Cheapest cars to buy 2024
Searching for a brand-new bargain? These are the cheapest cars in the UK right now
Once, not too long ago, if you were looking to buy one of the cheapest cars to buy in the UK, there was an underlying sense of ‘you get what you pay for’. These cars may have looked like a great deal but the cost-cutting was obvious, to say the least. However, times have changed, and you can now look at these motoring bargains using both your head and heart.
You won’t need to look far for the biggest bargains, either, as we’ve rounded up the cheapest brand-new cars to buy right here.
Cheapest cars to buy
- Dacia Sandero - £13,795
- Citroen C3 - £14,150
- Dacia Spring - £14,995
- Dacia Sandero Stepway - £15,295
- Kia Picanto - £15,595
- Hyundai i10 - £16,030
- Toyota Aygo X- £16,140
- Citroen C3 Aircross - £17,047
- Suzuki Ignis - £17,949
- Dacia Jogger - £18,295
1. Dacia Sandero
- Prices from £13,795
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The Dacia Sandero is a full-sized supermini that offers simplicity, comfort and surprising practicality for those who seek basic transport without any gimmicks. The interior is actually more spacious than many of the Sandero's supermini rivals, running costs are usefully low and the mechanicals have proven their worth in the past, so the Sandero should be reliable. Thanks to its Renault heritage, the latest Sandero shares a platform with the current Clio – a much more expensive supermini.
This means the car’s chassis is more modern than before and it feels sophisticated to drive. Build quality is questionable in places, but some of the engine line-up uses Renault’s latest fuel-saving technology, meaning the Sandero is surprisingly efficient and perky on the road.
2. Citroen C3 Origin
- Prices from £14,150
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Technically speaking, there are now two Citroen C3s on sale, with the Origin being the older model. Don’t let this put you off, though, as the C3 Origin still stands out from the crowd with its distinctive appearance and pleasing ride comfort (as is often the case with Citroens).
The French brand is also rather generous when it comes to equipping its cheapest car. In base You! trim you’ll get Bluetooth, LED headlights, a five-inch touchscreen, DAB digital radio and even body-coloured bumpers and door handles. Safety hasn’t been skimped on, either, with features like a coffee break alert.
3. Dacia Spring
- Prices from £14,995
- Best for efficiency
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It’ll probably come as no surprise to see yet another Dacia on this list, but what may shock you is that this sub-£15,000 car is purely electric powered. That’s right, the Dacia Spring is the cheapest fully-fledged electric car that you can now buy in the UK.
In order to keep the cost down, the Spring is a bit basic compared to most of its rivals, and the entry-level model will only cover up to 140 miles on the WLTP combined cycle. That being said, if you often find yourself zipping around city streets on shorter journeys, this should prove more than enough. There’s a reasonable amount of essential kit included, such as air-conditioning, and, of course, you’ll avoid emissions-based charges and VED road tax (at least until April 2025).
4. Dacia Sandero Stepway
- Prices from £15,295
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The Dacia Sandero Stepway takes the best bits of the standard Sandero and adds in more rugged SUV-style looks, a bit more space, and extra features that bring the base Stepway more inline with mid-spec city car rivals – as opposed to the rather sparse nature of the standard Sandero.
The base Essential trim includes a DAB radio, Bluetooth, air-conditioning, and cruise control as standard. You even have a choice of engines – a petrol-powered TCe 90 or (at an extra cost) the Bi-Fuel TCe 100. Both versions claim to return more than 45mpg, so running costs should prove affordable. With its 328-litre boot, the Sandero Stepway is an affordable family option, too.
5. Kia Picanto
- Prices from £15,595
- Best standard warranty
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The Kia Picanto is now in its third generation and has developed into a stylish little city car with enough kit to make it genuinely desirable before the price is even taken into account. It’s easy to see why the Picanto is so popular because this small car offers tremendous ride quality and the brand’s famous seven-year/100,000-mile warranty – a great deal for such a low-priced car.
There are a number of Picanto variants available, and your £15,595 will get you a basic model in ‘2’ trim fitted with a 66bhp 1.0-litre engine and manual gearbox. If you want an automatic gearbox, you’ll have to pay more.
6. Hyundai i10
- Prices from £16,030
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Our two-time City Car of the Year is not only one of the cheapest cars you can buy, but it’s also surprisingly sophisticated for its size. The Hyundai i10 boasts a generous amount of on-board tech, as well as being comfortable to drive and filled plenty of cabin and boot space. It’s even fitted with interior mood-lighting – just like you’d get in a far bigger and pricier Mercedes. A five-year/80,000-mile warranty and Hyundai Roadside Assistance sweeten the deal, too.
The cheapest i10s are fitted with a 66bhp 1.0-litre 3-cylinder engine. This unit is sluggish in terms of acceleration but, when you do reach cruising speeds, the compact Hyundai is far more comfortable than most of its rivals.
7. Toyota Aygo X
- Prices from £16,140
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The Toyota Aygo X is something of a pseudo-SUV; it’s a compact city car with beefed-up styling. This design helps this tiny car to stand out in terms of looks, but there’s also a strong level of standard equipment to back up its big car aspirations. Opting for the entry-level Pure trim will bag you the lowest price, but you’ll still get adaptive cruise control, a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and Toyota’s Safety Sense package.
As with most city cars, the Aygo X’s compact size makes it easy to drive and park, and the 1.0-litre 3-cylinder engine provides adequate power for this sub-one tonne car. The powertrain does feel a bit dated when compared to an increasing number of electrified rivals, but it should still achieve over 55mpg with little fuss.
8. Citroen C3 Aircross
- Prices from £17,047
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If you thought that this list would be entirely made up of city cars and superminis, you’ll probably be surprised to see the Citroen C3 Aircross making an appearance. For well under £20,000 you can have this fully-fledged small SUV, and it offers a rather generous amount of space for all the family.
It’s the base You! trim that you’ll get for the minimum £17k, but this still comes with a decent level of standard kit including a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system, automatic air-conditioning, 16-inch alloy wheels, rear parking sensors and cruise control. Your precious pennies should be safe when it comes to running the Citroen SUV, too, as the 109bhp PureTech 110 petrol engine can return over 50mpg.
9. Suzuki Ignis
- Prices from £17,949
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If you like smaller cars but also enjoy a spot of off-roading, the Suzuki Ignis offers an unusual combination of city car dimensions and four-wheel drive. It’s not about to defeat a Land Rover Defender when the going gets tough, but the little Ignis is perfectly capable of taking on a bit of light gravel and mud every now and then.
The trade-off for this capability is quite a firm ride, but if you’re using the Ignis on shorter urban drives, its compact stature makes this a very straightforward car to drive and park. A cleverly-designed cabin means there’s a decent amount of practicality inside, too.
10. Dacia Jogger
- Prices from £18,295
- Best for families
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If you can’t decide between an SUV, MPV or an estate car, the Dacia Jogger offers a little bit of all three mixed together into one hugely spacious family car. You can seat seven people or, alternatively, fold some of the seats down and have near van-like levels of cargo space. Whatever you use the Jogger for, you won’t be paying too much for the privilege.
In typical Dacia style, the Jogger is better described as functional rather than plus, but the cabin materials do feel like they’ll stand up well to even the youngest of passengers. There is the option of hybrid power, although this pushes the price over the £20,000 mark, but the TCe 110 petrol engine is still reasonably efficient with an official WLTP combined consumption figure of 47.9mpg.
What about quadricycles?
You might be thinking that you’ve seen new ‘cars’ that undercut the vehicles on our list in terms of price. We’ve restricted ourselves to the legal definition of cars for this list, however, ignoring the category of vehicles known as quadricycles.
Although quadricycles have four wheels, they are far smaller and lighter than a typical modern car and are limited to a maximum speed of 28mph. Due to their basic construction, reduced power and small size, quadricycles are much cheaper to buy than a normal car, but they are also much less suited to many drivers’ day-to-day needs. If you rarely use your car, though, and only cover very small distances around town, quadricycle models like the Citroen Ami and Ark Zero can be bought brand-new for as little as £4,995.
Why are these cars so cheap?
Sadly, as with many things, the cost of buying a new car has increased over time. The cheapest full-size new cars today begin at more than £13,500 so, if you’ve got a tighter budget than this, you may be better off looking for a used car.
Of course, if your negotiation skills are top-tier you may be able to haggle this price down further. What you should remember, though, is that cars in this price bracket should come with a different set of expectations. They’ll get you from A to B for sure, but will they be as economical, practical, or well-built as something that costs a few grand more? There’s no guarantee.
To achieve those low sticker prices, cheap new cars are often stripped of everything bar the basics and they’ll sometimes feel a little low-rent next to more expensive versions of the same car just a few steps up the trim ladder. Many buyers will happily put-up with some blanked-out buttons, downmarket trim finishes or even an underpowered engine but others will see the extra outlay needed to secure a few more creature comforts as money well spent. Either way, the cheap car’s head-turning sticker price has done its job.
In many instances, the biggest challenge facing cars at the cheap end of the market is the existence of used alternatives offering more kit, a better engine and, often, a more desirable badge for the same money. Again, many people will rather sink their cash into an apparently better car with a few thousand miles on the clock, but the appeal of a brand new model with a full warranty and finance facilities not always open to used car buyers is still strong.
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