Cox automotive I think Cox automotive predicted that MSRPs would rise four to eight percent in 2026
Which is you know, like we're already they're already high, you know
So all of these vehicles are you can find the whole list at cars.usd.com
They're all meant to be like
Here's something you can actually really buy now that isn't going to come anywhere near that price
Or if if it's a larger vehicle and we did include some larger vehicles and I get to that in a second
You know, it's at least a very good value for what it is
So I wanted to just add like there's two really huge vehicles on this list
So Ford won the best large SUV category for the money
With the expedition and they also won the best full-size truck for the money and you know, some people were asking me
At the DC auto show. I'm in town for the DC auto show where we gave out these awards
They were saying oh, well, you know the expedition cost like 62 grand. How can it be like, you know, affordable?
But you know, there are some people who actually need an SUV like that and
Relative to the other ones it has a lower total cost of ownership Ford has sort of reworked the trims of the expedition to make the
Affordable ones more affordable
And we really felt that it was the best vehicle for the money there the ship suburban is close behind
but
You know and the the Ford f-150, you know, if you need a full-size truck, you need a full-size truck, right?
A lot of people want a full-size truck and full-size trucks are probably
The area where the the price can inflate the most over that base price and f-150s are super configurable
But Ford doesn't like skimp on the basic models anymore
Like even the base models have pretty good infotainment
And even if you buy like an stx you can get the logo package and stuff
So it's a really good value for the money and uh, you know, like I think uh, Toyota tundra was second there
It's a hybrid so you're you're saving money there and f-150 also offers a hybrid
So, you know, like the whole point of this is to briot provide people with a good guide for like
Hey, this is actually going to be a good value for your for your dollar
Then some of the other ones like that for instance the mid-size suv. Where did you guys come out with that?
Yeah, so the mid-size suvs we kind of broke it up into two row and three row because some yes
Don't want the third. They don't like I'm never going to use that. I don't want it
Please don't give it to me and other people are like I need it
But I only need it like every now and then so the key serento is our best three row mid-size suv
And you might be surprised because the serento is fairly small for a three row suv
Yeah, but most of the time people are buying that third row for occasional use and like the serento has a really low
price point relative to the other entries in that class
That's I would not fit comfortably in that third row if you're if I was going to buy a third row that I actually wanted to sit in
Probably buy something larger than that
But if you're just like picking up kids from soccer practice
So you have occasional like, you know a couple kids in the in the car occasionally
Like that's actually a pretty good vehicle that'll save you money over time
It gets better my better fuel mileage than a lot of other
Three row suvs and it's just more affordable the best two row suv was the Nissan morano
Best two row suv for the money it beat out the Volkswagen Atlas cross sport
Which is another unsung vehicle that probably deserves more attention looks like an Audi q8 doesn't quite drive like one
But it's pretty good vehicle
But we thought the morano was best a because the costs were lower
So like the total cost of ownership is lower the msrp is lower
It's pretty roomy and it's also super stylish, which is a kind of other
Value add it comes with a lot of safety features. So all the Nissan like adaptive cruise control things like that are in there
And it's just a really good package for the money the morano and the kicks
Which are both on this list were redesigned just last year. So they're new and fresh and
You know, I don't think we could go wrong with one of those purchases coming out strong
Yep
Do we have to have a subscription to us news and world report to get this information?
You do not just come to cars.us news.com. You can find all the winners there and you know, you can do all your car shopping research there
You can like
Spec out a car on our site. You can get in touch with a dealer
There's all kinds of things you can do on our site. We on the editorial side. We just give you the research you need
We've driven most of the cars and most of the time, you know, I think most automotive outlets are like
They're about like, oh
So 60 and 518 seconds and it's super fast
We're more about like, hey, can you actually buy this for the money and is it good for the money?
And that's these are one of our premier awards for that reason. So it would last for your need
One of the other things I'm just going to throw in there is that
All the dealers that I know of are stocked full of all sorts of vehicles
Chances, are you going to be able to find a good brand new vehicle on the lot? Yeah, wherever you are
Yeah, this is a good time too. It's like sort of my post christmas, uh, you know hangover and um
You know, there we also do deals things so you can research like what the latest
Manufacturer offerings or incentives are on site. So cars.usnews.com
Alex you're our guy. Is it come are you coming to houston next week for for our show?
Unfortunately, I'm not although I do really like regional auto shows because uh, you can if you're just a regular consumer
You know a little like regional auto shows a great place to like go check out a car
Sit in it. Maybe you can get like a test-loop drive without having to go
Right a lot of Houston auto show opens uh thursday and wins through next sunday
Alex great to talk to you. We really appreciate you and let's talk again soon
Thanks guys. Take care. Thank you. Thank you. Alex one us news and world report just ahead
Just a motor minute and a review of the new Polestar four. All right. Yep. I got to drive one
I'll tell you all about when the in-wheel time car talk show continues right after this
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If I should join us for the live in real time car talk show every saturday
Usually tend to noon central time on unreal time dot com youtube and facebook
next weekend
Nine to noon why because we are going to be live from the houston auto boat of show that you just heard
And we'll be doing our broadcasts from there and come and find us
Do we know where we're going to be yet mr. Morris inside the show?
I think we're going to be about the same place we have been from what I gather from rochelle
We still start their layout that well they just started their layout uh friday
So there'll be somebody somebody knows where we're going to be but we don't yeah
Yeah, we should be there right there by the ram uh and the jeep track and the ram
Uh display I suspect uh tomorrow and monday. They're not going to be doing very much of anything
They're probably going to be thrashing on tuesday. They're probably going to be really pumping it to get to get that
Yeah, because if they try and move in on monday, it's gonna gotta get the cars over there get it cleaned up and get it moved in on the carpet
It's going to be a mess stay off the roads. Nobody's gonna be on the road. Yeah
All right, so time out for the motor minute. Yeah, we teased this earlier about the buick
And I I was getting some advertisements through facebook and all that about my view about my vision and how
You can get the 2026 and it's like 10 grand more than when I paid for it
I'm thinking why is this and then boom this article comes out that gm is moving
The buick and vision with my vehicle is built in china. They're moving it here to the us
So gm will build the third generation buick and vision in america
It will be built alongside the chevrolet equinox at the fairfax assembly plant
Virginia for fairfax
Kansas came to city fairfax assembly
Production will begin in 28 and the demise of the bolt
So they're taking the bolt off it could just run on the same line
The chinese built buick and vision got slammed by trump's tariffs and the company recently hiked the prices by three grand
Which was a little low there more this followed an earlier increase
Which means the cost entry shot up to 45 grand or 45 hundred dollars in less than a year more money
As a result the 2026 and vision now starts at 41 000 dollars
And the 1995 dollar destination fee
Pretty steep and the price increases appear to have started weighing in on sales
No kidding
They were down 11.4 percent last year to 41 000 or 41 000 units in the fourth quarter sales plummeted 60 percent
Almost 61 percent even with the steep decline the vision finished the year as duick's third best selling vehicle. Thank you
I like your car. I do too. I love my car. It's it's it's perfect for me. So
They announced this the ev was just relaunched that the the bolt was just relaunched
But now they're going to take it away a fairfax assembly plant will be retooled to build the chevrolet equinox starting 27
This suggests that the bolt will only be sticking around for about another year
So to get rid of the Chevy bolt out of that plant
I don't know if they'll be building in another plant or not
But out of that plant they're going to replace it with the view of vision
And I appreciate that the the car styling is good
All the styling cues I like a couple of minor things in the interior where things go like events your bed location
Is stuff could be a little bit better, but I love car. I get 32 miles again. That's what I'm talking about right there
Yeah, I have to figure out how much of it out though
my god
Do you people know what that means? I some don't I do well we do yes
I think the bigger problem would be getting the ls
The ls yeah, well there is that thank you mic
All right time now for this hour's car review. I had a chance to drive the all new 2026
Polestar
for
dual motor
Now let me go back here just for a moment
Because when Polestar
began a few years ago
It was under the Volvo umbrella
Well that ended a long time ago and I was not aware of that because I had to do my research
Who builds the Polestar?
It's a company called geely motors geely motors
china
It becomes in several versions the Polestar two three and four
I had the four that had dual motors
It can get it with the single motor
Because it's all electric standard electric suv is what the government calls it
Uh
See it's including a driver five
Built in south korea with 96
Chinese parts. I'm not exactly sure what's going on there. Maybe they just needed another assembly plant
Hey, we've got one open over here in south korea, so we'll build it over here
But 96 chinese parts. Can you tell the difference? I I can't tell the difference
Uh, and so whatever it's all new
exterior features
There's no rear window
What?
That kind of comes no
There's no rear window if you want to look at the back you got a back camera back there
Um, it
It sounds like it's weird looking but on the back if you're looking at the vehicle from the back
It doesn't look weird how they did that
paint
And uh, the way that they've got there is a good picture over there. It looks like it's got a rear window, doesn't it?
Yeah, well, it doesn't so forget that
Uh split headlights
Horizontal split in the headlights interesting and cool stylish horizontal tail lights that kind of go along with the headlights
Uh, it does have a glass roof
And there is no shape now
Obviously, I drove it a couple of weeks ago and the weather was just fine
and I got a little tip
of the fact that
I parked it for about an hour
Total sunshine and I got in it was a little warm in there
Well because it was turned off. Okay, if you turn it on it's got one of those roofs that dims
It has yeah that
When it sees the sunlight when it's running
It dims it kind of like a tint is on it. It's really cool how it works like that. I don't know
But I drove it basically in the early morning and after the sun went down
So that's something that you might want to consider. It's especially here in houston texas where we are
It could be a problem without a kind of shade up there
Again, what could use improvement shade for the glass roof interior highlights?
15.4 inch centered display. Oh, wow, you know how big that is. That's huge
Yes
It has a scandinavian style minimalist design
and
You'll have to do the research on it because where you would normally have knobs and buttons and that sort of stuff
No, you got to go to the screen. Canoes. Canoes. It could be canoes. Sure
Awesome materials throughout it's well laid out. It's really kind of cool if you get into it
But you know, I know that I'm an older guy and I kind of like some knobs for certain things like
Volume on the radio. You're coming back. Yeah. Well, and that's the new thing is they they've realized that
Yeah, not everybody's all into that
Cargo trunk room small with the rear seats up as you can imagine what I like about it
It's cool
Environment inside when you get it what it could use improvement
Again, some buttons to control often used features
The problem here lies that eyes have to go off the road to locate the functions via a screen
And stop think about that. I think that you'll agree with me for many of the functions
It's really not necessary other than to clean up the dashboard engine
Dual electric motors that turn out 544 horsepower and 506 pound feet of torque transmission
None direct drive
Range 310 miles tell you about more of that in just a second
Miles per gallon range in the city 90 highway 80 for a combined of 85 miles per gallon E
Uh, I got I don't know how many miles, but I did have to stop and put a dc charge on it
That cost me 35 dollars and took it almost an hour out of my day
That's a problem for me personally
What could use improvement a level 2 charger in my garage would be nice
So next time you send me one of those down to drive, please install that charger
Right handling nice ride although like other electrics it felt heavy. What could use improve it?
I don't know load pretty good. Yes overall base trim price 62 9
Price is tested
67 for you can get in one of these for a base model price at 56 for now
Competitors hunday ionic 9 suv for 58 953
hunday ionic 6 sedan
37 850 and the tesla model y suv starts at 44
990 so it does have competition next week i'll review the toyota suprac with 400 horsepower
Through that bmw straight six in it. Whoo. You like cars race cars with a license plate on the back of it
Here is your ticket go-kart. Yeah. Hey, if you'd like to get in touch with us send us an email the address is info at in
Wheel time.com. We are back after this quick break
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That's it for this podcast episode of the in wheel time car show
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About this episode
A deep dive into the best cars for the money, featuring insights from Alex Quinton of U.S. News and World Report. The discussion highlights Kia's impressive performance, winning seven awards this year, and the evolving landscape of affordable vehicles. The hosts also touch on the challenges of finding base models, the impact of rising car prices, and the importance of total cost of ownership. Additionally, a review of the new Polestar 4 showcases its unique design and electric capabilities, sparking conversation about the future of EVs and consumer preferences.
New-car prices keep climbing, loan terms keep stretching, and shoppers are left to figure out what “value” really means. We bring on Alex from U.S. News & World Report to unpack the Best Cars for the Money awards, where expert road tests meet five-year ownership costs and real transaction data. The result is a practical shortlist of vehicles you can actually buy and enjoy without fearing the next payment or repair bill.
We walk through the standouts. Kia’s dramatic rise from budget to benchmark shows up across gas, hybrid, PHEV, and EV segments, with thoughtful packaging and long warranties that protect your wallet. In compact cars, the K4 challenges class leaders on price and coverage. For SUVs, we parse needs honestly: the Nissan Murano shines as a two-row value with style and standard safety, while the Kia Sorento makes sense as a smaller, occasional-use three-row that trims fuel and purchase costs. For buyers who truly need bigger rigs, Ford’s Expedition and F-150 deliver lower lifetime costs relative to peers without skimping on core features at the entry point.
We also go deep on EV reality. Regional charging, climate, and daily mileage matter, which is why compact options like the Chevy Equinox EV can be a sweet spot in cities, while larger families may see the Kia EV9 as the right fit. Then we get hands-on with the Polestar 4 Dual Motor: big power, clean design, a camera-based rear view, and a minimal interface that trades knobs for screens. We talk range, charging time, and how a dimmable glass roof feels in hot sun, plus how it stacks up against Tesla Model Y and Hyundai’s Ioniq lineup.
Looking for clarity in a confusing market? You’ll get data-backed picks, real-world buying tips, and straight talk on how to stretch your dollars without hating your daily drive. If this helped your search, follow the show, share with a friend who’s car-shopping, and leave a quick review to tell us your favorite value pick.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
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