Cheapest new cars to buy in the UK 2025

Leapmotor might well be a new name on you, and that's not surprising, because the brand hasn't existed in the UK for all that long. Leapmotor is a Chinese carmaker that's part-owned by Stellantis (the same multinational manufacturing outfit that owns and operates Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Citroen, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Peugeot, Vauxhall, and a variety of other brands across the world), and not so long ago, the decision was taken by Stellantis to begin offering Leapmotor vehicles in Europe.

The T03 was the first of them, and it's a teeny electric city car that goes head-to-head with the Dacia Spring. There's a single powertrain and battery offered, that being a 95PS motor paired with a 37.3kWh battery that gives an official range of 165 miles. So, compared with the entry-level Spring, it has more than twice the power and a smidge more range. There's also a single trim level offered that provides plenty of luxuries, including alloy wheels, adaptive cruise control, a panoramic roof, digital instruments and a 10.1-inch infotainment screen with native sat-nav and Bluetooth. However, there's no DAB, Apple CarPlay, or Android Auto, which might put some buyers off.

When the T03 first went on sale, it actually costs a smidge more than the Spring with which it competes most directly. However, recent price fluctuations brought about by the Government's Electric Car Grant (ECG) have seen the Leapmotor leapfrog (pardon the pun) both the Dacia Spring and its Sandero Stablemate into top spot on our list, making it the cheapest new car available in the UK today.

The Dacia Sandero has, for a long time, been renowned for being the cheapest new car you can buy in the UK. When the second-generation Sandero first went on sale in 2021, it had a headline-grabbing starting price of just £7,995, but these days, the cheapest version will set you back almost £15,000. That's not just because the world has gone bananas and everything costs way more than it used to (which it admittedly has!). It's also because Dacia no longer offers the cheapest, most basic variants with breathless engines and hardly any equipment.

As a result, the Sandero lost its cheapest car mantle to the Kia Picanto for a short period not so long ago, but then regained its place at the top (or rather, bottom) of the car-price pile a few months later whaen the Picanto was facelifted and prices rose accordingly. Now, however, the Sandero been usurped once again, this time by the Leapmotor T03 that we've just been talking about. That's due to price reductions introduced by Leapmotor in response to the Government's ECG.

The Sandero is still an impressively affordable car, mind. The now-entry-level version of the Sandero, the Essential, can be had with either the TCe 90 turbocharged petrol engine - which is a good little unit - or the TCe 100 Bi-fuel, which is also pretty sweet and also runs on Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) as well as regular petrol (LPG is way cheaper).

Admittedly, you do pay for that low price in other areas. The interior is a little bland, the car only has a two-star Euro NCAP crash test rating, and although quite comfortable, the Sandero is far from being the most dynamically polished car you'll ever drive. Still, given the low price, you might still be surprised that the Sandero is as good as it is in each of these areas.

There was a time, not so long ago, when not only did Dacia make the UK's cheapest new car overall in the form of the Sandero, but the budget-focused Romanian brand also made the UK's cheapest electric car in the form of the Spring. As we've already observed, the Leapmotor T03 has recently jumped to the top of the cheap-car pile due to recent price fluctuations, but the Spring is still a very affordable EV with appealing SUV-esque style.

Car buyers across other parts of Europe have actually been able to order the Spring EV for yonks, as far back as 2021, but the car wasn't available in the UK until 2024, when UK sales of the facelifted version began, and for a bargain pricetag.

And it's a smart-looking little thing, the Spring, but in truth, there are several other compromises you must make for such a low pricetag. The electric motor in the cheapest version has just 45PS, and as a result, this variant of the Spring takes upwards of 19 seconds to get from 0-62mph. Even if you're not exactly a speed-demon, that's extremely slow. The official range of 140 miles isn't very good, and in the real world, it'll likely be considerably less. The driving experience is generally quite poor and the interior feels predictably low-rent. Yes, all Dacias require a certain amount of compromise to achieve their low prices, but the Spring feels - by some distance - the most compromised of the lot.

We know, we know: it's a little bit of a stretch to have the Sandero Stepway on this list when it's all but identical to the Sandero that's already featured. It is, however, technically a different model range to the regular Sandero, and, as we'll find out, the prices of the two cars are very different indeed.

If we're honest, we find the rational arguments for the Stepway a little confounding. It offers no more space that the regular Sandero, no more quality, no more equipment, no more power, no more economy, no more, well, anything, really. Sure, it's a fraction more stylish thanks to its raised ride height and extra body cladding, but that's literally it. And yet, it costs almost a grand-and-a-half more than its sister car. In our minds, that's an awful lot for some slightly longer-travel suspension springs and a few bits of plastic, especially at the end of the market where every penny counts. The thing is, there are plenty of people who'll pay the extra for the Stepway's chunkier looks, so we guess that kind of proves Dacia's case. Whatever your standpoint on the Stepway's value proposition, the car nevertheless completes Dacia's hatrick on this list.

We've always loved the Kia Picanto, and not just because it's so affordable. It has a cabin that's surprisingly spacious, meaning four reasonably tall adults can travel in comfort, and they can even bring a bit of luggage along for the ride. The interior is also smartly trimmed, and the Kia Picanto is a lively, agile, yet surprisingly civilised car to drive. 

Even better, Kia has recently given the teeny Picanto a thorough facelift, so it looks sharper than ever inside and out, and comes packed with even more tech and features. Starting prices have risen a bit as a result of the entry-level 1 model being dropped from the range, but that one was too sparsely kitted anyway, so most will happily spend a bit more on their Picanto in order to get a few more creature comforts.

The original Toyota Aygo immediately became city car royalty when it was first released in 2005, thanks to its funky looks, cheery demeanour and affordable price. You can no longer buy a regular Aygo as a brand new car, but Toyota still offers something that's just as dinky and arguably even more cheerful, the Toyota Aygo X. This teeny little city runabout taps into the fashion for crossover-style looks with its jacked-up suspension and chunky body cladding. You can also get it with an opening canvas roof for some open-air fun.

Sure the cabin isn't the roomiest, and there are plenty of hard plastics on display, but the interior design is smart, and a decent amount of kit is supplied. The 72PS 1.0-litre petrol engine means the Aygo X is no ball of fire, but it moves along well enough if you're prepared to keep the revs on the boil. The handling feels composed and planted, while the ride is comfortable enough.

The Hyundai i10 shares a great deal with the Kia Picanto we mentioned earlier, so it's no surprise to see it feature in this list as well. Hyundai doesn't offer a stripped-out bargain-basement version, so all versions come generously equipped. For instance, the entry-level Advance trim comes with niceties including alloy wheels, cruise control, a reversing camera, rear parking sensors and an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with DAB radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Hyundai i10's talents don't stop with plentiful creature comforts, either. It's impressively roomy for a city car so four adults travel comfortably, and five can squeeze in (and it will be a squeeze) at a push. The boot is very decent, too: not big enough for a pushchair, perhaps, but enough for a weekly shop. Best of all, the Hyundai i10 is a great little car to drive, with a comfortable ride, easy controls and agile handling.

When MG first released the second-generation MG 3 supermini, which took over from the original version after more than a decade on sale, it was offered with only a full hybrid powertrain. And it was impressive, with easy, smooth performance and very decent economy. However, it also meant that, while the MG 3 was still very affordable, it was packing too much tech to be quite as affordable as it might be.

Well, that’s no longer the case, because the Hybrid+ version has now been joined in the MG 3 range by a pure petrol version, which drops the starting price of the car low enough to make it into our list. It has a 115PS 1.5-litre petrol engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox, and according to official figures, it’ll do 0-62mph in 10.8 seconds and return average fuel economy of 46.3mpg. It’s only offered in entry-level SE trim, but that keeps the price down, and even the SE comes with luxuries including cruise control, air-conditioning, a reversing camera, and a 10.25-inch infotainment screen with navigation and smartphone mirroring. There’s plenty to like about the MG 3 besides, such as its smart, cohesive styling, pleasant interior, and decent practicality. And all for less than seventeen-and-a-half grand.

The Fiat Panda has been small-car royalty for several decades now, but after disappearing from new-car pricelists in recent years, it's now back in the form of the Fiat Grande Panda, introduced in 2025.

It's a thoroughly modern reimagining of Pandas past, too: the design has several nods to the three generations of Panda that went before, but brought right up to date, with bold pixelated lighting motifs, and the word 'Panda' stamped into the doors down the side of the car. This is a small and affordable car with presence and style in abundance, something Fiat has been exceptionally good at providing over the years.

It's available as an EV these days, too, but for the lowest price, you need the hybrid version. It's not a proper hybrid, mind, rather a mild hybrid that combines a 1.2-litre petrol engine with what is essentially little more than a posh starter motor and a 48-volt electric motor. As a best-case scenario, it can only do 0.6 miles on EV power, and only at speeds of up to 18mph. And although both the performance and gearchanges are rather lethargic, there's a lot to like in other respects. The interior is seriously funky, there's more cabin space than you might expect, and you get a decent amount of tech for your money,

Yes, the looks of the BYD Dolphin Surf are a little bit awkward, and it has an undeniably silly name, but any car included on this list will have a certain amount of appeal thanks to the value it represents. And BYD's smallest offering delivers plenty, because it comes with a surprisingly pleasant-feeling interior and an impressive slice of standard equipment, despite its impressively low price.

The entry-level version that achieves the headline pricetag has a limited range figure of just 137 miles, but similar criticism can be levelled at several cars on this list, and longer-range versions are available for a bit more cash if that's a deal-breaker for you. The driving experience delivered by the Dolphin Surf, meanwhile, is utterly unremarkable but wholly acceptable. More importantly, it's a cheerful little thing that will have you smiling on a regular basis: if only for the daft name.