10 Middle Class Cars that the Average Driver Will Love

It’s not often that Autobytel turns to a supreme court justice for inspiration about a top 10 list, but in the case of the top 10 Middle Class Cars, we’re going to follow Potter Stewart’s reasoning in Jacobellis v. Ohio. In other words, although we may not have any strict criteria for making the cut here, when it comes to middle class transportation, “I know it when I see it.”

That being said, all of these cars do offer a certain je nes sais quoi that appeals to folks who probably don’t use that phrase very often, and while entries are a bit on the premium side, every one also offers an MSRP that’s below the average automotive transaction cost in this country (about $32,000, depending on who’s doing the math).

2015 BMW 3-Series

Yep, we’re serious about calling out the BMW 3-Series one of our most favorite Middle Class Cars. Consider: Despite its “Ultimate Driving Machine” roots, the 3-Series has become the go-to choice for a certain kind of owner who wants to push ye olde envelope—but not too far. 

Just look at the sales charts, where the 3-Series sedan (and its 4-series coupe counterpart) last year combined for 142,232 deliveries; with that total, BMW’s compact duo not only finished on the car-sales top-20 leaderboard, it actually came in at No. 16, ahead of mainstream cars like the Chevy Impala, Dodge Charger and Ford Fiesta. 

True, the 3-Series is one of the most expensive selections on our list, but its entry point of $32,950 isn’t that far beyond our transaction-price ceiling, and the lineup even offers a station wagon.

2015 Chevrolet Impala

Full-size sedans used to be the Middle Class Cars par excellence, and while many brands now use the segment for a premium flagship model, that kind of positioning does make the 2015 Chevy Impala a strong aspirational alternative for middle-class buyers. 

Pricing starts at $27,060, providing, according to the brand, a “classic Chevy sedan presence [that] doesn’t rely on nostalgia” to satisfy owners. Instead, high-tech features include mobile wi-fi and 4G LTE connectivity with a standard three-month/3-gigabyte trial plan, along with up-scale cues like LED daytime running lamps, Bose audio and the full gamut of Chevy driver-assistance measures. Among them: adaptive cruise control, crash-imminent braking, forward collision alert, lane-departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert, a rear-vision camera, ultrasonic rear park assistance and more.

Additionally, with middle-class families well aware of the barbecuing benefits of CNG, it’s also worth noting that the Impala can be configured to run on that fuel.

2015 Chevrolet Malibu

Customers looking for the best Middle Class cars can count on Chevrolet for choices like the 2015 Chevy Malibu, but they’ll have to hurry: An all-new ’Bu will be revealed at the New York Auto Show in April, then go on sale for the 2016 model year. 

And while that version will no doubt offer some unexpected advantages in the mid-size sedan segment, drivers who prefer the more familiar benefits of today’s Malibu can do so at an MSRP of $22,465. Just remember, the Malibu also is distinguished by a key feature offered in nearly every middle-class home, though it’s one that’s missing from most of the rest of our choices.

That would be, of course, a standard wi-fi hotspot, which in the Malibu is backed by 4G LTE connectivity from OnStar and a complimentary three-month/3-gigabyte trial data plan.

2015 Ford C-Max

The Blue Oval’s current design language makes entries like the Fusion and Focus slightly too dramatic to fit in among the truly Middle Class Cars, but the vaguer execution on the 2015 Ford C-Max makes a much better match here. And rest assured, the C-Max is listed as a “car” on the Ford website, and it does indeed provide a very car-like ownership experience.

On the other hand, because it maximizes its spacious interior more like a multi-purpose vehicle, the C-Max can fit some 52.6 cubic feet of gear behind its front seats.

Now, the C-Max does happen to have a standard hybrid powertrain, but let’s face it: At this stage in the game, hybrid tech has moved firmly into the middle-class mindset. It also doesn’t hurt that, as a result, the C-Max serves up EPA ratings of 42 mpg city/37 mpg highway/40 mpg combined.

2015 Honda Civic

If doing your civic duty is a middle-class virtue, nominating the 2015 Honda Civic to the Middle Class Cars honor roll can be thought of in much the same way.

Yes, its sales have been slipping of late, but the Civic remains the second-best-selling compact in the country, and the car it trails, the Toyota Corolla, still offers a four-speed automatic transmission; it’s only offered, and standard, on the entry car, and most drivers may not even notice, but the very idea is down-market enough to go with the Honda.

Plus, the Civic does offer a bevy of benefits that the Corolla can’t, including Top Safety Pick status from the IIHS and the Honda LaneWatch blind-spot technology, and matches the Toyota in terms of premium features like navigation, connectivity and audio systems.

2015 Nissan Altima

There’s been a major shakeup in the mid-size sedan segment, where the 2015 Nissan Altima has trumped the Honda Accord in volume for three months in a row, through February, and now pushes its rival off the Middle Class Cars list. But it’s not just the difference in volume that makes the difference. As the Accord has drifted up-market, the Altima has become an increasingly solid choice for drivers at the heart of the marketplace, leveraging affordable pricing, strong fuel-economy marks and distinctive design cues. 

The argument for the Altima also was strengthened noticeably for the 2015 model year, thanks to the introduction of Nissan Connect technology and a long list of safety measures, including blind-spot warning, moving-object detection and lane-departure warning, that are on their way to becoming middle-class must-haves.

2015 Subaru Outback

It’s hard to fathom a list of Middle Class Cars that doesn’t include a station wagon, but there really isn’t a mainstream station wagon left on the market—unless we count the 2015 Subaru Outback, and there’s really no reason not to. 

For one thing, although Subaru may not be thought of as a middle-class, mainstream sort of brand, the Outback was the 14th best-selling car in the country after the first two months of the year. So it’s not like the car is a low-volume, niche player. 

Further, while Subaru does stand out for making all-wheel drive standard on every model in the lineup, AWD itself is hardly an exotic technology anymore. 

In fact, the oddest thing about the Outback may be that once-traditional wagon-like cargo hold, capable of swallowing up to 73.3 cubic feet of cargo.

2015 Toyota Camry

As the best-selling car in the country for the past 13 years, the Toyota Camry is a mainstay on the Middle Class Cars honor roll—and that’s despite the brand’s best efforts to shake things up with the current model. However, even with the debut of the sporty-ish XSE model, as well as the upcoming launch of the Special Edition first shown at the 2015 Chicago Auto Show, the 2015 Toyota Camry continues to offer a relentlessly broad appeal to mainstream buyers.                                                                                                  

Which is good for them, since the Camry’s MSRP of $22,970 covers standard features like air conditioning, a rearview camera, and an Entune Multimedia system with 6.1-inch screen, Bluetooth technology, advanced voice recognition and six speakers.

The real deal-maker? Unassuming exterior styling that avoids the ostentatious excesses of some of its rivals.

2015 Toyota Prius

The 2015 Toyota Prius also makes an eminently logical pick for our latest list. After all, if the Prius is essentially the Camry of hybrids, and the Camry is the epitome of middle-class motoring, the Prius must be one of the industry’s top Middle Class Cars as well.

Just don’t let its near ubiquity make you forget exactly how rare its fuel-economy performance is. With an EPA line of 51 mpg city/48 mpg highway/50 mpg combined, the standard Prius is one of just two hybrids in the country to achieve 50 mpg in combined travel; the other is the city-sized Prius c that comes in at 53 mpg city/46 mpg highway/50 mpg combined. 

Nor is there much of a hybrid premium anymore, since the starting price of the standard Prius is a financially friendly $24,200.

2015 Volkswagen Passat

VW likes to boast that the 2015 Volkswagen Passat was “designed and specifically tailored for the U.S. market,” and that it’s built here, too, but the outcome is a uniquely Teutonic take on the concept of Middle Class Cars.

For example, the mid-size Passat sedan is the only entry on our list to offer a diesel engine. It’s a new one, too, serving up an extra 10 hp and a few more highway mpg than in 2014, with the new tale of the tape reading 150 hp, 236 lb.-ft. of torque and a top EPA line of 30 mpg city/44 mpg highway/35 mpg combined. And its standard engine is a not-very-traditional turbo.

However, the up-level engine choice is a more basic V6, and while precision German engineering does come with a price, that price is a relatively reasonable $21,340.