Best car leasing deals 2025: today's top lease offers on great new cars

Have you got your heart set on a brand-new car, but don’t want to splash the cash too much? Car leasing, or Personal Contract Hire (PCH), could be the answer, because it involves a reasonable initial deposit followed by low monthly payments – and the Auto Express experts have been finding and analysing the latest deals.  

From family hatchbacks to SUVs and electric cars, we've scoured the market to find the best leasing deals available right now, meaning there could be a car suitable for you and your budget.

Leasing works a bit like car rental and is ideal if you don’t have the finances to buy a car outright, or if you simply aren’t interested in owning the vehicle at the end of the finance agreement and just want to hand it back. Monthly payments on a PCH are often lower than equivalent Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) or Hire Purchase (HP) car finance deals, and there’s no lump sum (also known as a balloon payment) at the end of the agreement.

There are some great leasing deals on the market at the moment, and we’ve rounded up the best – from affordable EVs to top-spec small SUVs. All the deals are from the country’s top providers via our very own Find a Car service.

Leasing deals of the week

Here is just a small selection of some of the best leasing deals we’ve found recently.

BYD Dolphin for £226 per month

The BYD Dolphin is a great example of getting a decent all-electric range (of 265 miles) for not much money, with this lease deal with a £3,100 initial payment and £226 a month.

BYD Dolphin lease deals

Ford Puma for £202 per month

Of all the small SUVs on the market, the Ford Puma is the most amusing to drive, with sharp steering and keen handling. It’s also available for only £202 a month in this lease deal.

Ford Puma lease deals

Peugeot 2008 GT for £188 per month

For just £188 per month you might be expecting a pretty basic version of the Peugeot 2008, but not a bit of it – this deal actually gets you the top-spec GT model with a punchy PureTech 130 petrol engine.

Peugeot 2008 lease deals

Mazda 3 for £184 per month

The sleek Mazda 3 shows there’s still plenty of value in regular family hatchbacks, even if SUVs are taking over the market. For £184 a month, this deal gets you a 2.5-litre car in Prime Line trim.

Mazda 3 lease deals

Small car leasing deals

Cars might be getting bigger, but small cars remain enormously popular both in the UK and overseas, for their wieldy size (which makes them easy to park and to navigate around tight streets), low ownership costs thanks to small insurance and fuel bills, and nimble handling. Leasing deals can make small cars even more affordable to own, too.

Family car leasing deals

Family cars are more sophisticated than they’ve ever been, with technology that wouldn’t look out of place in luxury cars just a few years ago, and a broad spread of powertrains, from petrols and diesels to hybrids and electric models. They’re still the go-to choice for a lot of buyers, and these lease deals can make owning one more affordable than you might expect.

SUV leasing deals

More buyers are choosing an SUV as their car than ever, especially with lease deals like those below making them barely more expensive than the equivalent conventional hatchback, saloon or estate. Modern SUVs are often just as good to drive as their regular counterparts and just as feature-packed, while the increasing use of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric power keeps running costs down too.

Small SUVs

Want a taste of driving an SUV but don’t want the higher costs that come with it? Then a small SUV may be perfect. Typically based on superminis, small SUVs use smaller, more efficient engines, and their compact size makes them easy to drive and park, too. Check out the lease deals below to see how affordable your perfect small SUV might be.

Family SUVs

Chunky styling, a taller driving position, and greater practicality are just some of the reasons you might consider a family SUV as your next car. You’d be joining a lot of other people in doing so, as some of the most popular cars on the roads are family SUVs, and when you see some of the lease deals below, you might find they’re more affordable than you expected.

7-seat SUVs

Sometimes five seats just aren’t enough. Several SUVs now offer seven-seat variants for those times you need to carry one or two extra passengers, and often feature clever seating arrangements to let the seats fold completely flat for more luggage space when not in use. Check out the lease deals below to see how much you can expect to pay on a seven-seat SUV.

Electric car leasing deals

Electric cars have now fully entered the mainstream. There’s an option in just about every segment, and if you were previously put off by low range and slow charging times, now might be the time to reevaluate what’s on offer, since EVs are improving all the time. Prices aren’t as high as they used to be either, as you can see from these lease deals.

Longest range EV leasing deals

As recently as ten years ago you’d be lucky to get more than 200 miles from the very best electric cars. Today, it’s possible to go more than 400 miles between charges - as far as some petrol and diesel cars, but with all the EV benefits. Check out the lease deals below to see whether you can put a long-range EV on the driveway for less.

Executive car leasing deals

You don’t need to be an executive to drive an executive car, as the lease deals below show. Prestigious models from Audi, BMW, Mercedes and more can be cheaper than you think, yet the cars themselves are more advanced, more frugal, and better-performing than ever. Modern executive cars are effectively luxury cars without the luxury car price tags.

How does car leasing work?

Car leasing deals work in the same way as Business Contract Hire (BCH) offers, except VAT is included. You pay an advance rental payment or deposit, select your annual mileage and contract length, and then pay a flat monthly fee for the duration of your agreement. When your contract ends, you hand the car back.

Traditionally, leasing a new car is simpler and easier than a Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and more importantly, it generally has lower monthly payments. For these reasons, lease deals are growing in popularity, with a large number of motorists simply handing back their cars at the end of the lease and signing for a new one straight away. As their popularity is growing, so is the competition between providers, meaning buyers have the freedom to choose from the cream of the crop. 

In addition to the cheaper monthly payments, car leasing can offer many other useful benefits that could help you avoid the faff of dealing with independent dealerships. Car tax, breakdown cover, car maintenance and tyre repair and replacement can all be included within your agreed payment plan.

Independent lease broker deals

If the car of your dreams isn’t offered on a lease deal direct from the manufacturer, don’t worry. Instead you can go through a leasing broker. These are independent firms that use their expertise to negotiate supply and funding deals with car makers and lending companies, and stitch together leasing deals for all manner of vehicles. In some cases the brokers offer extended contract terms, too.

Lease brokers have traditionally been focused on the fleet market, but nowadays there are plenty who offer lease deals to private customers as well. The main difference between private and fleet or business lease deals is cost, because prices for business leases are quoted without VAT being added.

While the figures in our selected car deals above are a good starting point, take care when assessing quotes, because some lease deals may involve additional admin or set-up fees. It’s also vital to scrutinise the cost of exiting a lease contract before its official end, because ‘penalty’ charges for early termination can be significant.

Business car leasing explained

If you’re a VAT-registered business user, there could be more financial benefits from leasing your car or cars. Many leasing companies quote two prices: a personal lease and a business lease. Our prices are all for the former aimed at private customers, but business prices are without the 20 per cent VAT, which makes these deals even more affordable. Just remember, the contract has to be taken out by a business or sole trader, though, and the VAT rebate is limited to 50 per cent if the car is used for private mileage.

Looking to sell your current car quickly and for a good price? Get offers from top dealers with our Sell My Car service...