While new car incentives can change from one month to the next, our analysis finds that some brands can be considerably better to lease than others. Each month, CarsDirect looks at hundreds of incentives to uncover lease deals offering the most bang-per-buck value.
The best brands to lease in 2022 tend to feature larger discounts than competitors, bonuses for switching brands, and incentives that can favor leasing over buying. The worst brands to lease can be shockingly expensive due to low residual values and a lack of discounts.
Best Car Brands To Lease
Brand | Reason | Current Incentives |
Hyundai | Better discounts than competitors | View Hyundai Deals |
Kia | Generous lease incentives | View Kia Deals |
Buick | Big loyalty discounts and bonuses for switching brands | Explore Buick Models |
Hyundai's discounts for leasing can outpace competitors by thousands. These lease cash incentives can often make some models better to lease than buy. For example, the 2022 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid offers up to a $3,500 discount for leasing but no rebate whatsoever for buying as of this writing.
Kia's affordable lineup of cars and SUVs can be significantly more affordable than brands like Toyota. For example, the 2022 Kia K5 offers over $2,300 in potential savings on a 24-month lease. In contrast, the Toyota Camry offers no rebates. Both brands are struggling with an inventory shortage.
Buick has some of the biggest loyalty discounts. The brand's best deals reward current Buick and GMC lessees with up to $3,250 in savings you can't get otherwise. As a result, luxury models like the 2022 Buick Enclave often rank among the cheapest luxury SUVs you can lease if you're eligible.
The cost of a lease depends on a variety of factors such as the selling price, the residual value, the money factor (interest rate), etc. To find more great values for every type of vehicle, explore our updated list of every lease special. Offers can vary by region and change on a monthly basis.
Worst Car Brands To Lease
Brand | Reason | Current Incentives |
Dodge | Low residual values | View Dodge Models |
Jeep | Low residual values | Explore Jeep Deals |
BMW | Lousy discounts | Explore BMW deals |
Dodge makes power-packed cars & SUVs you simply won't find from brands like Toyota. Unfortunately, low residual values and high lease rates can make leasing a Dodge a bad idea. You'll often see 42-month lease deals advertised, something that can help disguise cars that are expensive to lease.
For example, this month's deal on the Dodge Challenger SXT is listed at $379 for 36 months with $4,249 at signing. With an effective cost of $497/month, this makes the 2-door muscle car over $160/month more expensive than the cheapest lease deal on the V8 Camaro LT1 ($334 after loyalty discount).
Jeep leases can be hit-or-miss due to low residual values and high lease rates. While the Wrangler may have impressive residuals, the Cherokee can be awful to lease. The Cherokee Latitude Lux has an effective cost of $491, $186 (per month!) more than the cheapest lease on the GMC Terrain ($305 with loyalty discount).
BMW may seem like a good brand to lease, but it can be one of the worst. On paper, the cheapest 3-Series sedan has an effective cost of $597/month, which is currently more than a $47,000 Lexus ES Hybrid. There's also the fact that some BMW leases are based on an allowance of just 7,500 miles per year.
Other brands that tend to be expensive to lease include Mitsubishi, Audi, and FIAT. For 2022, Acura is proving to be a bad brand to lease after incentives were scaled back due to the inventory shortage. Prior to that, the brand consistently had some of the cheapest luxury car leases on the Acura TLX and MDX.
Shoppers should keep in mind that dealers determine real-world prices. If you're really set on leasing a brand known for bad leases, be sure to shop around. This could enable you to get behind the wheel of a car you like without necessarily finding out later that you could've leased a better car for less money.