These 4 cars offer the most tech for your money in 2025These 4 cars give you the most tech for your money in 2025

Average car prices are on the rise, and there’s no way around that fact. However, people still need new cars every day, and there’s always a risk when buying used. It isn’t for everyone, and with the amount of warranties and potential benefits that can come from buying a new car, plenty still opt to go that route in spite of rising prices. In that same breath, people are more tech-savvy in 2025 than ever before, whether young or old.

These people need their cars to meet a wide array of needs, and in order to accomplish that goal, those cars need to be packed with cutting-edge technology, and that doesn’t often come cheap. Despite this, some companies are still making relatively affordable vehicles that come jam-packed with every tech innovation that could be squeezed into a car sitting at these price points. In fact, there are four excellent examples out there that serve as viable options for families looking for a new set of wheels, whether they’re road trip warriors or everyday back-and-forth cruisers.

1

2025 Hyundai Kona Electric

Starting MSRP: $32,975

Hyundai has made major strides in recent years regarding the quality of its more basic models, and that trend is just as present in the 2025 Hyundai Kona Electric as it is else. Now, to be fair, the absolute cheapest model is the SE trim, which earns you a whopping 133 horsepower from its 99 kW motors, but the next trim up is still around $4,000 more expensive and still comes with things like cloth seats and 17-inch alloy wheels.

The tech between the top-range trim and the base SE trim varies little to none, which makes the SE the smartest buy in the lineup at just under $33,000. Standard features for the Kona Electric include:

• The same 12.3-inch display that is available all the way up through the range
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity
• Dual-zone climate control with rear A/C ventilation
• 12.3-inch digital dash cluster, making this a dual-display car

What’s not to like? It’s got just about every feature you need and even a few you don’t, which meets the needs of everything I couldn’t live without in any new car purchase in 2025.

2

2026 Chevrolet Trax

Starting MSRP: $21,600

Chevrolet

When it comes to value for money, arguably nobody in the marketplace right now is doing it better than General Motors with the Chevrolet Trax. If anyone ever comes to me in a pinch looking for the cheapest form of new vehicle transportation, this is the direction I point them in. While the Trax hasn’t been known for its reliability, factory warranties are a-plenty when buying new, and if something breaks on a Trax, you’re never going to be extremely out of pocket for the cost.

What’s more, the appearance of the Trax has come a long way, and it’s easily one of the best-looking budget buys on the market. The base model LS trim is quite dreary with its bland hubcaps and hard plastics, but the top-tier ACTIV trim is still just $25,300 before any discounts are even applied.

The Trax isn’t going to turn heads, but if you were, say, looking for a first vehicle for your child or maybe your first purchase of a new set of adult wheels, the Trax deserves a hard look to be candidate 1A. Standard features include:

• Lane-keep assist with lane departure warning
• Buckle-to-drive, which keeps the car from shifting into gear before buckling all seat belts
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on an 8″ display, along with Wi-Fi hotspot capability

I never thought I’d be saying Chevrolet would be leading the way forward in terms of value for money in the tech department, but hey, this is 2025, anything can happen.

3

2025 Kia K4

Starting MSRP: $21,990

Kia

I placed the Kia K4 in this spot only because it’s a sedan and not an SUV, which decreases the practicality a bit simply because you can’t do as much with it. However, if you’re not a gearhead like I am and are a normal person, the K4 might be the perfect fit for you. For instance, even the lowest tier trim — the LX — doesn’t differ much from the higher trimmed options on the build sheet.

If you drove by in an LS trim Trax, most people would notice the miscolored plastics and fake alloys. However, if you rode by in the K4 LX, not a soul would bat an eye, and that speaks to Kia’s design language more than anything else.

What’s more is that, as Kia and Hyundai share a lot of parts, the K4 has many of the same high-quality safety features you’d find in any new Hyundai, such as lane-keep assist and other Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, and even more in some cases. For instance, standard features for the K4 include:

• Smart cruise control with stop-and-go capability
• Driver attention warnings
• 12.3″ touchscreen display (the same as the Kona Electric)

Not half bad at all, then, for a car trying to breathe some life back into a sedan market space that desperately needs it.

4

2026 Toyota Prius

Starting MSRP: $28,550

Toyota

Look, I don’t know who hurt the designers at Toyota around the year 2024, but whatever they did to them caused quite the chain reaction, because as far as design is concerned, they haven’t made an ugly car in years. The new Prius earns the last spot on this list as the second most expensive option while still being a sedan, but come on, did you really think this list would be complete without a Toyota?

Aside from the obvious rock steady reliability reputation, the new Prius offers plenty of tech at the ground level, with features like:

• Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto with an 8″ touchscreen display
• Blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alerts
• Climate control system with pollen filtration network (a personal, hypoallergenic favorite I wish I could add to my car)

Now, the Prius isn’t going to come with the bells and whistles like some of the others on this list, but it’s got plenty of tech to get you far on the road, and since it’s a Toyota, you can go far with it and not have to worry about it breaking down after the first 70,000 miles, and that’s a great technical achievement in itself today.