Britain’s Cheapest Cars

Traditionally, petrol powered city cars used to do battle at the bottom for Britain’s cheapest car, but times have been changing and small city runabouts have fallen out of favour with manufacturers in recent years.

The most recent victim is the A segment Hyundai i10 that recently got the chop leaving a large whole from such a small car.
The i20 or Inster are the only entry points for Hyundai cars now which is a big leap in cost for those looking for an entry point into the Korean brand.

Hyundai i10

City cars, or A segment cars used to offer motorists with an entry point for ownership thanks to low insurance groups, limited power, and low running costs, often favoured by new drivers.

Popular cars such as the Fiat Panda, Fiat Seicento, Ford Ka, Peugeot 106, Citroen C1, Nissan Pixo, Seat Mii, Skoda CitiGo, Suzuki Alto, Vauxhall Viva, VW Up, and more used to find many a home, but all have sadly departed in recent years leaving a gap in the market.

And with the numbers of city cars on sale falling that means this has invariably had a knock-on effect in the used car market, too. Less choice is not good.

A New Hope

But there is hope as the small hatchback is fighting back and the cheapest car on sale right now is an all electric Dacia Spring. It’s been available for a few years and the refreshed model is just out, but prices have been dropping.

According to the Dacia website, the Spring starts from £12,240 including Dacia’s £3,750 EV grant. But there are numerous deals available with a brand new Dacia Spring available from under £10,000, doubling down on being Britain’s cheapest new car.

Dacia Spring

Second place, and not far behind comes from a Chinese manufacturer that was only established in 2015. It partnered with Stellantis in 2023 via a joint venture and Leapmotor arrived in Europe shortly after.
It’s first car to arrive was the well specced, A segment hatchback, called the Leapmotor T03.
Priced from £14,495 including a £1,500 Electric Car Grant, these are often found with a discount for a snip over £13,000, making it a truly value focused car.

Leapmotor T03

In third place is the petrol powered, family hatchback from MG with the entry level MG3 1.5 SE starting at £17,245, but found with a £2,446 discount bringing the price down to a more palatable £14,799.
Not so much a city car, the MG3 is a B-Segment hatchback making this a true bargain for any thrifty folk out there looking to stretch their hard earned pounds for something a little larger.

MG3

The third EV, and fourth car is also a B segment hatchback and another offering from China. The BYD Dolphin Surf 30 kWh Active has a list price of £18,650, but deals are available for a little under £15,000 representing incredible value.

BYD Dolphin Surf

What else is out there

There are other cars found around the £15,000 via a discount, such as the A segment Kia Picanto, the B segment and outgoing Renault Clio, the Vauxhall Corsa (both petrol and electric), the former budget King from Dacia with the Sandero and there are even a few Hyundai i10’s hanging around waiting for their forever home.

However, the good news is that there are some new, small cars to look forward to, such as the all new Renault Twingo, the new Nissan Pixo replacement and even an all new Smart #2 (replacing the ForTwo) plus more.

The A and B segment markets should pick up with much needed new arrivals in the coming years. But 2026 is off to a more positive start with plenty of new releases on their way. You can read all about these new arrivals here

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About the Author

Graeme Cobb is a lifelong car enthusiast with a passion for writing about cars, EVs, industry updates and more.

You can find Graeme on 𝕏 at @graeme_cobb or YouTube @REV-EV.