In many European countries, wagons are very popular. With a wagon, you can get the practicality and comfort of driving an SUV without having a large, gas-guzzling vehicle. In the United States, however, wagons aren’t as well-received or highly desired. There are a handful of benefits to picking a wagon over a standard sedan, but for some reason, people seem to nudge the idea to the side. When it comes to getting a reliable car that has space for everything that you need, a wagon might be the right option. Skip out on the expensive SUVs of 2020 and turn to these brand-new wagons that you can buy off of the dealership lot for less than $20,000.

The 2020 Honda Fit

The Honda Fit was rated as #1 on the list of wagons rated by Consumer Reports, and it also happens to be the most affordable. The Honda Fit is spunky and sporty, but even better yet it offers a great fuel economy. You can buy the Honda Fit for a bargain and still be getting a brand new car. It’s affordable to purchase as well as maintain, and they are notoriously reliable so you won’t have to stress about major repair costs down the road.

More affordable options

For a smaller vehicle, it might surprise you to know that wagons can also have some pretty decent towing capacity. That might just feed into my never-ending theory that wagons are just cleverly designed SUVs wrapped into a smaller package, but hey I’m not complaining. Next up is the 2020 Chevrolet Spark — yet another affordable wagon option. The Spark has pretty decent reliability and even though it isn’t anything to sneeze at, the low cost might just ‘spark’ your interest.

Less favorable wagons

Another affordable wagon is the Mitsubishi Mirage, which despite my personal dislike of the car is a pretty alright vehicle. This car starts close to $13,000 and even the highest trim level with all of the options still keeps this car looming under $20,000. The Mirage might be slightly dorky looking, but it comes with a unique color pallet that isn’t available for most other cars — that’s right, all of those pink Mistubisi wagons you’ve been seeing aren’t custom, they came like that.

As you might expect from a vehicle that comes with such a low price the Mirage makes a lot of sacrifices. Enough so that even Consumer Reports gave the car a low rating for just about everything from reliability to ride quality. There are some high notes for the Mirage, and while the first one is obviously the low price point, we can at least brag that Mitsubishi has kept up with modern styling. You can also brag about the car’s fuel efficiency, getting as much as 37mpg on average with a high 47mpg on the highway.

Buying a wagon might be the surprisingly clever solution to a daily driver, and even better yet if you can get one for less than $20,000. While you might be making some sacrifices, the additional space and practicality of these small vehicles gives them a leg-up over other sedans.