Skip to main content

This may be the year the American subcompact SUV dies. Manufacturers are discontinuing several SUVs for 2023. Chevy is killing the Trax and the tiny Spark. This is the encore year for the Buick Encore. The Ford EcoSport is dead. If you love these tiny SUVs, and if you hurry, you may be able to find one at your local dealer before they’re gone for good.  With these gone, Jeep is the only traditionally-American brand to offer a tiny subcompact SUV in the Renegade.

The Chevy Spark’s light went out

The Spark is discontinued for 2023.
2022 Chevy Spark | Chevrolet

The Chevy Spark may never have been super cool, but it was the least-expensive new crossover (or car or anything) you could buy in 2022. The base price for the 2022 Spark is just $13,600. But for that money, you don’t get a lot. The Spark has a simple 1.4-liter four-cylinder that makes just 98 hp. That’s enough to scoot around town, which the Spark was great at. Also, it could be ordered with a manual transmission, which upped the fun factor.

The Chevy Trax SUV is also discontinued for 2023

A white 2020 Chevrolet Trax subcompact SUV parked next to a building. It., too, is discontinued for 2023.
The 2020 Chevy Trax on display | Photo via Chevrolet

The Chevy Trax was also an inexpensive city-runabout crossover. In recent years, though, Chevy was limiting what buyers could order by canceling trim packages and some options. But, why would you want a Trax LS at $21,400 when you can get a larger Trailblazer for $21,800? Or a Hyundai Kona for $20,500? We can’t say if the Chevy Trailblazer was intended to replace the Trax but it looks like buyers picked the slightly larger SUV, even if you can’t get the Trax’s upgraded 155-horsepower engine. The Trax never earned love from reviewers.

The Encore is a fitting name for 2023

A dark colored Buick Encore with a moutntain behind.
2022 Buick Encore | Buick

The Buick Encore GX was groundbreaking in 2013. It was a subcompact SUV with a luxury bent. It’s essentially the same SUV as the also-discontinued Trax, but with options it feels like a much different vehicle. It starts at $24,600 and seats 5. The Buick comes in four flavors, GX, Preferred, Select and Essence, which starts at $29,000. The Essence has a heated steering wheel, leather seats, as well as driver safety aids and more. Fans of inexpensive Buicks will be disappointed. The Envision ST is now the cheapest Buick on the lot, and it starts at $32,945.

The Ford EcoSport takes a bow, too

The 2021 Ford EcoSport subcompact SUV in red driving over a bridge in an urban city.
2021 Ford EcoSport | The Ford Motor Company

The EcoSport was never really sporty, but it was efficient. The EcoSport was Ford’s least-expensive SUV. It starts at $22,040 and gets an estimated 23 mpg in the city and 29 on the highway. It was designed around a 2-liter four-cylinder engine with all-wheel drive as an option. It has 60/40 split rear seating, too, that can also be folded flat for a generous cargo floor. The EcoSport was a tiny runabout but it could be ordered in expensive trim levels.  The EcoSport Titanium option started at $28,395, but for that money you get Ford’s AciveX seats, and the fronts are heated. You can also order B&O sound, and some other luxury-touch goodies.

But at its heart, the EcoSport was designed to be cheap to buy and inexpensive to buy. Ironically the EcoSport leaves the Maverick truck as the least expensive Ford you can buy in 2023.

Related

The Ford EcoSport Barely Beats the Chevy Trailblazer

Best in Trucks & SUVs
Writer - Sedans & Coupes

Dan Mayfield

Dan joined MotorBiscuit in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in journalism and a lifelong passion for anything related to the automotive industry. He grew up wrenching a 1949 Ford pickup truck and an MGB with his dad, learning how not to wire a fuel pump (he inadvertently set the MGB on fire).

After earning a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the University of New Mexico, Dan has contributed his expertise to a range of local outlets, including the City of Albuquerque, US Eagle, and the Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity.

On weekends, Dan spends Saturdays enjoying “cars and coffee” chats and, on Sundays, he’s watching the Route 66 Cruise roll through town. He also races motorcycles, and it’s not unusual to find him elbows-deep in his latest cafe racer build.

Taking advantage of the local desert terrain, Dan also enjoys exploring and driving off-road in his trusty Ram Rebel pickup truck, which provides personal insights into his contributions to our Trucks, SUVs, & Crossovers coverage. Dan strives to give our readers unique information about the dynamic automotive market, reading anything that has to do with cars, trucks, bikes, 4X4s, and, in his words, “everything with a motor.”

Dan has earned a number of accolades from the Public Relations Society of America, and is a University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism Fellow.