It’s long gone, as are the days of sub-$15,000 Holden Barinas and Hyundai Excels. Long gone Heck, long gone are Barinas and Excels (and other cheap fare like the Ford Fiesta, Kia Rio and Mitsubishi Mirage), etc.
One model is under $20,000 and you’ll get one model in 2026, a price tag that costs just under the . But while familiar nameplates have disappeared from our market, new ones have replaced them.
All of the models launched over the last few years are BYD, Chery, GAC, GM and Mahindra — all from BNYD in 2009 to under $30,000 before on-road costs.
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Is Prefer a more familiar brand? Hyundai and Kia, who became famous in Australia on bargain-basement city cars, still provide vehicles for affordable buyers. At this cost, Mazda, MG, Nissan, Suzuki and Toyota also offer an model or two.
At one point or another, the members of the childcareman.xyz editorial team have gotten behind the wheel of all of these. If we were to put so much in our garages, what would we actually put?
Marton Pettendy: Hyundai i30 Sedan
That’s the entry-level Hyundai i30 Sedan Sedan for less than $30k before on-roads I’d go for the biggest car (not SUV) out there – and that’s what it is.
This may not be the taste of its rear-end design and could be based on an old-school naturally aspirated 2 (as it is) or by everyone’s tastes. 0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, but it’s also in line with a pretty good CVT auto, incredibly well built chassis and the new Hyundai group platform which brings to its latest safety and multimedia equipment.
Having its biggest body (the new i30 Sedan is more than the second-generation Camry!), acres of interior and boot space, seven years warranty if you service with Hyundai, base e30 sedan has an unrivalled value at $30,000 before on-road costs.
Sadly, the only small cars (as opposed to micro vehicles or light cars, or even light/small SUVs) with a sub-$30k list price are the MG 5 sedan ($24,888 drive-away), the BYD Dolphin electric hatch ($29,990 plus ORCs); stocks last the non-hybrid Toyota Corolla Ascent Sport hatch(29.610 plusORC).
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Explore the Hyundai i30 showroom
Damion Smy: BYD Atto 1
A BYD Atto 1 Premium ($27,990) in Cosmos Black (an extra $500) with the optional ceramic window tint ($725) will be used to complete the total at $29,215 plus on-road costs.
Atto 1 strikes a balance between low-budget appeal, funkiness and fun-to-drive character without the pretentiousness of many EVs. But if you’re considering one but also tad anxious about less familiar brands, at this price point it doesn’t feel as risky as expensive electric cars.
More smiles and a bigger 43-year, with more grunt. The Premium is the 2kWh battery, it lifts the even cheaper Atto 1 Essential’s ($23,990 plus on-road costs) 220km WLTP range to 310km–the main reason I would choose the Premium – and swaps 15-inch wheels for 16-in alloys among other upgrades.
At its 9. It’s cheap fun and a gateway to many Australians into EV ownership, I included 1-second claimed 0-100km/h time isn’t anything to cry about.
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Explore the BYD Atto 1 showroom
Ben Zachariah: Kia Picanto
My answer is simple a Toyota HiLux Workmate 42 just 12 months ago. It may even be resale value, and could even have strong, practical, reliable, manual, rear-wheel drive. And that’s not the case anymore for us to have a .
While there are a few good options in 2026, I don’t have too many that really pull on my heart strings. I’m a great shout, the BYD Atto 1 would probably be the best commuter and GAC Emzoom was impressive at launch… but in the end it will get i.e. an elite Kian Picanto GT-Line with clutch?
I was driving a manual 1990 Suzuki Swift Cino years ago and there’s something free about buzzing around the streets of Melbourne in simplest, no-frills city car.
I love the Picanto’s interior and exterior looks (read I wouldn’t be embarrassed to get in & out of it) with wireless Apple CarPlay. What is the most important thing you need, really?
Similarly, I like Kia’s seven-year unlimited-kilometre warranty and given that petrol-powered manual cars are dying out quickly, wouldn’t it be surprising if there is some demand for these things in the coming years*
It’s not going to last much longer, but kudos is with Kia for continuing to give us a crazy little city car with.
*This is not financial advice.
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Explore the Kia Picanto showroom
Josh Nevett: Kia Picanto/BYD Atto 1
I’ve always loved little, light city cars and this seems like the perfect time to put them up in lights.
This is the true value hero of the Kia Picantor, which has long been a “value heron” and remains so with the lowest asking price for any new car on the market. Aside from that, it’s a happy car to drive because of its lack of weight and the possibility of putting on.
Further, Picanto buyers can be comforted by knowing they are able to take advantage of the seven-year warranty and strong dealer network that comes with Kia ownership.
And if you want to be crazy, what is the point of this segment? Well, there’s another compelling one in this section BYD Atto 1
A perfect alternative for city-slickers who want the response, quietness and performance of an electric powertrain is the fully electric Atto 1 positioned to compete against the so-called Picanto (along with its full size) but don’t want to pay a high price.
Sure, you’ll get 200-300km of range on a full charge and BYD hasn’t yet established its local reputation to the level of Kia but if those blips bother you then the Picanto is an ideal fallback.
Ultimately, both cars are fun, interesting and fit for purpose – either choose or you’ll enjoy the day.
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Explore the BYD Atto 1 showroom
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Explore the Kia Picanto showroom
Max Davies: Suzuki Swift GLX
There are a lot of good options for this budget, so it’s wrong that I don’t mention the Kia Picanto, Hyundai i30 Sedan or the promising BYD Atto 1 – by the way.
No one really jump out at me when it comes to something I’d like buying. It is just a little small, an i30 in higher-trim form and the Atto 1 doesn’t have enough range for the long distance driving I regularly drive.
Hence, I choose the best Suzuki Swift GLX at $29,490 before on-road costs. As good as it is for no-frills motoring these days, but still has enough punch from its character three-pot engine to not feel like a drag (compared to something like the MG 3 anyway).
It’s also cute, has a good interior, wireless CarPlay and is very effective in real life. If I’m driving a daily driver, that’s all I need to do is that. Even if the manual in the standard Swift would be more fun, I want the automatic transmission to cope with Melbourne’d normally awful traffic.
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Explore the Suzuki Swift showroom
James Wong: Kia Picanto GT-Line manual
The price and buy is cheap, perfectly sized for the city to fit in with a long warranty.’ Why is the Picanto one of the best-value new-car purchases today? And even better, it’s still available with a manual transmission.
This is a small, cheap car that looks like the GT-Line grade and feels quite upmarket.’ There has been something to say about the simple pleasures of driving’very basic cars’ (i.e.
Despite being large and strong, it’s fun and zippy to drive in traffic; the GT-Line goodies mean that doesn’t look like a bargain-basement special.
MORE:
Explore the Kia Picanto showroom
William Stopford: Mazda 2 or Hyundai i30 Sedan
Well, I’m nothing if not consistent.
My initial idea for this was the Mazda 2, and I then visited Hyundai website to see how much an i30 Sedan starts at. If I were to ask this question in October 2024, what was my answer? You got it the Mazda 2 and Hyundai i30 Sedan.
I’m a bit disappointed in this segment, and there have been some changes in the past year.’ But I am still confident of my choices.
Despite the fact that it is quite a bit higher than its base price after being axed by Pure and Pure SP grades for model year 2025, that’s what does this mean? The Hyundai i30 Sedan has also gone up slightly, but at $30,000 before on-road costs on the dot it just squeezes in.
Hence, why are these two people again? They’re cars I would be happy driving every day. A fun little car to drive, with plenty of standard safety equipment, the Mazda 2 is disappointed only by its ancient infotainment; the Hyundai i30 has bags for the money and is very nice to live with.
In one year, ask me to re-invent the phrase “I’m asking for my last word” in a year. Eventually, I’ll have been driving a GAC Emzoom or some other new Chinese product (or something else) and changed my tune. Perhaps MG will have updated the GM 3 Hybrid+, an otherwise great little hatch disappointed by some power loss issue or perhaps just that.
But for now, I can’t go past the Mazda 2 and the Hyundai i30 Sedan.
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Explore the Hyundai i30 showroom
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Explore the Mazda 2 showroom
Sean Lander: The bus
There’s literally nothing under $30,000 that I find remotely interesting or worthwhile.
In this segment, most of the cars in this area are old – so they’re not very safe. Certainly, they may be given a five-star safety rating but those ratings are often maintained for years by.
But if I had to choose, you can get an entry-level Toyota Yaris for a shave under $30k. When you decide to buy a real car, it’s pretty inoffensive (other than the asking price) and you know when you can sell it to your Nan.
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Explore the Toyota Yaris showroom
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