Best Car Lease Deals — March 2022

Alright, let's kick off March with some of the best deals available on the market currently, and there are some good ones! Today we’ll take a look at some of the best car lease deals available in March, and judge them based on a number of criteria for different shopper personas. As always, it is important to remember that different states, regions, and dealers can all have variations in price and offers, so I will specify which state and offer we are evaluating.

First things first, let’s review how we will evaluate the leases, and in order to do that, we’ll want to try and understand why customers prefer a lease over financing. There are many benefits to leasing over financing, but often times it comes down to lower cost and maintenance. When considering a three-year timeframe, a lease will cost you less out of the pocket than buying a car. Therefore, the amount of money that a lease will cost a customer will probably be a big factor in determining the attractiveness of a deal.

Now, when evaluating the cost of a lease, we consider 4 parts.

1. The Down Payment — this is a lump sum amount you usually pay upfront to get the lease. Usually between (3–5k)
2. The Monthly Payments — this is a fixed amount that you pay every month, as per the agreement of your lease. This amount is typically about 10% of the down payment.
3. Lease Term — this is how long your lease agreement is for. Most commonly it is a 36-month lease.
4. The Lease Lifetime Cost — this is the total amount that you will pay over the lifetime of the lease, which includes both the Down Payment and all of the Monthly Payments combined.

For this blog — I will pick Washington State to look at all of the lease deals from every manufacturer, and pick the best ones based on the following three categories:

1. Lowest Down Payment

Model: Downpayment: Monthly: Lifetime Cost

1. Hyundai IONIQ: $0 Down Payment: $309/Month: $11k Lifetime Cost

2. Nissan Leaf: $2,039 Down Payment: $319/Monthly: $13k Lifetime Cost

3. Honda CR-V: $3,099 Down Payment: $299 Monthly: $13k Lifetime Cost

Here are the top car lease offers in Washington State, if a low upfront cost is what you are looking for. Sometimes a customer may have a steady income but not much money saved up to put as a down payment. In this case, a low downpayment deal becomes very attractive. Looking at our top 3 options, this is a no-brainer, the Hyundai wins by a BIG shot! This is not a mistake, Hyundai is having a $0 Down special for a number of their vehicles so check out if it’s available in your state here!

2. Lowest Monthly Payment

Model: Downpayment: Monthly: Lifetime Cost

1. Hyundai Venue: $2,699 Down Payment: $159/Month: $8.5k Lifetime Cost

Source: www.leasebrowser.com

2. Honda Civic: $3,199 Down Payment: $219/Month: $11k Lifetime Cost

3. Honda HR-V: $3,699 Down Payment: $219/Month: $11k Lifetime Cost

In the case that you don’t mind placing a larger downpayment, yet want the absolute lowest monthly payment, then you may want to consider these three options for now. The Hyundai Venue seems to be the winner in this case, and the downpayment doesn’t look too bad either!

3. Lowest Lifetime Cost

1. Hyundai Venue: $2,699 Down Payment: $159/Month: $8.5k Lifetime Cost

2. Honda HR-V: $3,699 Down Payment: $219/Month: $11k Lifetime Cost

3. Nissan Sentra: $2,539 Down Payment: $269/Month: 12K Lifetime Cost

Now, for the final category, we look for the car with the lowest lease lifetime cost. If you don’t care about having a lower monthly payment or down payment, but want to find the car that will cost you the lease overall, then the lease lifetime cost is a more holistic way to evaluate the lease. It adds all of the monthly payments you will pay during the lease, plus the downpayment (excludes tax title, etc). Looking at the offers through this lens, the Hyundai Venue becomes the winner, by a 37% margin. Although the IONIQ has a $0 down payment, the Venue is will give you the lower overall cost.

Who’s the Winner?

Based on these criteria, the Hyundai Venue wins for overall value, while the Honda HR-V is a better choice if you are looking for a crossover SUV and don’t mind paying about 37% more for the 3 years of the lease.

Browse lease offers in your state on LeaseBrowser