Cars are expensive at every stage of their life cycle. The up-front cost of a new vehicle is massive, so for most buyers, financing is necessary, which adds the cost of interest to the vehicle’s ticket price.
Insurance and gas are ongoing costs, while maintenance and repair expenses pop up periodically and can vary quite a bit in price depending on the issue.
Of all of these costs, two are the easiest to control — purchase price and gas expenditure. By choosing a more affordable new car, a buyer pays a lower overall price and saves on interest by paying the vehicle off faster than they would have been able to had it been more expensive.
And by choosing a fuel-efficient car, a buyer can save significantly on gas over the long term, even if these savings seem nominal during each individual visit to the pump.
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All this being said, even after choosing a cheaper, more fuel-efficient model, a buyer’s costs can skyrocket if they end up with an unreliable vehicle. That’s why choosing a model with a longstanding reputation for reliability is equally important.
How to find good deals on reliable and fuel-efficient cars
One excellent resource for car shoppers is Consumer Reports, a non-profit product testing and consumer advocacy group that evaluates cars and other consumer products via direct testing and member surveys.
CR’s auto specialists test cars at a facility in Connecticut that includes six miles of private track designed specifically for evaluating auto performance. The org purchases vehicles anonymously and at full price to ensure maximum objectivity, and each vehicle is independently evaluated for everything from safety and fuel efficiency to handling and interior design.
Related: How does Consumer Reports make money? The product-testing nonprofit explained
Additionally, CR surveys its millions of members annually for qualitative information on how different car models tend to perform over time, what sorts of issues tend to arise in specific models, and how much these issues cost to repair.
The ten models below each carry the “Consumer Reports Recommended” distinction in addition to being fuel-efficient and affordable within their vehicle categories. The CR-recommended badge is given to models that demonstrate great test performance as well as better-than-average reliability, a trait measured in part by the collated survey reports of real owners over time.
Related: The best new cars of 2025 according to Consumer Reports, KBB & Edmunds
Consumer Reports’ list of 10 cheap vehicles with good fuel economy
These 10 models were chosen by Consumer Reports for standing out from their category peers in terms of price and fuel efficiency.
Alexander-93, CC-BY-SA-4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Luxury compact car: BMW 3 Series 2025
- Lowest price: $45,950
- MSRP: $47,950
- MPG: Overall 29 / City 19 / Hwy 44 mpg
Midsized car: Honda Accord 2025
- Lowest price: $28,295
- MSRP: $30,560
- MPG: Overall 32 / City 21 / Hwy 46 mpg
Midsized car: Toyota Camry 2025
- Lowest price: $28,700
- MSRP: $31,000
- MPG: Overall 48 / City 40 / Hwy 54 mpg
Luxury Midsized car: Lexus ES Hybrid 2025
- Lowest price: $41,020
- MSRP: $48,610
- MPG: Overall 42 / City 32 / Hwy 52 mpg
More auto content:
- These 5 brands make the best used cars, according to Consumer Reports
- Top 10 electric cars that aren’t Tesla, based on Consumer Reports data
- Consumer Reports’ best American cars, trucks, & SUVs of 2025
Large car: Toyota Crown 2025
- Lowest price: $41,440
- MSRP: $45,950
- MPG: Overall 42 / City 33 / Hwy 49 mpg
Subcompact SUV: Buick Encore GX 2025
- Lowest price: $26,000
- MSRP: $33,100
- MPG: Overall 26 / City 18 / Hwy 33 mpg
Luxury Coupe SUV: BMW X2 2025
- Lowest price: $42,850
- MSRP: $42,850
- MPG: Overall 29 / City 18 / Hwy 45 mpg
Compact SUV: Honda CR-V Hybrid 2025
- Lowest price: $34,650
- MSRP: $36,150
- MPG: Overall 35 / City 31 / Hwy 38 mpg
Compact SUV: Subaru Forester 2025
- Lowest price: $29,995
- MSRP: $32,310
- MPG: Overall 29 / City 20 / Hwy 39 mpg
Midsize pickup truck: Honda Ridgeline 2025
- Lowest price: $40,150
- MSRP: $40,150
- MPG: Overall 20 / City 13 / Hwy 29 mpg
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