Subcompact cars compared: all 21 current models side by side

Subcompact is an EPA size class, and here it is mostly sports and luxury coupes. MotorTrend (opens in a new tab) reports that the base 2026 BMW 2 Series with rear-wheel drive earns a respectable 26/35 mpg city/highway and a range of 411 miles, that adding all-wheel drive drops those to 25/33 mpg, and that a higher trim rated up to 23/32 mpg costs a little over $11,000 more than the base trim while offering M-worthy performance without pushing the price into Cayman territory.

The Honda Prelude is the efficiency pick at 44 mpg combined and about $1,450 a year, followed by the BMW 2 Series at up to 31 mpg. The Maserati GranCabrio rates 83 MPGe in its electric form at about $900 a year, while the Lexus LC (18 mpg) and BMW M8 (17) sit at the thirsty end. On the EPA's assumptions the Mustang costs the least of the affordable coupes to buy and is the class's price floor.

Coupes and convertibles have wear items that a sedan does not: check roof seals and folding mechanisms on convertibles, and tires and brakes on performance versions. Read each model's page for its recall and complaint record, and check a used car's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.