Top five selling cheap new cars: From the 2026 Kia Picanto and MG3 to the Hyundai Venue SUV and Suzuki Swift hatchback, here are Australia’s top five most popular cars under $25,000 – redlandcitybulletin.com.au
Only a few years ago a budget-focused new car story like this would have well and truly dipped under the magical $20,000 threshold.
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But, the sad news is there’s just a single new car option left standing in the Aussie market wearing a five figure price tag that starts with a one.
And that’s the entry-grade Kia Picanto Sport with a five-speed manual gearbox at $19,190, before on-road costs. Tick the box for the four-speed automatic transmission and all of a sudden you’re at $20,790, BOC.
So, we’ve raised the new car budget bar to $25,000 and looked at the five most popular models with an entry-price under $25K from 2025 full-year sales.
1) Chery Tiggo 4 Pro – From $23,990, before on-road costs
Talk about an impressive entrance. Chery lobbed a hand grenade into the budget end of the small SUV segment in late 2024, with the Tiggo 4 Pro’s first full year sales exceeding 20,000 units in 2025.
Two versions of the compact five-seater are offered locally, the Urban and Ultimate, each available in pure-combustion and petrol-electric hybrid form.
2) MG MG3 – From $21,990, drive-away
With competition from new challenger brands intensifying and the MG model line-up growing, the MG3 dipped in terms of year-on-year sales but still did enough to grab second spot under $25K with more than 8000 examples finding a new home.
Three grades are offered here – Vibe, Excite & Essence – pure-petrol in all three with the option of hybrid in the upper two.
3) Hyundai Venue – From 23,000, before on-road costs
Now a veteran of the ‘light’ SUV category the city-sized Venue remains a strong seller in Hyundai’s small car portfolio.
In fact, sales were up a solid 14.1 per cent in 2025 to 7927. The range starts with the entry-grade at $23K, before on-road costs, with the Active and Elite above it.
4) Kia Picanto – From $19,190, before on-road costs
A popular choice among city dwellers, the diminutive Picanto also ticked up in total year-on-year sales for 2025 to 7166.
Sadly for micro car Verstappen wannabes the 1.0L turbo GT is a thing of the past, but the top-tier GT-Line Picanto brings some of its racy personality to the party.
5) Suzuki Swift Hybrid – From 24,490, drive-away
The fourth-generation Swift has taken mild-hybrid form with its 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine featuring an enhanced starter/generator/electric motor picking up some of the slack in terms of powering the stop-start system and adding 60Nm of torque.
Sales were down in 2025 to 3446, but there were still enough buyers to land the latest version of the city car icon in fifth spot.
Australian Top 5 sellers under $25,000:
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