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Only 3 new cars cost under $20,000. Here’s what you should buy used instead

Looks like some more people have realized something we pointed out late last year. There are only three new cars under the magic $20,000 price limit currently for sale in the United States. Those three vehicles are the Nissan Versa with a starting price of $16,925 (all prices here include destination fee), the Kia Rio at $17,390 and the Mitsubishi Mirage at $17,650. Should push come to shove, so to speak, we'd probably pick the Nissan as our top choice among those three due to its practicality, comfort and overall polish when compared to its similarly priced peers. But really, as we've suggested before, there are better options. Our top pick for a used vehicle under $20,000 remains the Chevy Volt. It's stylish, comfortable, practical and, above all else, efficient, assuming you can plug it in at home. If you don't have access to a plug at home, you'll likely be able to find a very gently used car for the same price as one of the budget options above. We'd check out the Honda Fit, Kia Soul, Subaru Impreza, Toyota Corolla hatchback and Volkswagen Jetta from the  model years and aim for something with under 20,000 miles and with a year or two left of its factory warranty. A quick inventory search shows that some of those cars, notably the Impreza and Jetta, can even be found Certified Pre Owned in most parts of the country. For a more thorough breakdown of some of the available used-car options we'd recommend, check out our guide to the Best Cars Under $20,000. For what it's worth, with the average new car transaction price hovering alarmingly close to $50,000, we wouldn't expect to see any more options coming any time soon for well under half that sum. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Green Kia Mitsubishi Nissan Car Buying Used Car Buying Sedan

Mitsubishi HQ raided by the Japanese government

Mitsubishi's fuel economy scandal continues to grow, and the Japanese government wants answers. According to Reuters, the Japanese Transport Ministry raided the company's headquarters and a factory in Nagoya today. This raid comes soon after the company revealed that a number of its SUVs were also being sold with incorrect fuel economy ratings. The Japanese government issued a stop-sale on those vehicles a few days ago. This raid also follows an internal investigation conducted by Mitsubishi to discover how this fuel economy scandal happened, and how the practices that led to it were able to continue for 25 years. The internal investigation revealed a few contributing factors that all fell under issues with the company's culture. There was significant pressure throughout the company to reach fuel economy targets and missing them wasn't readily accepted. Questioning decisions of management was also discouraged, and it seemed the different divisions of the company weren't working well together. The findings of this raid have yet to be revealed, but it will be interesting to see how they compare with those of the internal investigation. The Japanese Transport Ministry seems intent on preventing a repeat of this with another company considering that, according to Reuters, it "sent documents to other automakers to enforce compliance with rules for calculating mileage ." Related Video: News Source: Reuters via Automotive News EuropeImage Credit: Julien Amado / Autoblog Quebec Government/Legal Green Mitsubishi Fuel Efficiency investigation

Mitsubishi to offer new Galant, Montero in US?

We admit it - we've been skeptical about Mitsubishi's fortunes here in the US for a long time now, and this month's reveal of the 2014 Mirage subcompact at the New York Auto Show didn't do much to quell our consternation. Yes, the Mirage should attract a certain portion of the buying population based on what will likely be the best fuel economy figures in its segment and a low price, but the profitability of basic small cars is limited even under the best of circumstances. Mitsubishi is clearly going to need something meatier in its portfolio if it wants to get back on track financially.
Help appears to be on the way. According to The Detroit Free Press, Masatoshi Hasegawa, the company's executive vice president here in North America, has confirmed that at least two more models are destined for the company's US dealerships, and it looks like they're going to be entries into higher-volume, higher-margin segments. Hasegawa pledges that the company will overhaul its lineup over the next two to three years, and one of them will be a successor to the often-ignored Galant, a midsize sedan we last saw for the 2012 model year.
And what of the other model? Apparently it will be an unnamed "bigger brother" for the new 2014 Outlander, an acknowledgment that suggests Mitsubishi is considering bringing its Montero/Pajero SUV back to the States. Earlier this month, we heard a report that a next-generation model for the venerable off-roader remains a few years out, but it's possible Mitsubishi might import the current aging model before the new one is produced. A big shift is said to be in the works for the fifth-generation model, with a massive weight loss and possible plug-in hybrid variant tipped as top goals for the program.