When basic is best: Ford Maverick, Nissan Z, Subaru WRX and others

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Ordinarily, the listed starting price is just a tease to get you through the door. Take the new Nissan Z for example: in Canada, pricing kicks off at $46,498. Sounds like a decent bargain for 400 hp worth of performance — but you have to spend $58,495 to get a version with a limited slip differential out back to tame that power.

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However, the base Z is still very enticing, to the point that it could be argued the best version is the entry-level, just-the-basics version. I won’t even bring manual-snobbery into it: either with the stick shift or nine-speed automatic, the base Z looks great, goes like spooked cat, and has all the essential onboard technology you actually need. Also, the standard 18” wheels will be cheaper to keep shod in rubber, and to my eye, they actually look better.

The Z’s not the only case where base model is best. Far from it — while manufacturers like to load up on available features, and most consumers land somewhere on a mid-trim model, there are many vehicles where you’re better off keeping it plain and simple. Here’s a look at some of the best no-frills options on the market today.

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Ford Maverick XL

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Seems to me there was a time *tips cowboy hat back on head* folks liked their trucks simple. With the compact Maverick, those days are back.

Modern pickup truck sales dominate the market, but outside of fleet sales, consumer-grade trucks generally have more bells and whistles than a combination referee/Santa supply warehouse. Trucks these days are big, expensive, and fancy. Not this one.

Ford will sell you a Maverick with a turbocharged engine and FX4 offroad package, but the most satisfying version is easily the one that rolls on steel wheels. Yes, it’s only front-wheel-drive. Yes, the towing capacity (907kg) is half that of the turbocharged version. Sure, you get cloth seats instead of leather.

But driving around in a practical little utility vehicle that gets roughly the same fuel economy as the old Honda Fit never gets old. You can throw your mountain bikes in the back, you can stock up at the hardware store for your DIY project, you can install a canopy and make your Maverick the perfect camping vehicle. It’s the perfect jack of all trades small truck, economical enough for today’s sky-high gas prices.

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Kia Telluride

If your family needs tend toward a three-row crossover, you could do worse than beat a path to your local Kia dealership. Much of Kia’s range is excellent these days, and there’s a reason the company’s flagship vehicle has been dubbed the “Selluride.” It’s in high demand.

That’s as it should be, because the list of standard features on the EX AWD model is the kind of stuff that would boggle the mind of anyone who remembers the original Sportage. At $46,995, it’s a little more expensive than the similar Hyundai Pallisade, but comes with a host of features. Standard sunroof. Standard heated front seats. Standard touchscreen navigation, power rear tailgate, three-zone automatic climate control. Adaptive cruise control? Standard.

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Do you want more in your Telluride? Oh sure — your kids would probably love the upgraded version with the full leather and captain’s chairs. Well, they can have it when they pay for it themselves. Otherwise, the entry-level EX is the pick of the bunch.

Jeep Wrangler Sport

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The offroader grabbing most of the headlines these days is the Ford Bronco. Sure, we’re glad to have the nameplate back, but the brand that’s never stopped flinging mud on the fenders still knows how to stay laser focused on the basics.

So, while the four-door Wrangler Unlimited is still the sales leader for Jeep, it’s the basic two-door Sport model that still has all the magic. What more could you need? It’s got a proper low-range four-wheel-drive setup. Even at a basic level, you can get it in some eye-popping colours. The basic infotainment is easy to use.

And best of all is the standard folding soft top, easy to fold and increase the Jeepiness of the Wrangler even more. Let’s face it, even regular weekend-warrior 4x4s see a lot more tarmac than they do dirt. Owning a Wrangler isn’t just about the offroad capability as it is the entire driving experience: the slightly agricultural dynamic feel, the wind in your hair, looking at every obstacle like, “You know, I could just drive right over that. Oh yes, I’d get in a lot of trouble for doing so. But I could.”

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Subaru WRX

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I’ll admit, not being able to order your WRX in blue is kind of a bummer. Subaru will only sell you the base model of the WRX in white, black, silver, or grey – the palette best known as The German Automaker Rainbow. If you can live with the limited colour offerings, however, the basic WRX is the pick of the bunch.

In terms of powertrain, you’re not missing much. You get the same 271 hp turbocharged flat-four engine as the rest of the range, and the same all-wheel-drive system as all other manual WRXs – a manual is the only transmission option on the base version. The wheels are 17” rather than the 18” on the rest of the range, but that just means more sidewall for rough gravel roads.

The base model also makes do with a smaller infotainment screen, rather than the iPad-sized display that’s proliferating across the Subaru range. I’m not sure that’s actually a drawback in a sport-oriented, rally-bred sedan. In a WRX, you aren’t supposed to get your entertainment from a screen, you get it from behind the wheel.

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Nissan Kicks

I am reliably informed that “kicks” is common hip slang for shoes. Wait — receiving new information that by me using the words “hip slang,” no cool kids are calling their sneakers “kicks” any more. But that might be what they’re calling their first Nissans.

The Kicks is a fun and funky little compact crossover that is more fun to drive than its modest spec sheet would indicate. And, while it’s tempting to option the upgraded stereo so your favourite jams just hit different (currently being told that saying “jams” is Big Yikes), the Kicks is better when it’s basic. As basic as your humble author.

So 16” steel wheels and a cheap and cheerful spirit it is. The base model Kicks slaps. Sorry.

Mazda MX-5 GS

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Last, here’s the obvious choice. You could do worse for a two-car solution than parking a basic MX-5 side by side with that base model Maverick. The GS does not have the Bose stereo, the heated seats, nor the optional Bilstein dampers.

Do you really need any of that? I submit that you do not. Like many of the cars on this list, the less stuff you add to an MX-5, the better, because you’re only paying for the car’s essential character. In the case of the Mazda, that’s a lightweight and tossable roadster with the roof folded down whenever possible.

If it leans in corners a bit more than it would with the sport suspension, that just makes for a more engaging drive. And what makes for the best MX-5 if not that it is the most-engaging MX-5?

It’s a classic case of less is more. Remember, before you start ticking the options boxes, sometimes it’s best to leave things spartan. The even better news? You’ve just saved a bundle of money to help pay for fuel.