At $26,400, the Slate Pickup Is a Bargain, but These 10 New Cars and SUVs Are Cheaper

Given that we live in a time when the average new vehicle price is over $49,000, Slate’s $26,400 MSRP for its pickup truck sounds like a mighty good deal. And no doubt, it is, especially considering you’re getting an all-electric vehicle for less than $30,000 that can haul up to 1,550 pounds in the bed and tow up to 2,000 pounds.

If those aren’t your priorities, however, and all you need is the cheapest new vehicle possible regardless of powertrain, here are 10 alternatives you can buy for less than the Slate pickup. It’s also worth noting that all of these cars and small SUVs come with a host of features and technologies that you can’t get on the base Slate, you know, like power windows, and paint, and an infotainment system, and ... you get the point.

We applaud Slate for its efforts thus far. There’s a huge amount of buzz around the truck, and rightly so in many respects. But the reality is that many new car buyers aren’t in the market for a small, bare-bones EV truck (one that can start to get expensive once you start adding on the options). For those of you who aren’t, these 10 affordable models could fit the bill.

If you need the most cargo room for the least money, it’s hard to beat the 2026
Hyundai Venue SE. You won’t get a manual, but you will get 18.7 cubic feet of cargo room with the second-row seats in place. Fold them down, however, and you get a decent 31.9 cubic feet to fit all the stuff you need for $3,750 less than the Slate pickup. That expansion will give you up to 59 inches of length between the front seat backs and liftgate and up to 39 inches of width between the wheelwells.

The Slate pickup does come off with an advantage here with its 60-inch length and 42.9-inch-wide cargo box, along with the fact that there is no roof over the bed. You’ll also go farther on a tank of gas than you will on a full battery in the cheap EV truck. The Venue’s 29/33/31 mpg ratings give it up to 369 miles of range, beating both the cheapest vehicle on our list and the Slate.

And unlike the Slate, you get an infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. You also get a standard six-speaker sound system and dual USB ports up front. Although it isn’t the biggest in its class, the Venue’s 41.3 inches of front legroom and 34.3 inches of rear legroom put it in the middle of the pack. But those other subcompact SUVs cost far more than $22,650 to start.

If you’re looking for an SUV that feels more like an old-school lifted station wagon, the 2026 Chevrolet Trax is your answer. At $23,495, you’re getting 25.6 cubic feet of cargo room, and you can keep the second-row seats up while still besting the Hyundai Venue by a significant margin. Drop the seats, and you get 54.1 cubic feet, with 5.5 feet of floor space when the rear seats are folded, 0.5 foot longer than the Slate pickup’s bed length. It’s also 40 inches wide wheelwell to wheelwell, so that’s the only cargo-space measurement the Slate beats, thanks to 2.9 inches more room between the Slate’s haunches. The other advantage, of course, is the open nature of a pickup bed versus the extended roofline of an SUV like the Trax.

Is range another concern? Then the good news is that the 2026 Chevrolet Trax will go farther. Its 1.2-liter turbocharged I-3 isn’t exactly super efficient, but it still returns 28/31/29 mpg for a range of up to 383 miles from its 13.2-gallon tank. Like the Venue, the Trax comes standard with an 8.0-inch infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but you’ll be missing out a bit with its standard four-speaker system. At least you still get two front-row USB ports.

One of the more out-there vehicles on this list as far as style goes, the 2026 Kia K4 will get people talking. It will also impress those same people because it doesn’t look like a $23,535 car in base LX form. Although we’ve had some issues with our 2025 long-termer, the K4 still presents a good mix of value for the money by offering adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and lane keep assist as part of its standard tech package. But as a sedan, cargo room lands in the middle of the pack, with 14.6 cubic feet available in the trunk. It also offers 42.3 inches of front legroom and 38.0 inches in the rear. Both figures are still better, if only just, than those of its direct competitors, the Honda Civic sedan and Toyota Corolla sedan.

Infotainment is another area where the K4 shines over the Slate pickup, which has none unless you option it up. Even this base K4 comes with a 12.3-inch touchscreen offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with a standard four-speaker sound system. It also comes standard with dual USB-C ports for both front and rear passengers. But it does give up some ground in fuel economy, as its 1.6-liter turbocharged I-4 and eight-speed dual-clutch transmission return 26/33/28 mpg and up to 347 miles of range from its 12.4-gallon fuel tank.

With a major redesign for 2026, the Nissan Sentra is another vehicle that belies its sub-$24,000 starting price. It’s also ranked number three in MotorTrend’s Best Compact Sedans, ahead of the aforementioned Kia K4 and Toyota Corolla sedan. Nissan also knows how to make a small car feel bigger to a driver, with 44.0 inches of front legroom, but that comes at the expense of rear legroom, which measures 34.8 inches, 3.2 inches shorter than the K4 sedan. It also loses out on trunk space, as the Sentra comes with 14.3 cubic feet.

But when it comes to features, it’s hard to beat what the Sentra offers as standard, including high-beam assist, lane departure prevention, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, traffic sign recognition, and adaptive cruise control. It also comes with a 12.3-inch infotainment screen as standard and three USB-C ports, though only wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are offered. The S also comes standard with a four-speaker audio system. As far as range is concerned, the Sentra S will return around 409 miles on a full 12.4-gallon tank thanks to its 2.0-liter I-4 and CVT. That setup allows the 2026 Sentra to return 30/38/33 mpg on the EPA cycle.

As the cousin to the Kia K4, the Hyundai Elantra comes away with some good value for the money, but it will feel very basic and cheap in base SE form. The good news is that you’re going to get a lot of passenger room inside, with 42.3 inches of front legroom and 38.0 inches in the rear, besting the Honda Civic sedan in rear legroom while matching it up front.

But what it makes up for in rear legroom, it gives away in front, trailing the Nissan Sentra by 1.7 inches. It also just loses out to the Nissan in cargo room, with 14.2 cubic feet of trunk space versus the Sentra’s 14.3 and the Civic sedan’s 14.8.

Unlike the Kia K4, however, the Elantra SE comes with an 8.0-inch infotainment screen as standard, though at least you still get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. You’ll also need to make do with only two USB ports up front on this base model, along with a six-speaker sound system. For power, it comes standard with a 2.0-liter I-4 and a CVT sending power to the front wheels. If offers up to 422 miles of range from its 12.4-gallon tank while returning 30/40/34 mpg.

Another vehicle Nissan redesigned for 2025 was its subcompact Kicks SUV. But what really separates it from everything else on this list and the Slate pickup is its available AWD system, which still keeps it under $26,000. Yes, you can get other subcompact crossovers with AWD, but none comes in under the Slate pickup’s $26,400 price tag, and certainly not at just over $25,000. Although the AWD option is great, it doesn’t make the Kicks any quicker. If speed is a concern, you might want to stick with the FWD version and save yourself $1,500.

As for cargo capacity, the Kicks isn’t exactly lacking thanks to its subcompact SUV design. It offers up to 30.0 cubic feet of cargo space with the second-row seats up and up to 60.0 cubic feet with them folded, along with up to 55.7 inches of total length behind the front seats and as much as 42 inches of width between the rear wheelwells. Those numbers do shrink a bit in the AWD version to make room for the different rear suspension and additional drivetrain components.

Neither version of the 2026 Kicks is exactly frugal when it comes to fuel economy. Even though it uses the same engine and CVT as the Sentra, the FWD model manages only 369 miles from its 11.9-gallon tank because it returns 28/35/31 mpg. The AWD version drops those numbers by just 1 mpg, but it does get a 12.4-gallon tank and up to 372 miles of range.

As for standard tech, the Kicks offers high-beam assist, automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, and adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go functionality. The Kicks S also comes with a standard 12.3-inch infotainment display, a four-speaker audio system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and two front USB-C ports for charging and connectivity.

Although it’s not the most exciting Corolla you can buy today, the 2026 LE
sedan offers the practicality and dependability you expect from a Toyota. It’s just unfortunate that it doesn’t feel more modern for its $24,420 price tag. Don’t get us wrong, it’s a good car with comfortable seats and a plush suspension, but the cabin design and infotainment feel dated, as they haven’t changed much since 2020. The LE also feels like a cheap rental car thanks to its low-rent materials and subpar ergonomics. As such, it presently ranks fifth in MotorTrend’s compact sedan rankings, behind the Kia K4, Nissan Sentra, and Hyundai Elantra, all of which are cheaper.

You get a standard 8.0-inch infotainment screen and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while the front seats get a pair of USB-C charging ports. Those tunes play through a six-speaker sound system, so audio is a bit better than in the Sentra’s four-speaker setup.

Then there’s the spectacular fuel economy the Corolla sedan pulls off. Its 2.0-liter I-4 and CVT sip fuel to stretch your drive to 462 miles on a 13.2-gallon tank, with EPA ratings of 32/41/35 mpg.

As the other Chevrolet on this list, the Trailblazer LS does offer an AWD option for $2,000 more, but that pushes it over the $26,400 ceiling of the Slate pickup. That’s why we’re focusing on the FWD version, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s also a very different SUV from the Trax, as the Trailblazer is more SUV-like in both design and execution.

Still, it nearly matches the Trax in cargo capacity, offering up to 25.3 cubic feet with the second row in use and up to 54.4 cubic feet when folded. What that hides, however, is that the Trailblazer has up to 65 inches of length between the cargo door and front seat backs and 42 inches of width between the wheelwells. That makes it just shy of an inch narrower but 5 inches longer than the Slate pickup’s cargo box with the tailgate up. Front passengers will feel a bit cramped, however, as the 2026 Trailblazer offers only 40.9 inches of front legroom, an inch less than the Honda HR-V. Those in the second row, however, get 39.0 inches of rear legroom, besting the HR-V by 1.3 inches.

The 2026 Trailblazer LS doesn’t have the biggest infotainment screen, but it still beats quite a few of the low-buck vehicles mentioned here with its standard 11.0-inch unit. And although it offers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the LS trim pumps those tunes through a four-speaker sound system. It also comes standard with lane keep assist, automatic high-beams, and automatic emergency braking with front pedestrian braking, though adaptive cruise control is only available on the far more expensive RS FWD trim and above.

It offers up to 409 miles of range from its 13.2-gallon fuel tank, but the 1.3-liter turbocharged I-3 and CVT are good for only 29/33/31 mpg.

The only European vehicle you can get for under $26,400 is the 2026 Volkswagen Jetta S. (It might not be for long, as we’re hearing the Jetta is on its way out for America.) But it definitely lets you feel where the money was spent, thanks to lackluster materials inside the cabin. The good news is that most people will feel comfortable inside and will have plenty of space for their gear, with 14.1 cubic feet of cargo room under the trunklid. Its 41.1 inches of front legroom and 37.4 inches of rear legroom are matched only by the more expensive Civic sedan, while the Corolla offers an inch more front legroom and only 13.1 cubic feet of cargo room.

The S trim also feels a bit dated with its standard 8.0-inch infotainment screen and requires plugging into one of the two standard front USB-C ports. Those tunes also come out of a standard four-speaker sound system.

At least you get adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian monitoring, and lane keep assist as standard driver assist features. Despite using a 1.5-liter turbocharged I-4 with an eight-speed automatic transmission, the Jetta S returns 29/40/34 mpg and can travel up to 449 miles on a full 13.2-gallon tank.

There was a time and a place when the Honda Civic sedan would have topped this list. But in 2026, it lands as the most expensive option here, just sneaking under our $26,400 price cap. It also sits at the top of MotorTrend’s Best Compact Sedans ranking and has consistently been a Car of the Year finalist. That said, it’s still a pricey vehicle for what you’re getting at $25,890. It does offer one of the best interior packages in the segment, with 42.3 inches of front legroom, 37.4 inches of rear legroom, and up to 14.8 cubic feet of trunk space.

It does give up some ground in infotainment, thanks to its 7.0-inch screen and lack of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but you can still get that connectivity through the standard dual front USB-C ports, with the left one handling data and charging. The 2026 Civic Sedan LX also comes standard with Honda Sensing driver assist features, including automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, automatic high-beams, and traffic sign recognition.

Fuel economy is easily one of the Civic’s strongest points compared to the rest of this list. With its 2.0-liter I-4 and CVT, the Civic sedan returns 32/41/36 mpg and can travel up to 446 miles on a full 12.4-gallon tank.