Our messy winters mean that Canadians love the extra confidence they feel with all-wheel drive (AWD). AWD used to be a feature saved for more expensive cars, trucks, and SUVs, but there are now many affordable options in different body styles for drivers who want some added traction but don’t want to spend a fortune.
All the prices here include freight charges and taxes, and the ranges you see will reflect the lowest and highest provincial tax rates. Here are the five cheapest all-wheel drive vehicles you can buy in Canada in 2023, starting from highest to lowest price.
2023 Mazda3
As the only sedan on this list, it wouldn’t be surprising if you didn’t even know Mazda offered AWD in its popular sedan. Mazda started offering AWD in its compact sedan to push it upmarket and better compete with luxury brands, but it’s great that the price still remains very affordable. Besides being the only sedan here, its excellent interior build quality, swoopy design, and solid driving dynamics set it apart from the others on this list.
Engine Displacement: 2.5L
Engine Cylinders: Inline 4-cylinder
Peak Horsepower: 191 hp
Peak Torque: 186 lb-ft
Fuel Economy: 8.8 / 6.6 / 7.9 L/100 km city/highway/combined
Cargo Space: 374 L
Trim: Mazda3 GS
All-In Price: $30,585–$33,399 (depending on province or territory and tax rate)
2023 Kia Seltos
The Kia Seltos wins a lot of awards for being so well-rounded – there really isn’t anything it doesn’t do well. Our experts are fans of its handsome style, confident driving dynamics, and excellent practicality, but also the fact that it’s very straightforward to use from day to day and comes standard with a decent amount of features. In his review, AutoTrader’s Road Test Editor Dan Ilika said the “Seltos delivers value like few others can.”
Engine Displacement: 2.0L
Engine Cylinders: Inline 4-cylinder
Peak Horsepower: 146 hp
Peak Torque: 132 lb-ft
Fuel Economy: 8.8 / 7.6 / 8.2 L/100 km city/highway/combined
Cargo Space: 752 / 1,778 L
Trim: Seltos LX
All-In Price: $29,068–$31,837 (depending on province or territory and tax rate)
2023 Subaru Crosstrek
The Crosstrek was one of those vehicles that I wasn’t that impressed with until I drove it in the winter with winter tires and realized it was unstoppable. Its always-on all-wheel drive system comes standard and is a bit different than the others on this list because those systems only send power to the front wheels until slippage is detected, which helps the vehicle’s fuel efficiency. The fact that Subaru’s AWD system is always on means more traction more of the time. Our experts like this compact crossover’s practicality, capability, roominess, robust packaging, and the fact that it remains very affordable.
And fun fact: This is one of the only AWD vehicles still available with a manual transmission and the only one on this list besides the vehicle in the No. 1 spot, which happens to be another Subaru.
Engine Displacement: 2.0L
Engine Cylinders: Horizontal 4-cylinder
Peak Horsepower: 152 hp
Peak Torque: 145 lb-ft
Fuel Economy: 10.5 / 8.1 / 9.3 L/100 km city/highway/combined
Cargo Space: 590 / 1,569 L
Trim: Crosstrek Convenience MT (manual transmission)
All-In Price: $28,866–$31,602 (depending on province or territory and tax rate)
2023 Hyundai Kona
The Hyundai Kona got a refresh recently to update its looks but it’s always been one of our top picks in this segment because it offers an AWD model at a great price. The subcompact crossover is well-rounded and, in a nice surprise for this segment, has really buttoned down driving dynamics. This crossover shares a lot with the Kia Seltos, but is slightly less roomy.
Engine Displacement: 2.0L
Engine Cylinders: Inline 4-cylinder
Peak Horsepower: 147 hp
Peak Torque: 132 lb-ft
Fuel Economy: 8.5 / 7.2 / 7.9 L/100 km city/highway/combined
Cargo Space: 544 / 1,296 L
Trim: Kona 2.0 Essential
All-In Price: $28,349–$31,036 (depending on province or territory and tax rate)
2023 Subaru Impreza
It’s no surprise that we have two Subarus representing the most affordable all-wheel drive vehicles in Canada because it’s pretty much the only brand here that offers AWD as standard, where the rest of the vehicles on this list offer it as an optional upgrade. The Impreza has been a sort of underdog pick for drivers who appreciate value and simple operation, but the compact hatchback also remains the most affordable way for Canadians to have all-wheel drive.
Engine Displacement: 2.0L
Engine Cylinders: Horizontal 4-cylinder
Peak Horsepower: 152 hp
Peak Torque: 145 lb-ft
Fuel Economy: 10.1 / 7.7 / 9.0 L/100 km city/highway/combined
Cargo Space: 588 / 1,565 L
Trim: Impreza Convenience MT (manual transmission)
All-In Price: $26,950–$29,503 (depending on province or territory and tax rate)
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