Best cheap small cars: great used superminis and city cars from £5,000
We run through the best cheap small cars you can find on the market
The words small and cheap used to go hand in hand when it came to cars, but in recent years, even the smallest new models on the market have started to look quite expensive. Increasingly, technology and powertrain electrification first seen on larger cars is filtering down into these otherwise compact and simple models.
There is a way to beat the price increases though, and it’s by buying used. You might be surprised how cheap some small cars can be after just a few years of depreciation, and by the time you’re looking at models that are four or five years old, you may be paying just a third of what these cheap, small cars cost when new.
Yet because small cars are better built and more reliable than ever, even a used example should still feel pretty fresh. So below we’ve selected ten of our favourite cheap small cars, with a mix of city cars and superminis, petrol, diesel and hybrid engines, and with varying levels of style and equipment.
The best cheap small cars to buy now
- Dacia Sandero
- Fiat 500
- Ford Fiesta
- Kia Picanto
- MINI
- Renault Clio
- Skoda Fabia
- Suzuki Swift
- Toyota Yaris
- Volkswagen up!
Dacia Sandero
The Dacia Sandero is fantastic value brand new, and while the brand’s low prices mean that depreciation isn’t actually as swift as for some rivals, a three to five-year old Sandero can still undercut similarly-sized hatchbacks by thousands of Pounds.
The previous-generation Sandero was itself a bargain, but we’d suggest used buyers look to the model released in 2021, since it brought significant improvements in quality and driveability, being based on the current-generation Renault Clio rather than a much older model. With a 1-litre turbocharged petrol engine it’s not especially thirsty and feels grunty around town. Post-2023 facelift cars get a few more quality-of-life improvements, if you’ve got the budget to spare. Early models start from around £6k.
Fiat 500
More than 2.5 million customers can’t be wrong. Fiat crossed that milestone with its 500 city car in 2021, and it’s been selling just as well since then. That’s just new cars, though – millions more have experienced the 500 as a used model, and given that the little Fiat has been on sale since 2007 and sold strongly the whole time, the choice of models is absolutely enormous, and very affordable, too.
While we’re nominally focusing on three- to five-year old cars here (for which a budget of £5,000 or more is enough to secure one), these cars don’t tend to cover huge miles, so you can still find low-mileage examples that are a little older, for even less money. There are some interesting engines too, such as the thrummy two-cylinder TwinAir, though more recent cars will be a mix of 1.2-litre petrols and 1-litre mild hybrids, the latter introduced in 2020. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay became standard from 2020, as well.
Ford Fiesta
Ford no longer makes the Fiesta – an amazing state of affairs when you consider it had been one of the brand’s most popular cars in an almost unbroken run since 1976. New car buyers have to look to the Puma crossover instead, but thankfully, the Fiesta still makes an excellent used buy, with depreciation taking its toll on the cars that remain.
It’s a car with few weak areas, too. Okay, it doesn’t quite have the class of a Clio or the build quality of a Yaris, but few superminis have a better blend of ride and handling, it’s affordable to run, you can get it serviced pretty much anywhere, and the cabin is both spacious and sensibly laid out. £5k-£6k is enough for a five-year old example, while £7k-£8k can get a very tidy 2019 or 2020 car on relatively low miles.
Kia Picanto
Proper city cars are a dying breed, but the Kia Picanto has hung on longer than most. The original Picanto benefited hugely from the government’s scrappage scheme back in the day but the latest models need no such financial help – they’ve always been affordable both to buy and to run, and that continues when buying one used.
While the Picanto is a class size smaller than most in this list, it’s only a little cheaper to buy if you’re looking at 4-5 year old examples – most start around the £6,000 mark. For this though you’re getting a car that’ll effortlessly return more than 50mpg, seat four in pretty decent comfort (over shorter distances at least), and is a doddle to drive even in heavy traffic. Better still, for around £7,000, you’ll start to find the entertaining T-GDI engined models, with 99bhp and sporty styling tweaks.
MINI
The MINI hatchback has been the stylish supermini of choice for more than 20 years now. Like the classic original MINI, it’s a car that just doesn’t seem to go out of fashion, whether it’s as a first car or a family’s second or third runabout. Cheeky styling and a retro-themed cabin both give it a dash of style that few of its rivals can match.
Other than the Ford Fiesta, you won’t find a better-driving supermini either. MINIs are a hoot whatever trim level and whatever engine you choose – even a basic MINI One is as fun to drive as some sports cars, and the One and the Cooper’s three-cylinder engines are characterful, reliable and frugal. As a bit of a fashion icon, a three- to five-year old MINI will cost a little more than some in this list, at upwards of £8,000, and rear seat and boot space are both a bit tight. But those up front will be having a whale of a time.
Renault Clio
The Renault Clio is a stalwart of the small car class, having debuted in 1991. It’s always offered comfort and passenger space in abundance, but in recent years it’s also thrown quality into the mix, with the fifth-generation car launched in the UK in 2020 (neatly slotting inside of our three- to five-year old window) taking a big step up over the car it replaced, despite looking outwardly similar.
It’s also well-equipped, and comes with a range of fuel-sipping engines – the Clio E-Tech Hybrid launched in 2020 especially. You’re looking at £11,000 to get into an E-Tech, but 1-litre turbocharged petrol models begin at just under £7,000. All drive well, with a sophistication you won’t find in the mechanically similar Dacia Sandero elsewhere on this list. Sporty styling is also part of the Clio’s broad appeal.
Skoda Fabia
Used small cars don’t come much more sensible than the Skoda Fabia. It’s been the thinking person’s choice ever since the first model debuted in 1999, and four generations later it’s still offering space, build quality, and frugal running costs (including low insurance), in a smartly-styled package.
That latest model arrived in 2021, which means you’ll find a mix of third and fourth-generation models within our three- to five-year window. You certainly shouldn’t shy away from the older car – some styling changes and a little more equipment aside, the 2021-on versions are hardly a night and day improvement, and the older cars offer a few more engines, including an absurdly frugal diesel (more than 80mpg on the old NEDC test cycle), if you prefer the black pump to the green one. Around £5k gets a 2019 car, while 2021-on models are £8,000 and up.
Suzuki Swift
A new Suzuki Swift was launched in 2023, which means it could be a good time to look into the car it succeeded, sold from 2016 on. The number on the roads suggests it was quite popular when new, and it makes a lot of sense as a used buy, too, thanks to Suzuki’s reputation for building reliable cars.
Not that reliability is the only admirable characteristic of the Swift. The little Suzuki is also well-equipped, well-built, and while the cabin lacks the flash of some rivals, the layout is logical. And the Swift comes alive on the road, thanks to nimble handling (in turn thanks to the Swift being one of the lightest cars in its class), and the punchy 1-litre Boosterjet engine especially, which returns excellent real-world economy. Relatively slow depreciation means it’s a little more expensive than others here, with prices upwards of £7,000 for a five-year old car, but it should still be worth more when you sell it as a result.
Toyota Yaris
The Toyota Yaris holds its value very well indeed. Four- and five-year old cars, the last of the previous-generation Yaris, are still upwards of £8,000, while to get into an early current-gen model means finding more than £11,000 down the back of the sofa. But it’s probably better to think of the Yaris as being great value, rather than simply “cheap”.
For a start, even £11k is still only half the price of a brand new Yaris, and Toyota’s ironclad reputation for reliability means you shouldn’t think twice about a car that’s a few years old, as it’ll probably go on for another few decades with minimal issues – just look at how many late-1990s Yaris models there are still around. The Toyota’s hybrid powertrains are very economical too, and while the cabin’s design is nothing to shout about, it’s very well built and generously equipped. The previous car looks and feels a little older, but has many of the same qualities as a used buy.
Volkswagen up!
Volkswagen finally pulled its up! city car off sale in 2023, but from its introduction in 2011 it’s always been enormously popular, giving used buyers plenty of choice. While the temptation is to suggest the peppy and burbly up! GTI model, resale values are holding very firm for those so even cars with significant mileage look a little expensive.
Instead, we’d look at one of the regular petrol versions. Outputs of 59 to 74bhp don’t suggest much poke, but the up! is so light it gets along quite nicely, and is happier than most city cars when cruising on the motorway too. The boxy shape means plenty of space, and the touchscreen won’t be outdated, because there isn’t one – the up!’s audio system was designed to be used with your phone instead. Low-mileage cars are plentiful under £10k, but tidy five year old cars are half that, and if you’re prepared to go older, early Ups start from just a few grand.
Now read our list of the best hatchbacks...
