The ten cheapest cars in the world, part 2
Number 5
The Geely HQ SRC is based on the mid-'80s Daihatsu Charade. If you don't remember that particular vehicle, rest assured it was a quite competent subcompact at the time.
Geely HQ SRV: 5-door "tall" estate. China $5,780
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Number 4
Very similar to the HQ, the Geely MR has its roots in the Daihatsu Charade from the mid-'80s. The difference is that this car can be fitted with more "sporty" powertrains.
Geely MR: 5-door. China. $5,500
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Number 3
Until the Tata Nano arrives, the Suzuki Maruti 800 -- the "smallest car in production" -- will be the cheapest car you can buy in India and in other nearby countries (and even South America). Some versions of the Maruti have even arrived in Europe.
Suzuki Maruti 800: 5-door hatchback. $4,994.
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Number 2
It's almost twice as expensive as the cheapest car on the this list, but that doesn't stop the Cherry QQ from coming in at #2. This car sparked some trademark issues because of similarities to the Daewoo/Chevrolet Matiz.
Chery QQ: 4-door hatchback. China. $4,781.
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Number 1
This car is well thought out, and lots of patents have resulted from the creation process -- from the Nano's powertrain to the assembly process itself. Will this car ruin the world? Some voices say that more cars on the roads imply more pollution, which is hard to argue against. 
Tata Nano: 4-door hatchback. India. $2,497.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Carlos Ferreira 7:46AM (3/05/2008)
I don't know what to think of this one. Most these cars are indeed a hindrance to the environment, It doesn't bode quite well to have a zillion new cars on the road, consuming resources, pushing the oil prices up and - that's right - polluting. A lot. The thing is, the Indians haven't had our past of cars, so now they can enjoy it, we go and tell them they can't have it. Not nice.
The answer would lie in Tata - and the other cheap car manufacturers, as much as the expensive car manufacturers - start spewing off new cars with cleaner technologies. It's the only way, the Nano is a great base for a small electric plug-in vehicle.
Now, I have to say that, marketing-wise, the Nano is a disaster. Buy it 'cause it's cheep? Come on, we can all see what a heap that is! Can't we?
Carlos Ferreira
http://www.greencarvalue.blogspot.com
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Furion 12:27PM (3/04/2008)
Tata Nano is a heap, probably pretty unsafe when compared to western cars.
But what were the people who are going to buy Nano driving before they had a car? The 3rd world choice of transportation: the scooter. 80-125 cc motorbike, which can reach speeds up to 60 mph. In a the chaotic traffic of India, it's a very unsafe mode of transportation.
Nano is probably safer than driving a scooter. So in that sense it's probably a good investment for those who cannot afford anything better.
As for the pollution .. is it going to be much worse than what people were doing before in india, i.e. driving scooters?
And you're right Carlos, it would be pretty hard to say 'no' to 3rd world people when we've been driving cars for a long time (well, I bought my first car 6 months a go).
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thesawzall 10:05AM (3/04/2008)
The estimate for repairing my Corolla from a 10mph crash came in more than some of those cost!
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MikeW 6:36PM (3/04/2008)
Why are there ANY cars/trucks in the US market with dual beam headlights?
Almost half these cars have real headlights. [separate low & high beams]
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floatsfast 5:58AM (3/05/2008)
I could use one of these little cars for getting around town in. I work less than 2 miles from my home plus most of my driving is within 5 miles of home so why do I need something high-dollar and fancy? It's nice to have one ride for hauling the family and making longer trips with but something other than a motorcycle for lousy Michigan weather.
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mike myers 10:10AM (3/08/2008)
I would love to buy a new car cheap.but no matter how cheap a car is or how cheap it is on gas the oil companies will just jack up the cost of gas.
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Karl 12:52PM (3/08/2008)
America used to sell some inexpensive cars, but the bean counters at the big three stopped it, that's why cars are so expensive now. Maybe it will take the Chinese, or Indians (India) to wake up our auto manufacturers but realisticaly most likely not. Expect to be buying overseas cars in the future. Remember, the more expensive the car, the more costly the insurance. Cheap car, cheap insurance.....totally not American. We are all the losers.
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Rusty Shapiro 1:09PM (3/08/2008)
I have a feeling most of these cars lack the emmision controls required in the U.S. and thus pollute the environment. They can't be brought in to America. Also, they may not get the best gas mileage.
My old 2001 Prius gets between 47 and 60 mpg and is very clean, of course. Both those factors are more important to me than mere purchase price.
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Sam RD 11:43PM (11/30/2008)
well, i guess forbes has not really done a thorough job for two reasons. Firstly coverage on available car manufacturer..it mostly look at India, China and South America..I bet there is some cheaper car you can find in Malaysia..check out Perodua and Proton...seek and you shall find. Secondly you should stated whether the price stated is manufacturer price or on the road price.
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