Latest / Auto Collabs / Why Cheap Cars Can Still Be Great Cars with Alex Kwanten | Public Policy Day 2026

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Why Cheap Cars Can Still Be Great Cars with Alex Kwanten | Public Policy Day 2026 · Auto Collabs

• 0:00
  On this episode of Auto Collabs, we're live at the Washington, DC Auto Show for Public Policy Day 2026, brought to you by our friends at Safe Ride. [upbeat music] We're here with Alex Quantin, man- managing editor.
• 0:15
  Managing editor. Managing editor. US News. US News Autos. That's correct. Okay. Amazing. So you just gave out a bunch of awards for the, the most afford- like, the, the best value cars of the year.
• 0:25
  But we also found out that you have a little bit of a history on the retail side that isn't just reporting on things, but you're, like, in the shuffle with the dealers and at the NADA show and with Automotive News. Yeah.
• 0:36
  For a long time, I was a freelancer for Automotive News, and I contributed to Fix Ops Journal. Uh- Oh, yeah. Our favorite... saw a lot of service directors and fix ops directors in my past.
• 0:45
  And, uh, hey, fix ops people, love you, so. We see you. [laughs] Yeah. That's right. I saw- Look, look, fi- fix ops is a big heart. I've both- All day...
• 0:52
  I mean, you started in fix ops, and I'm always like, fix ops just doesn't get the attention that it needs, you know?
• 0:56
  Well, you know, they're, like, uh, under the radar, but very, very important to everybody's bottom line. So- Yeah. Yeah. I would say. They, they deserve shout-outs. Yeah.
• 1:04
  Okay, let's talk, we've been talking about, a lot about affordability, and you just handed out a bunch of awards. We did. And the two things go together. Yes. So our awards are the Best Cars for The Money awards.
• 1:14
  There you go. We do these awards every year, and they are a focus on affordability, but it's not just affordability up front. It's also, like, over time, and- Cost of ownership.
• 1:22
  You know, it's basically we cross-reference our basic review score, which is just, you know, our opinion of the car, with, uh, total cost of ownership data and ATP data from the last year.
• 1:32
  So, like, how much does it really sell for? 'Cause the ATP may not reflect the MSRP. Right. And how much does it cost over time? Like, is it gonna nickel and dime you to death? Whatever.
• 1:43
  So really, to get one of these awards, it has to be a good car, it has to be affordable up front, and it has to be affordable over time.
• 1:49
  What are the most significant factors impacting, uh, ve- vehicle cost of ownership, like, over time right now? You know, with transitions to EV or the changes in the vehicle, the vehicle technology.
• 2:03
  Where, where are people spending the most money, and how are manufacturers a- addressing the problem of long-term cost of ownership? Sure. So over time, it's usually service, insurance, and fuel.
• 2:15
  Those are the big three, right? So insurance cost is factored into total cost of ownership, so if a car costs a lot to insure, it's not gonna be one of these winners.
• 2:22
  However, uh, you know, over time, like, it, it depends on how much technology goes into the car. I used to think, like, oh, you know, I like, uh, Audi 5000s, right?
• 2:32
  But an Audi 5000 is a car you don't want to have if you [laughs] don't wanna spend any money, right? Sorry, Audi. This is an old car. Don't, don't feel bad.
• 2:41
  Um, you know, the more technology there is in a car, usually, the more things there are to break, although it depends on the quality of the vehicle, the assembly quality over time.
• 2:49
  We have a pretty good track record of tracking reliability and ownership experience with the cars.
• 2:54
  So if something really has a pretty rotten reliability record, or the maintenance cost is really high, we'll notice that in data from our own data and also data from our partners.
• 3:02
  So we get some data from Vincentric, uh, and we also have pow, uh, partners at J.D. Power and, and other places, so. Okay, so tell us, uh, who came out on top this year? Yeah.
• 3:13
  So we had, we expanded the categories this year. So last year we had 13, but you know, people are shopping for different things and, and there's a lot more hybrids and plug-in hybrids now, so- Right...
• 3:24
  like, in the, in-- I think, I looked back at like 2017, 2018, and there were maybe like eight or nine hybrid SUVs total, and that included, like, things that weren't really SUVs, like the Pacifica Hybrid. Right. Yeah.
• 3:36
  [laughs] And, uh, now there's like- I remember covering that. We didn't have anywhere to put it. We had to put it there. You know, now there's like two dozen or more hybrid SUVs. And growing. And growing every year.
• 3:44
  So like, this year, like, uh, one of the winners is the Kia Rio, which, Kia Niro. Sorry, not the Kia Rio. Yeah. Kia Niro, which is the best subcompact, uh, hybrid SUV for, for the money.
• 3:55
  Now, we didn't ever do a subcompact one before because there weren't enough cars, right? We, we won't award an award if there's only two cars. So- Right... people might be like, "Where's the Ford Maverick?"
• 4:04
  Well, there's only two cars in that class. Right. It's the Maverick and the Santa Cruz. You know, people are shopping. They're gonna find both of them, whatever works for them.
• 4:11
  But if it's a m- if it's many cars- Mm-hmm... that people are choosing from, we wanna be able to give them a recommendation. Anyway, there's three, uh, subcompact hybrids now with the Crosstrek hybrid coming online.
• 4:21
  Uh, there was a Crosstrek plug-in hybrid that kinda didn't really do that well. [laughs] And now there's a new Crosstrek hybrid, and it's great. Uh, in fact, all three of those little hybrid SUVs are pretty good.
• 4:32
  Uh, so the winner is the Niro. Fifty miles per gallon, out the door under 30K. Like- Wow... people, it looks good. You know, it's not exciting- Great tech... it, it's great tech inside. Yeah.
• 4:43
  Even the base model has good tech. Mm-hmm. Like, I drove... Usually, when we get press vehicles, we get the loaded, top-of-the-line, the, whatever the manufacturer wants to show us.
• 4:52
  But we a- we also source cars other ways. So we drove a base model Niro just to be sure, after having driven, I've driven the Niro four or five times now. So Niro EV, plug-in hybrid, regular hybrid.
• 5:04
  And we wanted to be sure, is this base model that costs under 30K out the door really worth it? And it is. Uh, actually, 50 miles per gallon. It's comfy. It's stylish.
• 5:13
  It's got great tech, even with the, the little eight-inch screen. Yes. You know? Um- Cheap to insure, I guess. Very cheap to insure. Yeah, I'm sure. Very cheap to fuel. And it's roomy, you know?
• 5:23
  Like, you d- you can fit, like, I can fit in the backseat with the, with the front seat adjusted for me, and I'm six, four. Yeah. You're, you're a little taller than us. So, yeah. That's a totally different- Yeah.
• 5:31
  Yeah, exactly. So, like, I can tell. If the backseat's good, I'll know, right? [laughs] You, you, you're the guy. So, so yeah.
• 5:35
  Like, you know, you have to make s- There's so many of them now that we decided people who are shopping for, like, what's the best value overall, well, it might be that cheap one, right?
• 5:43
  This, it's really hard to beat that Niro for just money, money for value. But you know, not everybody's life can fit in a Kia Niro, right? Sure. Right.
• 5:52
  So you wanna have, you know, your mid-size SUVs, your full-size SUVs. Uh, you know, we have, we broke it down by hybrid versus non-hybrid.
• 6:00
  And one reason we chose to expand the hybrids is, is so many people are shopping for a hybrid 'cause they think, "Well, every time I go to the gas station-"I'm spending X amount of money.
• 6:09
  I'm taking out a six or seven-year loan on this car, which means I'm gonna have it for a while. Yeah. Yep.
• 6:14
  You know, over the course of three or four years, if you keep your car, and you get a hybrid versus a non-hybrid, most of the time you're gonna make up that difference in the end.
• 6:23
  And your monthly expenses are gonna be lower just 'cause the gas bills are lower. Yeah. Same is true with, uh, an EV. You don't have any gas bill. But that sort of depends on where you live, right?
• 6:33
  Yeah, where you live- Sure... and where you're charging too. Right. If you charge at home, I live in, I live in Seattle, right?
• 6:39
  So if you charge at home, almost all the electricity comes from hydro, so it's v- it's very cheap. Mm-hmm. It's very clean. And most of the time in Seattle, it's not like DC. I c- I'm from New York originally. So
• 6:50
  when I moved to the West Coast, I had this naive idea that, like, Seattle and Portland were, like, as far away as New York or Philly. They're not. Yeah. [laughs] Turns out they're not.
• 6:59
  So if you're in Seattle, you know, the, the ne- the nearest cities are Vancouver, BC, Portland, or, uh, Spokane- And then-... which is, like, six and a half hours, right? And then a really long drive anywhere else.
• 7:08
  It's a hot mess, yes. So if you're gonna drive anywhere else, it's gonna be serious business, and most people won't do it. [laughs] So th- you're gonna fly, right? So in, in Puget Sound, like, there's lots of EVs.
• 7:18
  I see people with these 100-mile range EVs, and it works for them. 'Cause they're just going, driving around town. 'Cause that's all it is. That's right. Yep. Yeah. Yeah.
• 7:23
  And, um, so if your, if your life fits it, you can really save money that way, but, you know, it, it sort of depends on what you're looking to do.
• 7:30
  But that is the ultimate low cost is you charge it at home with cheap electricity, so. A- all right. So the, the Niro obviously was one you're calling out. What was the, what was the next surprise?
• 7:40
  What was, uh, another surprise that you were like, "Wow, that- Well-... we weren't expecting that to happen"? You know, uh, uh, not to harp on electrics, but the Chevy Equinox EV.
• 7:48
  [lips smack] Uh, so I've driven that car a couple times now. Uh, I won't say it's the most exciting ve- It's, it's less exciting to drive than it is to look at. However, it's not a bad car to drive. It's really roomy.
• 7:59
  It comes with a lot of great tech inside, even in the base model. Single motor's not slow, you know? Yeah. Right. Uh, and you know, that car beat out, like, the Kia EV6 and the- Really?... Hyundai IONIQ 5. Wow.
• 8:11
  And yeah, because of- Why did it, why did it beat them out?... low co- low costs of ownership. Low cost of ownership. Overall. Low ATP, you know?
• 8:15
  And even without the credits, it still has a low cost, a, it's a low bar to entry. Now, if you, if you load it up- It can go. It can go- Yeah. It can get expensive...
• 8:23
  pretty high, but, like, if you just are willing to buy one of the lower end models, it's not that bad. And you don't really get punished for buying the lower end model. It's a pretty good, pretty good package overall.
• 8:34
  Yeah. All right, let me ask you this. Um, I'm, I'm assuming you probably know this answer, even though it, that probably doesn't have to factor in, in the list this year specifically.
• 8:42
  What is the most surprising car expense-wise to insure? One that's much more expensive to insure than most people might think. Teslas. Yeah.
• 8:52
  Teslas have really high insurance costs, and I will say that most, most premium EVs have pretty high insurance costs. Mm.
• 8:59
  Uh, I mean, of course, you're buying a premium car, so you're gonna expect that you're probably gonna end up paying more, but sometimes I look at those insurance costs, and I'm like, "Wow."
• 9:06
  Like, what, what, what does it look like for, like, a, a normal Model Y? It sort of depends on the- Sure. I, I can't give you an exact figure. Of course. It depends.
• 9:14
  We, we also have a whole car insurance vertical that someone else runs. Oh, okay. So- So you're like- But, um- That's, yeah... but, like- They know that answer... uh, yeah, usnews.com, by the way.
• 9:21
  [laughs] But, um, yeah, I mean, it, it, it is gonna be several thousand dollars a year. Like, it's definitely, like- Yeah, it's, it's-... considerably more than- What's the Niro? Ah. Or- It's only...
• 9:32
  I mean, I think a Nir- it depends on your driving record- Sure... obviously. Of course. But you're only gonna be paying a few hundred bucks a year. I actually, I can get you the- Whoa...
• 9:38
  I can get you the figures- A few hun-... later on. Hundreds- Right. Versus thousands. Wow. That's a total different- Well, I mean-... uh, proposition. Yeah.
• 9:44
  Well, you think about all the technology that's in those vehicles. If that vehicle has to get repaired, where are the parts coming from? Where are the wiring? How fast it can go and accelerate. How fast it can go, yeah.
• 9:52
  I mean, that's another thing with EVs is that, you know, when I drive, like, an M3 or something, like, there's only so many places you can go to exploit an M3- Right... without getting arrested. Right.
• 10:01
  So, like, when you think about, like- [laughs]... a Lucid Air or a Model S- Yeah... like- You're zero to 80 in, like- I mean, both of those cars can pass absolutely everything, including a gas station.
• 10:13
  But, like- [laughs]... you know, are they, uh, how safe are they really? And, and are, do the a- does the average driver have the capacity for that, so. Yeah. Yeah.
• 10:21
  Well, Alex, thanks for giving us a little insight into- Of course... uh, the insights that US News- Sure... provided, and, uh, yeah, kudos on another cool year. Thanks.
• 10:29
  And sharing with us that, hey, even the more affordable vehicles are something you should look at. You don't, they don't have to be bad. They don't have to be a penalty box.
• 10:36
  There's a lot of good cars out there, and you can find all of them at cars.usnews.com. So yeah, and our, our winners are on display there, so. Beautiful. Awesome. Thanks, Alex. All right. Thanks, guys.