10 Great Cars for less than $40,000

Best Car Loans with Money Matchmaker
Best Car Loans with Money Matchmaker

There’s no such thing as the perfect car. You determine which is the ideal car for you, and you accept the flaws that come with it.

The first step is knowing your budget and sticking to it. Having a concrete budget also acts as the perfect leverage tool at a dealership. Be aware that $40,000 is a pretty solid budget and there are plenty of really good cars you can buy, and even keep some change. It’s also a good idea to have a look at vehicles costing slightly more than $40,000 and negotiate like you mean it to get some good savings.

If you can’t find a good car for 40K, you’re not trying hard enough. Any dealer would be kicking themselves to see you walk out their door and cross the road. Remember that.

Did you know? It's usually possible to arrange car finance, such as a car loan or novated lease, before you start picking out cars if you want to have your budget set first.

1

3

5

7

9

2

4

6

8

10

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Kia Seltos Sport+ DCT or Hyundai Kona N-Line

1. Kia Seltos Sport+ DCT or Hyundai Kona N-Line

Neither of these dizygotic small SUVs will disappoint in terms of quality, refinement and comfort, and they go a long way toward everyday practicality. But they're not perfect.

The powertrain and transmission you want are the 1.6L turbo-petrol engine and the seven-speed dual-clutch, which are crisp and responsive and punchy, while also being very civilised in ordinary daily driving.

But the new Kona only gets this combo in the dearer, boy-racer N-Line, and not the Highlander (anymore).

While Seltos makes it available in the mid-spec, you have to sacrifice features in order to keep the price below 40K and not get the GT-Line. This is a choice you need to make.

Just don’t get either with the 2.0L petrol and CVT transmission. It needs work. Both are easy to drive for lengthy periods, maneuverable in traffic and an ideal size for city commuters.

Both are packed with safety gear by default and there's a boot big enough to take plenty of bags, toys, small bikes and scooters. You can always add roof racks for holidays.

In terms of finance, the deals available will likely be similar whether you get Kia finance or shop for a Hyundai car loan.

What you get

Seltos Sport+:

  • Lockable all-wheel drive
  • 17-inch alloys w full-size spare
  • Tyre pressure monitoring
  • Manual seat adjustment
  • (f&r) Parking sensors
  • Reversing camera w active guidelines
  • Blindspot collision avoidance lane-keeping
  • Driver attention alert
  • Auto emergency braking (incl. ‘junction assist’, ‘pedestrian & cyclist detection’)
  • Auto headlights
  • Front/rear foglights
  • 2 ISOFIX + 3 top-tether points
  • Smart key w push-button start & remote engine ignition
  • DAB digital radio + 6 speakers
  • 10-inch LCD central touchscreen (incl. Wireless CarPlay & AndroidAuto, satnav)
  • Power adjusted heated door mirrors
  • Climate control

Kona N-Line:

  • Lockable all-wheel drive
  • 18-inch alloys (space-saver spare)
  • Tyre pressure monitoring
  • Rear parking sensors
  • Reversing camera w active guidelines
  • Leather-appointed seats
  • Harmon Kardon premium stereo
  • Blindspot & rear cross-traffic collision avoidance
  • Lane-keeping, driver attention alert, auto emergency braking (incl. ‘junction assist’, ‘pedestrian & cyclist detection’)
  • Safe exit warning
  • Radar cruise control
  • 10-inch LCD central touchscreen (incl. Wireless CarPlay & AndroidAuto, satnav)
  • Climate control
  • Rain-sensing wipers
  • Front foglamps
  • Smart key w push-button start
  • Power adjusted heated door mirrors
  • 2 ISOFIX + 3 top-tether points
  • Manual seat adjustment

What you don't

Seltos Sport+:

  • Eight-speaker BOSE premium sound system
  • Rear air vents
  • Heated and ventilated (cooled) seats
  • Wireless phone charger
  • Colour heads-up display
  • Seven-inch driver’s dashboard LCD screen
  • Heated steering wheel
  • LED headlights, taillights, indicators
  • Sunroof
  • Rain-sensing auto wipers
  • ‘Lane Following Assist’
  • 18-inch alloys

Kona N-Line:

  • Front parking sensors
  • LED headlights, taillights, indicators
  • Sunroof
  • Heated and ventilated (cooled) seats
  • Wireless phone charger
  • Heated steering wheel
  • Rear air vents

Pricing

Seltos Sport+Kona N-Line

$38,000

$40,000

Mazda 3 G25 GT review

2. Mazda 3 G25 GT

I’m quite fond of this car, so you’ll equally have to kerb your enthusiasm when you see it in the flesh - it is quite good looking. But you’re not buying a car based purely on aesthetics, are you?

No, you’re a rational, sensible, clinical car buyer who looks at the facts and compares the advantages with the disadvantages, accepts the compromises and makes an informed choice.

It is quite pretty though, isn’t it?

Engine’s a firecracker, by the way. Mazda’s 2.5L turbo petrol four-cylinder is the engine you want; it’s just a matter of deciding how many luxury features you want, versus how much weight you wanna add to dilute outright performance. I’ll show you what I mean...

What you get

  • 2.5L turbo petrol 4-cyl: 139kW peak power,
  • 91 RON fuel with a 51L tank
  • 6spd auto transmission

G25 Evolve & GT kerb weight: 1368kg VS G25 Astina: 1380kg (+12kg)

Both variants have:

  • Cylinder deactivation (shuts down two cylinders during idle)
  • 18-inch alloy wheels (space-saver spare)
  • Rain-sensing wipers
  • LED headlights
  • Dual-zone climate control
  • Heads-up display
  • Adaptive cruise control
  • 7-inch driver’s dash display
  • 8.8-inch infotainment touchscreen (satnav, DAB+)
  • 360-degree camera
  • Lane-keeping, blindspot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, front/rear sensors, auto emergency braking

G25 Astina gets:

  • Power fold adjust & heated door mirrors
  • Sunroof
  • LED daytime running lights
  • Heated front seats (GT does too)
  • Leather seats (GT does too; cloth for Evolve)
  • 12-speaker Bose premium stereo (GT does too)

If you can live without those three things in the Astina, get the GT at a fraction over $40K, or negotiate harder to stay under 40, by unchecking the ‘Vision Pack’ ($1500). Or, make them throw it in for free.

What you don't get

  • Full-size spare wheel
  • A towing capacity worth mentioning.

Pricing

G25 EvolveG25 GTG35 Astina

$37,750

$41,500

$44,000

Australia's Money Matchmaker matching you with your best loans across multiple lenders
Car Loan Lenders prefer to finance new cars over older cars and therefore provide lower rates for them
Kia Picanto ‘S’ - 'GT' review

3. Kia Picanto ‘S’ - ‘GT’

Price is only one of the Picanto’s strongest credentials, it’s also a hoot to drive, and not stupidly, either. Normal people will appreciate the ‘zippy’ characteristics of a vehicle that barely weighs a tonne with you on board.

You can have a five-speed manual or four-speed auto, the two engine options are a 1.3L four-cylinder and 1.0L turbocharged petrol three-cylinder engine, which is the one you want if you know what double de-clutching means.

What you need to realise is all the short, cold starts you do with your regular car, popping up to the shops and back, nipping out to get takeaway, stop-start city traffic, taking kids to school, running around like a headless chook doing your Christmas shopping - all this short driving is serious punishment on a vehicle. Batteries, tyres, brakes, oil circulation are all wear factors on your car. A Picanto can take all this, without costing you the additional fuel you would buy simply moving a bigger heavier vehicle around.

What you get (GT-Line)

  • 16-inch alloy wheels
  • 8-inch LCD touchscreen
  • 4 speakers,
  • Wireless CarPlay/AndroidAuto
  • Standard cruise control
  • Air-conditioning
  • Auto emergency braking
  • Reverse parking sensors
  • Reversing camera with dynamic guidelines
  • Dusk-sensing auto headlights
  • LED brake
  • Fog and DRLs
  • Premium cloth seats
  • Power heated folding door mirrors

What you don't get

  • Full-size spare (a space saver was always gonna happen).
  • Adaptive cruise
  • LED headlights
  • Auto wipers
  • Front sensors
  • LED headlights
  • Leather electric seats
  • Climate control (not to be confused with normal air-con)
  • DAB+

Pricing

‘S’ manual‘S’ auto‘GT-Line’ manual‘GT-Line’ auto‘GT’ manual

$18,000

$19,000

$19,500

$20,500

$21,500

Hyundai Tucson Elite review

4. Hyundai Tucson Elite

One of the newest in the mid-size SUV segment, along with its twin sister Kia Sportage - both of which offer exciting new styling designs.

You’ll want to use those sharp negotiating skills to get Elite for $40,000, but if you want the diesel powertrain with upped towing capacity and AWD, it’s going to add about $6000, but you can’t have the base model Tucson in a diesel.

Tucson, despite being an entirely new model, is a pretty safe bet for reliability because all drivetrains we’ve seen before, and Hyundai/Kia haven’t had any major software/electrical issues with any of their previous generation vehicles.

You get a pretty good boot space, all-fitting cabin with 2 ISOFIX & 3 top tether child seat anchorage points (as with most five-seaters).

As a budget family runabout option, Tucson does just about everything you need it to, and just needs some roof racks and a towbar to extend that usability.

What you get

  • 18-inch alloys + full-size spare
  • Leather heated front seats
  • Satnav
  • Dual-zone climate control with air diffuser mode
  • CarPlay/AndroidAuto
  • Front/rear parking sensors
  • Push-button transmission
  • Auto emergency braking (including junction assist)
  • Rear occupant alert
  • Drive modes (eco, normal, sport, smart)
  • Terrain modes (snow, mud, sand),
  • Rain-sensing wipers
  • Smartkey + push-button start
  • 2.0L diesel + all-wheel drive option
  • 1900kg towing capacity (+$6000)

What you don't get

  • Hybrid powertrain option
  • Power tailgate (higher-spec versions do)
  • Base model diesel powertrain

Pricing

Tucson base modelEliteHighlanderN-Line Option Pack (available on all variants)

$38,300

$43,000

$50,200

$3600

Subaru Forester 2.5i - 2.5i-L review

5. Subaru Forester 2.5i - 2.5i-L

In contrast to its Outback brother and the rest of the mid-size SUV market, the Forester has the best ground clearance (235mm).

There’s the daily bulletproof 2.5L petrol Boxer engine, or a hybrid option but it’s a bit pointless. Subaru also does a great CVT transmission, and plenty of intuitive driver assist tech.

Forester has a huge boot with a lovely wide aperture which is ideal for big double prams, eskis and general roadtrip gear.

It’s also a very capable soft-roader thanks to symmetrical all-wheel drive and clever X-Mode terrain response program which manipulates the traction control, ESC and brakes to take you through snow, mud and steep slopes. It’s quite good. Don’t bother even looking at anything above the 2.5i-L, Forester just gets too expensive and doesn’t add much for that extra price, especially when you can have a Mazda CX-5.

The catch with Forester is that stock is restricted at the moment, but is expected to pick-up at the end of 2021.

What you get

  • ‘EyeSight’ driver assist system: Adaptive cruise control, lane centering & sway warning, lane departure & keeping, auto emergency steering, pre-crash throttle & brake management
  • Tyre pressure monitoring
  • Heated door mirrors
  • Vision Assist: Blind-spot monitoring, EyeSight display, lane change assist
  • 17-inch alloy wheels + full-size spare
  • 8-inch touchscreen
  • Reverse camera washer
  • Cloth seat trim
  • X-Mode
  • Ignition stop-start (if you like that kinda thing)
  • LED daytime running lights, auto dusk-sensing directional LED headlights
  • Dual-zone climate + rear vents
  • Rain-sensing auto wipers
  • Sunvisor extensions (Yes!)
  • 6-speaker stereo, DAB+, CD player, CarPlay/AndroidAuto

2.5i-L adds:

  • Drowsiness & distraction warning, facial recognition, gesture-controlled temperature, climate control memory,
  • Adaptive headlights
  • Front view camera
  • Reverse automatic braking
  • Heated front seats

What you don't get

  • Dual-function X-Mode (Sport & above)
  • Sunroof (Sport & above)
  • Built-in roof racks like Outback
  • LED foglights (Sport & above)
  • 8-speaker Harman Kardon stereo including subwoofer and amplifier
  • Leather seats (S & Hybrid S only)
  • Powered tailgate

Pricing

2.5i2.5i-LHybrid L2.5i-Premium2.5i-Sport2.5i-SHybrid S

$40,500

$43,000

$46,000

$45,900

$47,500

$49,100

$52,100

Australia's Money Matchmaker matching you with your best loans across multiple lenders
If you have good credit and are employed, you should be able to avoid the costs of a broker and find a good car loan deal by yourself.
2021 Mazda CX 5

6. Mazda CX-5 Maxx or Maxx Sport

There’s a reason CX-5 is one of the biggest volume selling vehicles in the country. It sets such a high bar, there are only a few limiting criteria that might see you look at something else, like Hyundai Tucson/Kia Sportage, RAV4, Forester/Outback or possibly new Outlander (if it’s good: TBC).

I have physically proven that everything I can fit into an Outback will equally fit into a CX-5, including a big Black Wolf tent, eski, folding chairs, luggage bags, portacot, a highchair and a pram. The difference is whether you can see out the back window: Outback, yes; CX-5, absolutely not.

As a general purpose family SUV, there’s a wide range of regular tasks CX-5 can do comfortably, with occasional towing and very light off-roading (as in, unsealed roads). Try to get the 2.5L turbo petrol engine because it’s good; offers 1800kg braked towing (150kg towball download).

Compare Mazda car finance deals

What you get

  • Front-wheel drive (2.0L petrol), or AWD option (2.5 petrol) (+$3000)
  • 2.2L diesel engine option (+$3000 over 2.5 petrol)
  • Adaptive cruise, rear parking sensors, auto-emergency braking, blindspot monitoring, driver attention alert, obstruction warning, rear cross-traffic alert
  • Cylinder deactivation (Maxx Sport 2.5)
  • 6-speaker stereo, 8-inch touchscreen, DAB+
  • Satnav (Maxx Sport), dual-zone climate control (Maxx Sport), leather steering wheel
  • Auto-dim high beam, rear parking sensors, reverse camera, power folding door mirrors, rain-sensing auto wipers, LED headlights (& foglamps on Maxx Sport)
  • 17-inch alloy wheels.

What you don't get

  • 360-degree camera
  • Traffic sign recognition
  • Passive keyless entry/unlock
  • Heated/cooled, powered seats (no leather, either)
  • Heads-up display, auto-dim rearview mirror, daytime running lights
  • Powered tailgate
  • Full-size spare wheel

Pricing

Maxx (FWD)Maxx Sport (FWD)Maxx (AWD)Maxx Sport (AWD)Touring (AWD) GT (AWD)GT SP (AWD)Akera (AWD)

$37,600

$41,000

$40,777

$44,200

$46,000

$52,000

$52,500

$54,500

Kia Cerato GT review

7. Kia Cerato GT

A very reliable, good-quality multi-purpose hatch or sedan with fantastic legroom, boot space and performance without getting into eye-watering cost territory.

Thanks to the reduced size compared with various SUVs, you’ll get markedly better fuel economy because it’s significantly lighter with a smaller frontal-area offering less wind resistance.

Consider the punchy 1.6 turbo-petrol GT (with brilliant 7spd dual-clutch transmission) and keep thousands of dollars while getting great performance you can actually use in your daily, public-road limited life. Don’t bother with a VW Golf, honestly.

The joy of smaller cars, not SUVs, is you can access literally everything, no matter how tall or short you are, without having to bend, climb or stretch to lift, attach or disconnect things. I’ve lived in several iterations of Cerato, as well as its i30 twin brother, and being average height, nothing is out of reach.

Installing child restraints: easy. Loading/unloading the boot: piece of cake. Passing/receiving kid stuff from the driver’s seat: entirely possible with one arm.

What you get

  • Auto emergency braking
  • Adaptive cruise
  • Blindspot monitoring
  • Rear cross-traffic alert & collision avoidance
  • Lane keeping & following assist,
  • Driver attention alert
  • Power-fold door mirrors
  • 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen DAB+
  • Rear air vents + dual-zone climate control
  • JBL premium stereo
  • Sunroof
  • Smart key + push-button start
  • 18-inch alloys + Michelin Pilot Sport tyres (+ space saver spare)
  • LED front/rear lighting
  • Heated/cooled sports leather seats
  • Paddle-shifters
  • Electric park brake
  • Tyre pressure monitoring

What you don't get

  • Front centre airbag (fairly new safety feature on the market)
  • All-wheel drive (only Subaru Impreza offers AWD small car at $40K)
  • Manual transmission option (which you get on Mazda 3 or Hyundai i30)
  • Hybrid powertrain option (like Toyota Corolla, or more expensive Mazda 3)

Pricing

Cerato ‘S’‘Sport’'Sport+’‘GT’

$25,500 (Safety Pack +$1500)

$28,000 (Safety Pack +$1500)

$31,700

$36,000 (driveaway)

Mazda 6 Touring GL review

8. Mazda 6 Touring GL (wagon)

A highly underrated vehicle which offers an abundance of versatility to anybody wise enough to not get obsessed with the fashion trend of SUVs.

Picture Mercedes-like luxury and comfort, with a Mazda pricetag and reliability, with the build quality of a Toyota, but the old school practicality of a Subaru, Ford or Holden station wagon. That’s what awaits the Mazda 6 buyer.

It’s a lot to take in, but the five-seat Mazda 6 in wagon form is a superior vehicle than the CX-5 SUV limelight thief.

Sure, you can also have a sedan, which admittedly are going out of vogue, but consider having a look at the slightly longer body style if you have big cargo to move around but you want a better features list than the equivalent-price SUV will offer.

Combined with Mazda’s 2.5L petrol engine, you get a better power-to-weight ratio (90kW/tonne) than a $40K CX-5 (85.3kW/t), and more loadspace (506L vs 442L). Long boot, plenty of safety features, lots of legroom and a quiet cruiser with plenty of punch.

What you get

  • 17-inch alloys
  • Leather (electric, memory front) seats
  • Premium Bose stereo (+ 231W amplifier, 11 speakers)
  • LED headlights
  • Daytime running lamps & taillights
  • Rain-sensing auto wipers
  • Dual-zone climate + rear vents
  • Radar cruise & auto emergency braking
  • Heads-up display
  • Driver attention alert
  • Auto high-beam
  • Lane keeping & departure warning Front/rear parking sensors
  • Rear cross-traffic & blindspot monitoring
  • Cargo volume: 1648L row 2 down; 506L row 2 up (CX-5: 1342L/442L)
  • Paddleshift
  • Ignition stop/start
  • CarPlay & AndroidAuto
  • Satnav
  • DAB+
  • 8-inch touchscreen
  • Tyre pressure monitoring

What you don't get

  • Full-size spare wheel
  • Reverse emergency braking A diesel powertrain option
  • Much in the way of towing capacity (1500kg braked, 120kg towball download)
  • SUV ride height, but that’s largely redundant; cars rarely ever bottom-out
  • All-wheel drive, again, mostly redundant unless you’re accelerating up steep wet slopes.

Pricing

SportTouring

$40,256 (will lose features you get in Touring)

$44,700 (negotiate like you mean it)

Australia's Money Matchmaker matching you with your best loans across multiple lenders
If you need a car loan make sure you do the research before you visit the dealership - dealership offer loans but they are generally not the best deal. Compare deals for yourself before you get to the dealership to help negotiate better.
Hyundai i30 sedan (N-Line Premium) Review

9. Hyundai i30 sedan (N-Line Premium)

Do yourself a favour and just give it a test drive. Just try it. If you don’t enjoy that 1.6 turbo-petrol engine and 7-speed dual-clutch, you’re not human. You can even have a manual gearbox if you so wish (just not in the premium version).

If the N-Line stuff is a bit much for you, consider saving about six grand and go for the mid-range Elite which still gives you the kicker hi-fi, and settle for the 2.0L petrol engine and six-speed auto.

I know sedans aren’t considered as tryhard cool as SUVs, but be assured, you will appreciate a car like this more because it’ll surprise you how user-friendly it is. That includes a vast boot (although with weird hinges), full of child-rearing essentials, easy-to-access child restraint anchorages, and the benefit of being able to fill the boot without ever blocking the driver’s rearview mirror. You’ll never find a mid-size SUV with 1.1m of boot length or 1.4m wide; there’s also a full-size spare.

What you get

  • 8-inch alloys
  • 10-inch touchscreen
  • Bose 8-speaker premium stereo
  • Glass sunroof
  • Satnav
  • Electric driver’s seat
  • Heated/cooled front seats with memory
  • Front/rear parking sensors
  • Driver attention warning
  • Auto emergency braking
  • Lane keeping & following assist
  • Adaptive cruise control (dual-clutch transmission only)
  • Blindspot collision avoidance
  • Safe exit warning
  • Rain-sensing wipers
  • Tyre pressure monitoring
  • Hands-free boot release
  • Powered heated auto-fold door mirrors
  • Dual-zone climate control
  • Rear air vents
  • LED (auto) headlights
  • DRLs & taillights

What you don't get

  • Hybrid powertrain or all-wheel drive
  • Full-size spare
  • Any meaningful towing capacity (1200kg)

Pricing

EliteN-LineN-Line Premium

$35,000

$34,400

$41,600

2021 Mitsubishi Triton dual-cab

10. Mitsubishi Triton GLX / GLX-R 2WD dual-cab

Wanna know a secret about dual-cab utes? You don’t really need 4WD. Rarely, anyway. Ask any tradie with a single-cab ute how often they get stuck.

The Triton has, for years, been the smart-money ute choice and the GLX rear-wheel drive is the perfect example of why. Every 4WD ute you see has a very heavy low-range transfer case attached to the regular transmission, which adds about 200-300kg and restricts that amount from your legal payload.

And remember, just because it rains and a dirt road turns mushy, that doesn’t mean you’re going to get stuck - not if you know how to drive using momentum. Payload is 948kg (960kg in GLX), towing capacity is 3000kg (braked, but it’s unsafe to tow that much), tray length is 1.52m, width 1.47m (1.8m between wheelarches).

There’s so much you can do with a dual-cab ute, including taking the kids to school, collecting firewood, packing for a camping trip, carrying tools and not giving a stuff if you collect sand from the beach.

What you get (GLX-R)

  • 8-inch black alloy wheels (+ full-size alloy spare)
  • 7-inch touchscreen with Apple/Android connectivity
  • DAB
  • 4 speakers
  • 2 x USB inputs, climate control
  • Auto emergency braking
  • Lane departure warning
  • Trailer sway control
  • Standard cruise control
  • Adjustable speed-limiter
  • Rain-sensing auto wipers
  • Dusk-sensing auto headlights
  • Reversing camera
  • Rear parking sensors
  • Driver knee airbag
  • 2 x ISOFIX child seat anchorage points
  • Rake & reach steering wheel adjustment
  • Privacy glass
  • Side steps
  • LED brake lights
  • Premium cloth seats
  • Wide range of Mitsubishi finance options

What you don't get

  • Adaptive cruise control
  • LED headlights, foglights or daytime running lights
  • Leather seats (probably a good thing)

Pricing

Triton GLXGLX-R

$38,900

$42,700

Australia's Money Matchmaker matching you with your best loans across multiple lenders
Get pre-approved before you shop - this can save you thousands, by making sure you have the most control of your payments, loan length and lender. It will also be pressure free.

Written by

Scott Murray from BestFamilyCars.com.au

Car Expert

Scott Murray

Address

Level 3, 201 Miller St,
North Sydney, NSW, 2060, Australia

Suite 3, Level 2, 1 Taylor Street,
Moorabbin, VIC, 3189 Australia

Company

Money Pty Ltd trading as Money
ABN: 42 626 094 773
ACL: 528698
AFCA: 83955

© Copyright 2023 Money Pty Ltd.



Disclaimer

Money Pty Ltd (trading as Money) Australian Credit Licence 528698 provides information about credit products and is authorised to do so as the holder of Australian Credit Licence 528698. Money does not compare every Lender all products or issuers available in Australia. We are not a broker or credit provider and when we provide information via this website, we are not providing you with a recommendation or suggestion about a particular credit product.