Kelley Lists Top 10 Coolest Cars Under $18K

POSTED: 8:48 am EDT April 6, 2006

IRVINE, Calif. -- If you don't want to pay top dollar for a new car, there's good news for you.

Kelley Blue Book has released a list of what it calls top-10 cool, affordable new vehicles. The prices start at about $15,500, topping out under $18,000.

Cars on the list include the new Dodge Caliber, the Mazda3 and the Chevrolet HHR as well as some more familiar names like the Kia Sportage and the Honda Civic.

Kelley Blue Book said it chose the $18,000 ceiling because it means a monthly payment of $350 or less over five years.

Editor Jack Nerad said the economy cars offer a number of key features previously available only in luxury cars, like an I-Pod connection.

Kelley Blue Book may be best known for listing the price of used cars.

Top 10

Top 10 coolest new cars selling under $18,000, according to Kelley Blue Book:


Blue Book Value
2007 Toyota Yaris: N/A
2006 Scion xB: $15,524
2007 Dodge Caliber: $15,985
2006 Kia Sportage: $16,134
Chevrolet HHR: $16,472
Ford Fusion: $17,084
2006 Nissan Frontier King Cab: $17,179
2006 Mazda3: $17,860
2006 Honda Civic: $17,860
2006 Scion tC: $17,960

(Source: Kelley Blue Book)

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.

Edited to set as Breaking News. 8)

I like these little lsits. It again shows Toyota is doing something right with 3 entires, everyone else only having 1 .... but ... it is the 18,000 and under category, whats the 18k and up look like?

After really skimming through the list... who is it that thinks the Kia Sportage is "cool"? Just the KBB people?

Are cars like clubs and restaurants - as soon as they appear on any kind of "coolest" list they aren't cool anymore?

Seriously though, how many more spots on the list would they have to add so they could include all cars under 18K?

All that's missing is the base Ford Ranger, the Accent and whatever the name of the car Suzuki makes is, and the Chevy Aveo.

I wish pontiac would update the feature set of the vibe to match that Dodge Caliber. Add a little scion flair like Ipod/mp3 connectors and those glovebox cup holders from the dodge, and you'd have 4 toyotas on the list.

so the scion tC is cool like the Dodge Caliber, the Kia Sportage, the Chevrolet HHR, and the Ford Fusion?

all we're missing is the PT Cruiser and we'd be uber-nerds.

hahah i heard this on the radio this morning, they repeated word for word everything up to the ipod connection. i was sittin in my car thinking the tC was probably on the list as well.

totally not surprised by the Yaris being #1. I saw a red Sportback the other day at the dealership, and that car is just hottness on wheels.

Yaris is not #1... if you notice, its listed by price.

ahhh you're right

still No. 1 in my book

I saw the Yaris the other day at Elk Grove Scion. It's a pretty cool car. It has the front end like the '07 Camry. It's pretty cool.

The tC should be the #1 cheap car.

PLEASE stop extolling the virtues of the tC... :pray: :pray: :pray:

there's already too many of them on the road as it is. where it used to be "cool, look, another tC!!" now when I look it's usually some HS girl putting on makeup as she's driving down the LIE.

:doh:

i saw consumer guide is rating the yaris as one of the slowest cars out matching the honda insight at 2 out of 10

what do you mean? the yaris is fast.

yup, because people buying the Yaris are buying it because its fast...

from what i can tell the xa is still the better buy compared to the yaris. just so many things are standard and when you add those to the yaris you get the xa price range.

:no: I drove a Yaris from wichita ks to Ballwin MO and back and it beats the xa the suspension is actually more comfortable than the corolla and it has ample power but the xa is a great car

Of all of those cars listed. The only other one I would consider (besides the tC) would be the Mazda3! But it's obvious where that fork in the road lead me!

I'm not sure how much stock I put in a list that includes the HHR. Maybe it's just me. :lalala:

Yeah. it looks like the executives at kbb, juat had to fill a gap in a magazine and pulled those stats out of their ___, correct me if im wrong, but it seems like they are only lacking a couple of cars in the us lat retail under 18,000. This is only based on what a couple of old farts sitting behind desks thought of one afternoon while sitting around watching the price is right.haha, j/k. the only cars they came close on being right about, is the scion xb and tc. the others aren't that cool, except the new civic, its alright (other than the si, it bad ___, hands down). SNOWMAN

the words in the brackets were suposed to read (its bas a s s)

Not sure about the Yaris being "cool."
http://www.toyota.com/yaris/exterior.html

That's like calling the Echo cool.

^^

Its all about the sportback.

its cheap and it shows in the intwerior design. note that aslo the sport model is not the hatch it is the sedan version only.

hmm... the car only costs 11k.... i wouldnt expect it to be anything BUT cheap lol.

I'm actually considering trading in my 3 month old tC for a 2dr manual Yaris at the moment. The Yaris looks cool (not the 4dr), I think 0-60 in 8.4 is plenty fast, and the gas milage would be a HUGE improvement.

Ok, so this is the top ten cars that are under $18K... there's about... what, maybe 40 cars available in the US at that price?

"Top Ten" just isn't as elite as it sounds in this price range...

How did the ford fusion make the list??

that cruise is not offered on the lift-back?????
(I won't leave home without it me thinks)

^ Ehh, just go aftermarket. That's what all the xB'ers have to do, anyway :)

COOL COOL CARS! I have quite a few Yaris that come into my dealer. They sell FAST. If you want info on one, let me know.

COOL COOL CARS! I have quite a few Yaris that come into my dealer. They sell FAST. If you want info on one, let me know.

Are the 2-doors out yet? and how fast are they compared to a power to weight ratio?