There was a time when we were obsessed with sedans. This was the ‘70s, ‘80s and some years of the ‘90s. And then soccer moms got a taste of high-seating, powerful, tall and rugged vehicles, like the Ford Explorer, whose production was catalyzed by the dropping oil prices and the desire for something big, bulky and bold. Boy, was that addictive. Since the mid ‘90s, sales of SUVs soared high. Gas prices changed here and there over the years, but the demand of SUVs continued soaring for the next 10-15 years. After all, what was not to like about a powerful vehicle?

Well, it was the gas-guzzling nature of these things. These SUVs drank more gas than the thirstiest of thirsty camels in a hottest desert. And so the transition started toward something else, something that was a mutt of a vehicle essentially. It was a crossover. Part SUV, part car and part minivan, the crossover provided the best of all three worlds. And crossovers took over the auto world. Just in 2013, four million units of crossovers were sold, compared to the two million SUVs (The Atlantic).

And then there’s the hatchback, which has been perennially present in the rest of the world, but not so much here at home. However, while the popularity of the hot hatch has waned and waxed, over the last few years, it has continued to rise. And now, hot hatches are hot. So let’s check those that can be bought for under $15K.

20 2018 HONDA FIT ($14.9K)

The Honda Fit is a nice little car. The exterior looks a little puffy—and honestly, it’s starting to look like a mini-minivan—but besides that, it looks fine. Plus, with this car the exterior is not what really matters. It’s the interior that’s all about fitting this, fitting that.

You can arrange the seats however you’d like, do whatever you want to do with the interior in any shape or form. It’s simply a highly adaptable interior.

And of course, the manual transmission makes driving that much more enjoyable. The 2019 model year costs $16K, but you can get a 2018 model year for under $15K.

19 2015 NISSAN LEAF ($14.9K)

The value of these things drops pretty quickly. If you check out the price of a new one, it comes out to be about $29K. But then you get federal credit and stuff like that, which really cuts down the price by a boatload. But that’s exactly why the price depreciates rather quickly. Think about it: The second-hand owner is not going to get the tax credit that you got. So that’s why you can find a 2015 model year for under $15K. The car’s rear looks particularly enticing, and the front fascia is characteristic of Nissan. Not bad at all.

18 2015 MAZDA MAZDA3 ($14.8K)

Mazda isn’t doing hot hatches nowadays for the Mazda3 lineup, but it was pretty good while it lasted. The second generation’s front fascia was not liked by car enthusiasts because it looked like the car was always “smiling,” but I think rather it looks neat. Besides that, this car was well liked by a lot of people.

The second-generation had about 263 horses, and compared to some of the others here, that’s pretty top-notch power.

Just to give you some idea, it could do 0-60 in just 5.2 seconds! You can get a 2015 model year for around $14.8K on autotrader.com. It’s a happy, fun-driving car.

17 2016 VW GOLF ($14K)

The MSRP of a 2018 model year comes out to be about $20K. The automatic transmission costs $2K more than that, which I don’t think a lot of people buy in a VW Golf, and I don’t blame them. The manual has its own magic. Maybe it’s because I’m colored by the GTI variant of the Golf, but the Golf itself doesn’t look puffed up at all.

As a lot of review sites will tell you, the handling of this car is just sweet. While it’s not showy, it’s a good daily driver. You can have one for around $14K.

16 2017 KIA SOUL ($14.7K)

While you likely won’t be dancing (or at least won’t be standing up on just a hand during a moment of the celebration) like Kia portrays in the ad, you can rest assured that this car is a pretty good car.

While some people kind of consider this car a CUV, it’s actually more appropriate to call it a hatchback (Edmunds).

Indeed, it has won some “hatchback awards.” The beauty of this beast is that it’s also cheap. You can easily get a brand-new one for $16K, so a 2017 model year can be had easily for less than $15K.

15 2016 TOYOTA PRIUS C ($14K)

Here’s another decent car, the Prius C. It’s actually a hatchback that's based more on the Toyota Yaris than the Prius, so the name is deceiving. The car hasn’t changed much since its initial launch during the oil crisis.

The best part about this car is that it’s affordable and has a litany of active safety features. However, C/D was pretty ruthless with its review of the car, citing poor performance and uncouth ride as decent problems. A new one costs about $20K, but if you lightly shop around, you can get a 2016 model year for less than $15K.

14 2015 LEXUS CT HYBRID ($14.5K)

This one here looks pretty good, honestly. Lexus introduced the so-called “Spindle” grille on its 2014 CT Hybrid, and since then the hatchback has just gotten better. It’s a pretty neat-looking car. For one reason or another, Lexus discontinued the CT in the domestic market in 2017. The MSRP was $31K back in 2017, which Edmunds thought was a good price.

The cabin is comfortable, and the fuel economy is light on the wallet. And as mentioned, the hatchback looks quite good.

While you can definitely have this car for under $15K, the car would have a decent number of miles on it. For instance, a 52K-mile can be had for $14,599.

13 2016 KIA FORTE5 ($13K)

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the sales of the Kia Forte have gone up since 2013, when the number of units sold was 66K. Now it's at 117K. That’s pretty neat considering the dominance of pickups and SUVs. Anyway, the hatchback is offered in a five-door style. As far as the looks are concerned, I am pleasantly surprised. The current price for the Kia Forte5 is $18K, which is not bad at all. While C/D thought the car did average overall, it was praised for the good exterior and interior. You can have a 2016 or even 2017 model year for around $13K.

12 2016 SCION iM ($13.9K)

This hot hatch was orphaned at a young age. Toyota was contemplating the future of its Scion division for some time, and 2016 marked the end of the youth-geared division. This car right here got adopted by Toyota under its Corolla lineup, and is sold as the Toyota Corolla iM.

Compare it to any of the regular Corollas, and the Scion iM looks good. The interior of this thing is relatively good too. As far as the drive is concerned, it’s fundamentally fine. You can get a 2016 model year for an average price of 13.9K, which is not a bad deal.

11 2016 SUBARU IMPREZA ($14.9K)

Ah, the Impreza. One of the best features of this car is the all-wheel drive, which comes standard. Folks, not a lot of $18K cars have that as standard, but Subaru does. The hatchback (and sedan) has a 152-HP 2L flat-four mated to either a manual or a CVT.

The car has really good infotainment system overall and has a boatload of safety ratings.

However, C/D wasn’t exactly a big fan of the mediocre manual transmission and middling fuel efficiency. Nonetheless, the exterior is well done, and the interior looks good too. A relatively new one can be had for just $14.9K.

10 2017 MINI COOPER HATCHBACK ($14.9K)

While the price of the new one is around $21K, you can thank depreciation for allowing you to get a 2017 model year for about just $15K. These cars have been on the road since forever. Various variants, editions and the likes have come and gone, but the shape is the only thing that has stayed constant. And that shape is just classic. It doesn’t exactly look “cute.” No, I don’t think that’s how guys would describe it. It has that sense of sternness to it, yet it carries a touch of a cartoonish character, which gives it a great look.

9 2016 HYUNDAI ELANTRA GT ($13K)

Hyundai stopped with the three-door Elantra GT, and now all we have is a five-door hatchback, but that’s not a bad thing at all. If it had some higher ground-clearance, it would have somewhat qualified as a CUV, at least just from the outside (not really though). The current Elantra GT costs close to $20K, but looks good. Go a few years back, and the car still looks pretty good.

In addition to the looks, the car gives a respectable performance via its four-cylinder.

There’s the option of going manual, which is always nice. You can easily have a 2016 model year for under 15K, but 2017 might be a little difficult.

8 2015 VW GTI ($14.8K)

And here we come to the GTI itself. The GTI is also a hatchback in the Golf family, but it delivers a little extra for those who are always willing to go the extra mile in their lives, and thus keep being ahead. Instead of the standard engine, you’ll be greeted by a 2L turbocharged that delivers a wonderful 210 horses.

And then if you dive in, you’ll see that the GTI has plaid seats. The rest of the cabin looks good too. The new ones cost $26K, but a 2015 model year can be found for just a little under $15K.

7 2015 HONDA CR-Z ($10K)

This one looks like a coupe, but is a good award-winning hot hatch. The pros of this car were a lot. It had a quick steering that was highly responsive, the engines seemed to be not that thirsty, and the car looked good. I mean, check out that sporty look.

Of course, the rear visibility was a bit discouraging, but that’s expected from a car that’s shaped elegantly.

Only the US model didn’t have back seats, and that hurt a few people. Its production run lasted from 2010-2016. You can have one of these for around $10K with a reasonable mileage.

6 2017 FORD FOCUS SE ($10K)

The current one costs around $20K and looks good for that price range. The chassis is actually European-developed, which provides the Focus with a blend of accuracy and agility, both of which manifest through and through when driving this beauty.

The engine also has the option of being slapped with a turbocharger in the current model year, which gives it a total of 123 horses.

A 2017 model year is actually quite cheap at a price of about $10K on average. The manual was limited to sedans, so the hot hatches didn’t exactly get a fair treatment. But we are all grown up, so we won’t complain.

5 2017 HYUNDAI VELOSTER ($12K)

This three-door hatchback has always looked fast. Whether that’s how it actually behaves is debatable, although more people think it looks “faster” than it drives. Nonetheless, the weird-sounding car is quite fun to drive. It might not be the sharpest car on the track, but it’s definitely cool, calm and collected on the road to give you a pleasurable experience.

You can get a solid deal for under $12K, considering the recent model cost $18K brand new. It should be noted that a 2019 model year will have plenty of horses and lb-ft of torque to satisfy the track-oriented folks.

4 2018 FORD FIESTA ($14.2K)

The small size of the car makes it a fierce contender in its class. If other car owners derided this car for being small, they might be in for a shocker. The five-speed manual is standard, which makes better the already crisp and well-balanced driving. It’s a car that does what you tell it to do, often with a playful mind of its own. I didn’t have to go searching the price of the used ones on cargurus.com much like I had been doing it for others. A brand-new Fiesta will fit right in our budget. There’s also an ST model available for those who desire more.

3 2013 VOLVO C30 ($11K)

Much like the Audi A3, the Volvo C30 was a premium hatchback. In other words, it was equipped with the goodies that not every car gets. The production run of the C30 lasted from 2006-2013, after which the V40 (P1) came into the game. Judging the exterior of the car, I’d say it looks pretty good, although the rear windscreen is shaped a little differently. The interior looks good too and seems supportive. The ride itself was compliant and tamed, says Edmunds. The car can be found for really cheap prices, although those that don’t have a high mileage do still command $14K or so.

2 2017 CHEVY CRUZE ($11K)

Ford has a couple of hatchbacks, Chevy also a few, but you won’t find much success with Chrysler. The company has changed so much. If we are being honest, there’s no such thing as “Chrysler” anymore, and I don’t mean that literally. Without digressing any further, let’s check out the Cruze, the Cruze that looks sporty and has a firm grip around turns, the Cruze that has an easy-to-use infotainment system.

Some cons are that the seats aren’t that comfortable, and the acceleration is a little on the low-performing end. A 2017 model year can be had for about $11K.

1 2019 CHEVY SPARK ($13K)

Don’t go judging the car by the size. It’s an important car. And if you were wondering about the safety of this car, be content knowing that it is equipped with 10 airbags. It is quite literally one of the smallest and least expensive cars in its subcompact class.

The car has a decent 98 horses. Of course, you’re not vying for the fastest 0-60 time, but are looking for something that’s comfortable and enjoyable.

The cost of the current model year—and notice it’s 2019, not 2018—is $13K. It’s a good deal overall, in terms of price and ride.

Sources: cargurus.com