By no means should “downgrading” your car be seen as a bad thing. Especially in this day and age, consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of many critical factors when purchasing a car, whether leasing or buying outright.
It may require a paradigm shift of sorts or a departure from affection and loyalty to a trusted brand, but when you’re seeking the best value for money, and I see it only fit to quote Tina Turner, who once said,” What’s love got to do with it?” Jokes aside, why spend more on a feature-low base model or on an aging car from a trusted brand when you could hedge your bets on an untried new-ish brand that could give you more for less? Brands like Hyundai or Kia spring to mind.
These days, car standards are not what they used to be. They’re way better. The competition in the modern day is so tough that brands operating or launching in developed nations cannot offer anything but a prized option for all their derivatives. This, also, at a very competitive price point, I’ll add. Especially those brands that have a smaller piece of the market and are vying for a bigger piece of the ‘ol pie. Korean manufacturing comes to mind. Here are five downgrades that could end up being upgrades:
All information on the featured models has been sourced directly from the manufacturers; manufacturers reserve the right to update this at any time. Prices are correct at the time of writing, and exclude destination, options, taxes, and other fees.
Hyundai Santa Cruz Limited
$48,940
We’re opting for the top-of-the-range “Limited” spec. This model, as standard, comes with HTRAC All-Wheel Drive, the 281-hp 2.5-liter Turbocharged GDI4-Cylinder engine that will give you 18 mpg in the city and 25 on the highway. In terms of driver comfort, you’ll get a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 12.3-inch touchscreen display with navigation, Bose Premium Audio, four USB-C charging ports, as well as some other clever bits to make your life easier like remote release tailgate, sidewall bed storage compartments, 115-volt AC Bed-mounted power outlet, lockable under-bed storage compartment, heated and ventilated power adjustable seats for passenger and driver including memory settings, and 20-inch alloys.
As for safety (standard), you’re getting navigation-based Smart Cruise control, highway driving assist, and forward collision avoidance with pedestrian/car and cyclist detection, blind spot collision warning, surround view monitoring, blind spot view monitor, and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist. OK, so now I can breathe, but you get it. It’s stacked.
The vehicle features a custom color, “Sage gray,” and comes with a towbar, fender flare, and mudguards as optional extras. All this came to $48,940. If you were shopping in the more expensive midsize or full-size segment, you’d quickly surpass this price and go beyond by choosing one or two extra options. That is not even considering more equipped variants up the line. I’m not saying you need to do it. I’m just putting it out there for consideration. There’s a lot to consider here, but any mid-size truck offering might also be a viable option.
Kia Sportage
$28,690
This might be a sticky one to navigate, especially given the popularity of the Toyota RAV4, but the Kia Sportage, with nearly 162,000 buyers on 2024 alone, could make a compelling case as a midsize SUV segment option if you’re not looking to buy a RAV4. Even though it’s marginally more affordable than the RAV4, in this segment, every dollar counts. More so than in a premium comparison.
Kia is climbing up the charts in popularity with the Sportage, and in the hotly contested midsize SUV segment, having a more affordable option is every bit a good thing in an economy that has seen vehicle prices skyrocket the way they have. Along with that, we’ve seen the nation’s vehicle debt figures at their highest they’ve been, and any relative savings in this segment, which predominantly serves the middle class en masse, will go a long way.
Genesis GV80
$58,200
The world of premium midsize SUVs is serious space. Seriously expensive. Stalwarts in the game, such as BMW’s X5 and Porsche’s Cayenne, redefined the market and elevated it to the next level, while other role players from various parts of the car ecosystem entered to grab a piece of the action. Enter Hyundai’s premium offering, “Genesis”. We’re pretty happy with this one, which follows the playbook of Toyota and its Lexus brand, and Honda with Acura. Priced at the sticker price of the GV80, with its “base” 2.5T AWD and 8-speed automatic transmission, which delivers 300 hp / 311 lb.-ft., the GV80 starts at $58,200. This compares favorably to some of its rivals, which start at almost $10,000 or more. “Premium at a bargain” has a funny ring to it, but this starts to make a lot of sense the more you dig into it. All this gets you fuel economy of 18 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway.
Safety features that come standard include Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist 2, Lane Keeping Assist, Lane Following Assist, Driver Attention Warning, Forward Attention Warning, Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, Parking Distance Warning – Forward/Reverse, Rearview Camera, Safe Exit Assist, and Advanced Rear Occupant Alert. Then for your hard-earned dollars, you’re getting just about everything comfort-related you’d expect from an X5 or any other premium product, including a 27” OLED Instrument Cluster & Navigation System for that added opulence touch with fingerprint authentication and other connectivity benefits like wireless charging and Wi-Fi hotspotting. Again, I might need to take a breath here, but you get the message. It comes packing heat at less cost.
Kia Carnival MPV
$51,090
We’re discussing the standard options, not the performance options. Although people movers may be gaining more attention in the modern age, it doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune on an overly expensive option. As MPVs become more sophisticated, as we’ve seen, the overall comfort and safety levels are what will entice anyone, as they start offering the same or similar to what you’d get in the luxury SUV segment. The difference is that for a growing family, going one row of seats back in an SUV is always going to be a compromise versus a dedicated 7-seater option. Here, we’ve taken the top-of-the-range trim, being the SX Prestige with the Dark Edition Styling. The SX Prestige comes with a 3.5-liter V6 Engine that produces 287 HP & 260 lb.-ft. of torque and has a towing capacity of 3,500 pounds.
It comes with just about everything you need in terms of styling, comfort, and safety. Features like 19-in. Alloy Wheels, Dual Sunroofs, Smart Power Liftgate, Power Sliding Rear Doors, Heated Steering Wheel, 115V Power Outlets, 2nd & 3rd-row Integrated Window Sunshades, 12.3-in. Dual Panoramic Displays with Navigation, Satellite Radio, Passenger View – In Cabin Camera, Passenger Talk – In Cabin Intercom, Blind-Spot & 360° Surround View Monitor, Bose Premium Audio System, Head-Up Display, Smart Cruise Control w/ Stop & Go & Machine Learning, Leather Seat Trim, Heated & Ventilated Front Seats, Front Power Seats w/ Driver’s Memory System, Auto Emergency Braking Technology with Junction Turning/Crossing Detection, Direct Oncoming, Evasive Steering Assist, Blind-Spot Detection Technology, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping & Following Technology, Safe Exit Assist, Rear Occupant Alert, Front, Rear & Side Parking Sensors and Rear Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist. Some of these you will not find on luxury SUVs.
Hyundai Elantra N
$34,350
The age of the performance Sedan means you don’t have to follow the common movement, and opt for a German choice, or keep aging one in the garage. Sure, those quality and performance aspects run deep, but so does the price attached to them and the cost of ownership. And then, as much as we love the Civic Type R, it starts with a price of $45,895, a fair chunk more than the sticker price for the Elantra N. Why not take a chance with the new-ish kid on the block? Hyundai is not holding back on making its intentions known and coming for its piece of the American pie with great vigor, and you, the consumer, will be the beneficiary, cashing in on the deals.
We won’t delve into the performance aspects of the Elantra N versus the Type R. However, even if there is a performance compromise between the Type R and the Elantra N, Hyundai has the right recipe in place. You can expect any gap in performance comparison to be closed in the coming versions. Whether that price difference is worth the jump might be the deciding factor. I’m not saying anything about anyone’s driving ability, but a good driver in a slower car will beat a bad driver in a good car. The age-old adage continues.
Downgrading may seem to have a negative connotation, but when you think about it, why settle for the status quo when you can make a move, get more for less, and use that extra cash for other things? If that’s the result, you are in fact winning and know something the market might not know. But the funny thing, in the highly competitive space of the modern car, with new, more affordable options that are attractively specced, it’s one way of keeping the entire market honest, especially when it comes to the pricing of options and features.
There is immense value in most cars on the road, and just because something’s always been a certain way doesn’t mean it needs to stay that way. Your decision to downgrade might end up being a solid upgrade, hiding in plain sight, and at the end of the day, who doesn’t like a good deal?