Lightest Cars on Sale: Top 10

It’s a simple matter of physics. The lighter a vehicle is, the more agile and efficient it will be.

The less mass there is onboard, the less effort it takes for a vehicle to accelerate, change directions, and stop. Lightweight cars can be powered by much smaller engines, be equipped with thinner tires and feature thinner, lighter brakes.

This is not to say just because a car is light it will be quick and/or efficient – there are ways to easily overcome a vehicle’s mass. But reducing weight is the easiest way to improve a car’s performance in virtually every way. There’s also a certain thrill to driving small featherweight cars, even if they have all the power of a lawnmower and are riding on glorified bicycle tires. But our list of the top 10 lightest cars is much more substantial than that and covers quite a few vehicle segments. Read on to see the lightest of the light.

Next up is the surprisingly light Hyundai Elantra compact sedan. You are reading that correctly – the Elantra SE weighs 37 lbs. less than the subcompact Kia Rio. Easily the most spacious vehicle on our list, by keeping the weight down, the Elantra is rated to achieve fuel economy figures of 33 mpg in the city and 43 mpg on the highway. Not bad numbers for an affordable, non-hybrid car that can comfortable seat four, or even five in a pinch.

We feel like this a point that doesn’t need to be made anymore, but MINI cars are not quite as mini as they once were. The smallest vehicle the British brand manufacturers, the Cooper Hardtop 2-Door, just barely makes our top 10 list, sliding into the eighth slot. Still, it is one of the lighter cars on sale in North America and is arguably the second most fun car to drive on the list, only trailing the much more impractical Mazda MX-5 Miata.

The Nissan Kicks is one of two subcompact crossovers to make this lightest cars list, but calling either of these entries proper crossovers is a bit of a stretch. Think of them more as high-riding subcompact hatchbacks. The Kicks is a replacement for the Versa Note and we do prefer it over that old, oddly shaped hatch. The Kicks can only be had with front wheel drive and the entry level S trim level weighs in at under 2,700 lbs.

The reason the Accent is no longer available as a hatchback is due to the arrival of the Hyundai Venue. Using the same strategy that Nissan does with the Kicks, the Venue is a high riding subcompact hatchback masquerading as a crossover. The entry level SE trim weighs a bit over 2,600 lbs., undercutting the Kicks’ weight by nearly 75 pounds. Although it is more expensive than the Accent, it does come better equipped with features like alloy wheels, an 8-inch touchscreen, and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto as standard equipment.

The Mazda MX-5 Miata is lightweight for different reasons than most other vehicles on this list. It maximizes weight savings in the name of performance. By keeping those pounds in check, the MX-5 can maximize the performance out of its 181 hp engine and smile-inducing rear-wheel drive chassis. Mazda officially lists any trim of the soft-top convertible at 2,341 lbs., although that figure will change depending on options and content added to the roadster.

Taking the top spot as the lightest car currently on sale in North America is the Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback. Although the current model’s roots date back a decade, the Mirage continues to soldier on offering low weight, low horsepower, low fuel consumption, and a low starting price. Just imagine if Mitsubishi made an EVO version of this car with the 1.5-liter turbocharged engine installed. That’s a hot hatch we could get behind.