Turns out the hardest part of budget motoring may be keeping the dealer’s hand out of your pocket. Aaron GoldWriterAmir SaidiPhotographerWilliam WalkerPhotographerJul 02, 2026 Inflation and astronomic fuel prices have all but the wealthiest Americans feeling the financial squeeze, which is why we added a Kia K4 to our long-term fleet—not one of the high-end models the automakers prefer we drive, but the sub-$25,000, one-up-from-the-base-model K4 LXS.