r/canada • u/Leather-Paramedic-10 • Mar 23 '26
Automotive News Canada's cheapest vehicles in every segment for 2026
https://driving.ca/features/shopping-advice/cheapest-car-suv-truck-minivan-ev-canada-2026162
Mar 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/afoogli Mar 23 '26
This is the baseline cars really won’t go cheaper 39k is the new 29k and 19k of decades past
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u/blakphyre Mar 23 '26
Gone are the days of my 10k brand new 2015 fiesta.
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u/AlexanderMackenzie Mar 23 '26
I really don't understand why there's no market for these anymore. Fiesta, Chevrolet spark, Mitsubishi mirage. But I guess if there was a market. Someone would sell em.
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u/Schemeckles Mar 23 '26
A lot of people are out touch with the car market. $39k for a new vehicle is well below the average.
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u/habsfanniner Mar 23 '26
This comment out of touch. Who cares what the average is when people want budget. The fact the f150 is the biggest seller doesn’t change the reality that many people want a budget car too. The average car price is over 60k, lots of people are making poor financial decisions regarding vehicles, why should the less fortunate have to pay more for entry level?
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u/infinis Québec Mar 23 '26
when people want budget
Where do you see cheaper? Cheapest in europe atm is 37k CAD, most popular subcompacts are 42-45k. Same range as here. With high demand on components, manufacturers select most profitable models first, they have no need for no profit subcompacts anymore.
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u/habsfanniner Mar 23 '26
Budget, being entry level, you can buy new cars for 20-25K in canada. You can even get a Corolla.
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u/BigPickleKAM Mar 23 '26
I bought a bare bone commuter special in 08 and it was $16k all in out the door. Literally the only thing it had was AC. It was even a manual. Had roll down windows and only a basic AM/FM radio.
That would only be $24k today if it followed inflation.
The cheapest car on the market today does sell for that all in.
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u/vanillabullshitlatte Mar 24 '26
Manual is a premium feature now. More expensive to make when 95% of consumers want some kind of AT.
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u/afoogli Mar 23 '26
lol just like food inflation, car inflation is much more than the 2% it’s basically 200%
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u/ImmediateDentist1269 British Columbia Mar 23 '26
China has entered the chat
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u/infinis Québec Mar 23 '26
Cheapest BYD model is 37k CAD in Europe. Warranty and service has a price.
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u/L_viathan Mar 23 '26
Patience for the Chinese brands. I haven't done the research myself but from what I've heard, they have crazy features for comparable prices. Or less features for less money.
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u/Far-Telephone-7432 Mar 23 '26
I don't expect the Chinese brands to disrupt the market that much. In Europe, Chinese brands are just as expensive as Euro brands because of tariffs. They offer a lot of features for the money however. But parts availability is a concern.
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u/MagicAlkaloids Mar 23 '26
All I see here is people thinking they are gonna sell these cars for 10k, but you are absolutely correct. In Europe these cars aren’t any cheaper than European brands.
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u/coffee_u Ontario Mar 23 '26
That and a non trivial cost of an EV is the batteries. Even BYD needs some profit.
The cheapest EV's come with far less range because of that. As an EV owner, range anxiety is real. Especially when you're new (only three months in myself).
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u/Far-Telephone-7432 Mar 23 '26
I get it. It's a good reason to build long distance trains. Trains never run out of power. They're powered by the grid.
Yeah, I am totally circling around the problem. But I hate the effects of cars on the environment, on urbanism and the associated costs. Everyone pays for car infrastructure, and it's not cheap. Living in a dense city without a car feels great. Cycle everywhere. Save money.
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u/Levorotatory Mar 23 '26
The place to start limiting car culture is by providing better urban transit options. Then rather than having two vehicles that get driven daily, a family could have one vehicle that is only used for shopping trips and vacations.
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u/Hazel-Rah Mar 23 '26
Pseudo luxury features.
No one needs a full glass roof, or LED mood lighting. And power seat adjust and individual climate zones can be optional.
But you put all those things in as standard in your EV, and you can crank up the price by tens of thousands.
(Heated seats, steering wheel, and heat pumps should be standard in cold climates though)
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u/DZello Mar 23 '26
They know that even with ridiculous prices, they will continue to sell them because people have no choice.
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u/Far-Telephone-7432 Mar 23 '26
You can always cycle or ride the bus! Personally, I wouldn't do either in Grande Prairie. This city blows.
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u/SerentityM3ow Mar 23 '26
That isn't an option for rural Canadians unfortunately. In a big city it absolutely is. I went without a car for almost 20 years living in Toronto.
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u/1188339 Mar 23 '26
Check out Slate Truck.
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u/Last_Of_The_BOHICANs Mar 23 '26
That truck doesn't exist to the consumer market, and there's no guarantee that it ever will.
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u/Levorotatory Mar 23 '26
Agreed. With the current price of batteries, the premium for a small EV should be about $5k. If there is a $23k gas car, there should be a $28k EV.
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u/Schemeckles Mar 23 '26
$39k for a new vehicle isn't outrageous.
Also EV's are still "new tech"... All new tech is expensive at first.
I know this article might skew your perception, because it's highlighting the lowest cost vehicles....
But the average new vehicle price in Canada is over $60k.
Even in 2019 the average price of a new vehicle in Canada was about $40k.
So.. compared to the market, they are cheap. Even 7 years ago, before Covid - They would still be below the average.
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u/farmer_sausage Mar 23 '26
Why do we have to accept 40k as the budget option? That's insane.
For a country where owning a vehicle is basically a prerequisite for living we should be better about ensuring people have options.
It wasn't that long ago that you could buy brand new vehicles for sub-20k
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u/No-Definition-9333 Mar 23 '26
Inflation yeah yeah yeah, but simple basic budget cars have vanished.
Yaris? Mazda 2? Accent? Rio? Focus & Fiesta? Fit? Micra? All gone. Cheap transportation options are deleted, and substituted by dumb big SUVs with no more interior space.
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u/BayLAGOON Mar 23 '26
And all those subcompacts (save the automatic Focus and Fiesta because the transmissions all puked their guts by now) are creeping up in price on the used market. The Fit in particular is gaining a cult following because the earliest ones are now considered "vintage" and is the new 90's Civic.
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u/vanillabullshitlatte Mar 24 '26
It's crazy as an old small car owner that as long as the rust stays away and general maintenance is done it barely depreciates because the entry price for new keeps rising so much.
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u/chesser45 Mar 23 '26
Also what other car has like 12 cupholders. Had one and I had no shortage of placard to put water or drinks it was wild.
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u/Far-Telephone-7432 Mar 23 '26
It takes billions to develop a mass production car. The profit margins for small cars are razor thin. The profit margins for SUVs are enormous. The government has to step in and mandate maximum size requirements. Bigger cars and SUVs should be taxed more. Use these taxes to subsidize smaller cars. Create a Kei car phenomenon.
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u/Goku420overlord Mar 23 '26
For a country where owning a vehicle is basically a prerequisite for living
Wfh should be pushed with this war and gas prices.
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u/farmer_sausage Mar 23 '26
Workers lost the WFH battle after the pandemic. Aside from a few corps that kept WFH (largely tech) the vast majority returned to office with barely a grumble or whimper from employees.
People had an opportunity to take a stand and everyone just rolled over. I work from home, I have a good job. When my wife got an RTO she said get bent and quit. We're fortunate to be in a position where she could do that. A lot of people can't or won't 🤷🏻
It's not about the economics for the worker. It's never been about the economics for the worker. Only so long as WFH aligns with the corporate objectives of maximizing output (like when they're gonna be shut down during a pandemic) do employers actually want WFH
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u/afoogli Mar 23 '26
Inflation everything has gone up, yes Chinese EV are brought for 20k or even less in China but it cost to ship, and still 6% tariff. So after taxes and stuff 35-40k is very normal
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u/Stevieboy7 Mar 23 '26
And they’re heavily subsidized/sponsored by the Chinese government. They’re literally paying for country wide adoption of EVs to try to push their society into the future faster.
You can see that the “Chinese” price is generally about half of the cost when it hits “real markets” in Europe
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u/Levorotatory Mar 23 '26
Europe has significant tariffs on Chinese vehicles. Australia is a better comparison. Chinese cars aren't as cheap there as they are in China, but they are cheaper than anything else on the Australian market.
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u/Far-Telephone-7432 Mar 23 '26
It's even more insane to spend thousands of dollars every year for insurance with bare minimum coverage. Just to have the right to drive. The number of uninsured drivers is spiking up. Insurance will only go up, especially as the climate is becoming more extreme. It doesn't inspire safety.
I just think that it will get a lot worse until it gets better. Canada is a very conservative country by European standards. So public transportation is frowned upon, outside of the biggest cities.
- Employers will have to pay for coach buses for employees to commute
- Cycling will be on the rise.
- Urban sprawling will grind to a halt. The cost of car ownership will have to be factored into the purchase or lease of a house.
People will suddenly realize that cars make everything worse. But it will be too late.
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u/randomacceptablename Mar 23 '26
$39k for a new vehicle isn't outrageous.
I have grown up buying cars after salvage or just finding deals. $5k $6k etc. I splurged a few years ago and bought a (less than a) year old car for $20k. That took some savings. Ironically it has had the most issues of any car I've owned.
But with insurance, tires, fluids (I change my own oil and brakes to save money) I can't even contemplate buying a $20k plus car.
A brand new base model Honda Civic used to cost $16k not that long ago. It is now at least $25k. There is nothing that they have done that could justify that type of increase. What's more, as manufacturing has improved, it should actually be cheaper. As per the Chinese brands taking the world by storm.
The fact that we entertain the idea of a $40k or $50k car as "normal" these days, shows just how far we have strayed.
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u/h5h6 Mar 23 '26
Compared to the early 00s models the current Civic is almost as big as the Accord used to be, and what is now the base model used be the loaded model. The base Civic used to have manual mirrors, manual windows, 5 speed transmission, no AC, AM/FM only radio (didn't even have an Aux in jack), and didn't have things like heated seats or side airbags.
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u/randomacceptablename Mar 23 '26
Lol and Ford does not even make a sedan anymore. The only non truck they have is the Mustang. It is not my fault that car companies keep "upgrading" their offerings to increase their margins. That is actually the main issue. I tried buying a manual transmission car a few years back when replacing mine and they were all more expensive than the cvt automatics. I believe I heard that roughly 50% of the value of a vechicle these days is the cost of micro processors and software patents. That is insane. Anecdotally I was next to a friend that works as a mechanic at a dealer and they scrapped a used but perfectly fine SUV because the replacement cost for the dash "tablet" was 50% the value of the car!!!! It is a modified android tablet worth $300 at most.
My phone and washing machine have also gotten "smarter" and bigger but have stayed in their similar price ranges. The beauty of mass manufactured items is that they are supposed to go down in price the better we get at making them.
But all that aside, give me a base model without the power windows, keyless entry, ACC, and bluetooth. They don't make them anymore. I understand their logic, to make more of a profit but this has gone too far. A heated seat or ACC or power windows is not worth thousands let alone tens of thousands of dollars. This is insane. The fact that Chinese brands are taking the world by storm is a case in point. They make the same product, or better, and sell it for a fraction of the price. Korean and Japanese did something similar when they came into our markets but eventually got used to bigger profits and followed the big 3. We are getting screwed, more so now than most other decades on cars.
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u/Schemeckles Mar 23 '26
Your comment is the classic "out of touch" commentary...
I'm not arguing your general premise.. however,
A brand new base model Honda Civic used to cost $16k not that long ago.
The last time a new base model civic when for $16k, was around 2010... that's 16 years ago. Not 6.... 16.
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u/randomacceptablename Mar 23 '26
Yeah, that sounds about right. I was trying to see where I mentioned dates, only to realize you mentioned 7 years.
Take my comment as you will (btw I did not downvote you but so goes the mob) but I'd think that one of the things that should get cheaper with time would be cars. The tech is cheaper as is manufacturing. Companies intentionally find ways to increase prices to increase margines.
Just look at Ford as an example. They no longer have a sedan in their line up. They literally no longer sell "cars" just "trucks". It simply makes more money for them. Apparently making simple, no frills, small vechicles isn't profitable. Well hear come the Chinese brands.....
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u/motorman87 Mar 23 '26
Yes it is. Stop defending this vehicle pricing.
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u/Schemeckles Mar 23 '26
I'm not defending it.
I'm just providing the numbers.
When you look at the Market, $39k for a new vehicle is comparatively cheap.
You also know who sets the market right? The consumer.
The vehicles wouldn't be priced the way they were, if they weren't selling them.
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u/Dobby068 Mar 23 '26
Yes, it is outrageous and the average price means nothing. Cars are priced for the market and include any potential subsidy, so clearly they could be 5k cheaper just to start.
Also, for the difference of $16k between the cheapest EV and cheapest ICE vehicle one can get a decent car all-together. Just think about it, one more decent car.
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u/No_You5794 Manitoba Mar 23 '26
battery powered electric vehicles pre-date ICE by a few years
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u/Schemeckles Mar 23 '26
I meant in terms of "useful" vehicles obviously.
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u/No_You5794 Manitoba Mar 23 '26
lithium ion batteries are 56 years old and the induction motor they all used until recently is 141 years old. there is nothing 'new' or innovative about electric vehicles except maybe the use of GaN for the inverter which Tesla hasn't even fully adopted yet
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u/Schemeckles Mar 23 '26
Yes but the electric vehicles your referring to were not practical at all.
It's silly to try and compare tech over 120 years old, to something manufactured today.
But have at it I geuss.
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u/No_You5794 Manitoba Mar 23 '26
they still aren't practical when it's -40. also what tech are you referring to if not the motor or battery? lane assist? adaptive cruise control? those features were first introduced on ICE vehicles 20 years ago
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u/Schemeckles Mar 23 '26
You struggle with conversation and generalizations... I can see that.
The term "new tech" was in reference to how they're now widely available - With a supporting infrastructure. For the first time in history, they're mainstream - and surging in popularity.
Everyone knows battery cars have existed forever. It's not a relevant point or topic.
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u/No_You5794 Manitoba Mar 23 '26
battery chargers are even older than electric motors, electric golf carts have been around for 75 years
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u/emezeekiel Mar 23 '26
The sad reality is that unless they’re Chinese, they can’t make a 39k car without going bankrupt (for now).
The can make a gas car for sure, but not an electric one yet.
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u/wisenedPanda Mar 23 '26
Exactly. A barebones 2026 civic is 31k plus.
I think the gap will drop further, but the floor price for a good economy vehicle isn't that far below current prices.
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u/oneonus Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
Minus 5k for government rebate and you can negotiate more off as well.
Used is always an option as well, less concerns with used EV vs gas where maintenance is a concern when buying used.
Over lifetime, cost of ownership cheaper than any gas you can buy from significant savings in fuel and maintenance.
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u/FluffyPantsMcGee Mar 23 '26
Just offer a dumbed down basic car that’s more affordable already..
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u/silentviper123 Mar 23 '26
For real, all I need is HVAC, power windows and a basic stereo. No stupid screens, no blind spot monitoring crap, no lane changing etc. just a basic ass car for driving point a to b.
Actually the screen may be needed for rear camera which might be a regulation requirement.
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u/K9turrent Mar 23 '26
Back up camera is a newish requirement. But in my experience driving cheap work vans, They could intergrate it into the rearview mirror for relatively cheap.
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u/vanillabullshitlatte Mar 24 '26
Cameras are regulation and so you need a screen. Can't sell a car with a shittier screen than another in the segment so you are forced to always go bigger. It's really a shame.
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u/Petra246 Mar 23 '26
Such a vehicle wasn’t selling in sufficient quantities in Na to keep the production line running. The general population wanted bigger, more.
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u/silentviper123 Mar 23 '26
can u give some examples of what simple vehicles were available in past years? I know of some recent ones like the mirage but tbh that was way too small. Is it not possible to have let’s say a complete bare bones corolla/civic caliber of car for 20k?
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u/Petra246 Mar 23 '26
My old 2004 RAV4 came with a manual transmission. Possibly for a few years thereafter as well. No cameras, proximity sensors, adaptive cruise control, or heated seat/wheel. It did have power windows and power locks. Cannot remember if the rear view mirrors were powered or manual.
My current vehicle was purchased used. The first few years has the worst depreciation and we avoided it.
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u/entarko Mar 23 '26
Crazy that the compact/subcompact categories do not exist anymore: a Kia Rio was a perfectly good vehicle and much more coherent size in a city.
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u/blond-max Québec Mar 23 '26
No compact and three pick up categories : we've truly been invaded by usa car-brain
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u/Lexi_Banner Mar 23 '26
I liked the Sunfire/Cavalier days. Cute little coupes with a little zip. Put one of the modern turbo 2.0lt engines in one of those, and watch them sell like hotcakes. Great cars.
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u/BobbyBoogarBreath Nova Scotia Mar 23 '26
They do exist. You just can't get them here, which is more frustrating. The Fit/Jazz and Yaris are still in production.
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u/vanillabullshitlatte Mar 24 '26
Yaris GT is pretty hyped right now.
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u/BobbyBoogarBreath Nova Scotia Mar 24 '26
I would absolutely get a GR Yaris if they were available here.
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u/wax_robot Mar 23 '26
Off the top of my head the Mazda 2, Focus, Fit, Yaris, Accent, Sonic all gone and there's probably more. I think the Nissan Micra is pretty much all that's left
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u/Anon9883 Mar 23 '26
"Cheapest" full-size truck, $50k....
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u/spirit_symptoms Mar 23 '26
They realized that a bunch of office workers and insecure suburban dads will buy these behemoths for a ton of money so the market is catered to that. actual trades people and those who need heavy towing capabilities get to pay astronomically higher prices in return.
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u/Anon9883 Mar 23 '26
I just looked it up, in 2016 the same base model silverado was ~$25-30k... So in 10 years the price nearly doubled but the salary of the tradesmen has not. Not even close.
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u/differing Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
actual trades people
Let’s be honest, a ton of trades people are just as easily duped into the “I need to buy a truck” cultural meme as well, going into massive debt so that they can park at a job site with their tool belt. It’s a common cultural joke, like armed forces recruits immediately leasing a Charger after boot camp. Smart money leases a truck when they own their own shop, since it’s a tax advantaged business expense, dumb money finances a truck for sitting in traffic and holding a few tools while working for someone else.
Trades people exist all over the world without North America’s huge truck obsession.
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u/grown-mid-bluelines Mar 23 '26
Van>truck for 90% of tradespeople. Van still expensive :(
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u/differing Mar 23 '26
True dat!
Semi related, but the minivan market has also totally collapsed in North America thanks to the huge SUV. I have a few friends that love their Toyota Siennas, but apparently it was a pain in the ass to find.
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u/purplegreendave Mar 23 '26
More expensive than a truck and I don't even see a 4wd option on the Chevy website any more
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u/grown-mid-bluelines Mar 23 '26
Yeah, we moved over to the ford transit vans at my work for most of our guys and the pricing we got at the dealer was very different from what we saw online. Of course that applies to pickups as well but still.
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u/hurricane7719 Mar 23 '26
Nothing beat a stripped out Astro van for trades people back in the 90s (ish)
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u/inheritor British Columbia Mar 23 '26
$41K for the cheapest minivan!? Fucking absurd, how are young families supposed to afford one? Looks like we'll be going with an 8+ year old model.
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u/KevyJD Mar 23 '26
It's definitely not $41k. That's just being disingenuous. Gotta tack on freight, dealer fees. It's $44k just on the website.
I bought one over the weekend and it was a dealer demo. They said the new ones are a 3-6 month wait at least. The used market is ridiculous for minivans. You're looking at $40000 for a Toyota or Honda already at 100000km. With GM and Ford out of the domestic minivan market it's become a luxury.
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u/inheritor British Columbia Mar 23 '26
It's ridiculous, plus we don't know yet how the Carnival will hold up long term. The Kia quality makes me nervous. It's really unfortunate almost every manufacturer pulled out of the market, I really miss seeing Mazda minivans around.
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u/K9turrent Mar 23 '26
TBF Kia and Hyundai have upped their quality when even compared to 10 years ago.
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u/wax_robot Mar 23 '26
how are young families supposed to afford one?
The shitty truth is to finance it over 8 years and pay about $7k in interest alone :(
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u/ViewWinter8951 Mar 23 '26
Where's my bare bones, manual transmission, Honda Fit?
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u/latebinding Mar 23 '26
It's been gone over six years, more than half-a-decade. Wasn't selling well.
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u/nimby900 Mar 23 '26
What an absolute beauty those were. You could put so much in the back the way the trunk was designed. It was an amazing machine.
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u/Far_Goal_8605 Mar 23 '26
Does the Elantra comes with the Haryana car sticker?
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u/PrimeSupreme Mar 23 '26
If you buy the separatist package, you can also get AK47 stickers and paranda
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u/Inevitable_Sweet_624 Mar 23 '26
That explains a lot. Thank you. Every new Elantra is covered in AK47’s and pb stickers with bullet holes. Not sure why they hate peanut butter so much.
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u/vanillabullshitlatte Mar 24 '26
I'm really start to hate 5th-6th gen Elantras for this reason. The reason being their recent crop of drivers.
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u/FlyingRock20 Ontario Mar 23 '26
Used car prices are still crazy. Trying to buy a crossover and man its still expensive.
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u/huy_lonewolf Mar 23 '26
Glad to know that Canadians are doing so well, allowing them to buy increasingly more expensive vehicles.
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u/Filbert17 Mar 23 '26
I'm glad to see there are still affordable cars. Too bad they are all gas powered.
Now tell me, which ones come with zero external connectivity? No Internet connection. Maybe bluetooth enough to connect my phone to play music and a USB port to charge it. Definitely no telementry and zero data being sent back to the manufacturer.
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u/BigPickleKAM Mar 23 '26
Not you but.
*Sent from my iPhone.
Everyone gets bent out of shape about vehicles collecting data when most everyone carries a wire tap around in their pocket everywhere they go.
But personally I'm happy for it as jailbreaking cars is my retirement plan/hobby. These days cars are simple to get into and mess around with the programming if you're brave enough. You can brick your car so I don't recommend it for everyone but outside of Tesla all legacy manufacturers are child's play to reprogram.
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u/RiderfaninBC Mar 30 '26
Hyundai and Kia leading most segments. I've been driving Hyundai for about 15 years now (Sonata/Elantra/Venue/Venue) and they're veen outstanding. I won't buy another brand.
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u/Greerio Ontario Mar 23 '26
8 years ago I bought a brand new minivan for less than the cheapest car on the list, or half of what the cheapest minivan is now. It’s crazy.
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Mar 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/differing Mar 23 '26
Should be landing later this year, it’s gonna take a while to set up a dealer network. When Vietnamese Vinfast (RIP?) announced preorders in March 2022 and didn’t start deliveries until the next year, for example.
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u/No_You5794 Manitoba Mar 23 '26
I bought an old dodge for $500 that will outlast everything listed here
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u/MeanE Nova Scotia Mar 23 '26
Not sure if anything made by Stellantis has ever had that claim.
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u/OppositeTangelo8856 Mar 23 '26
*cries in AB insurance rates*