- The Nissan Versa is the cheapest new car in the U.S. to buy, but it’s not very affordable to lease.
- The mid-range Ioniq 5 SEL RWD is available for just $229 per month over 24 months.
- Now could be a good time to lease an EV for a couple of years.
The price premium traditionally commanded by electric vehicles has limited their appeal, but a growing number of compelling lease deals are bringing EVs closer to the masses’ reach. Case in point, it is now cheaper to lease a brand new Hyundai Ioniq 5 in the U.S. than it is to lease a Nissan Versa.
In a bid to drive up sales of the Ioniq 5, Hyundai offered plenty of attractive leasing deals over the past year or so. The mid-range Ioniq 5 SEL RWD is currently available for a scarcely believable $229 per month over 24 months with $3,499 due at signing, despite the model’s MSRP of $47,400 before destination fees. With the up-front fee due at signing, the EV can effectively be leased for $375 per month.
Read: You Can Snag A 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 With A $15k Discount For Lease
By comparison, the 2024 Nissan Versa can only be leased for $381 per month over 36 months with $0 down. That makes it $6 per month more expensive, despite a much more affordable MSRP of just $19,490, Cars Direct notes.
Admittedly, the Ioniq 5 is larger than the Versa, and there’s probably not a lot of cross-shopping between them. Nevertheless, these rates show that leasing an EV can be a good option, particularly for those who have easy access to home charging and don’t need to rely on public charging infrastructure, which continues to have issues.
The Ioniq 5 SEL RWD is fitted with a single electric motor producing 225 hp and can travel up to 303 miles (488 km) on a single charge. It is also equipped with Hyundai’s advanced Highway Driving Assist 2 (HDA 2) which includes autonomous lane changes on highways. You won’t find a feature like that on a Versa. Instead, base models have 15-inch steel wheels and halogen headlights. What would you prefer?
