From Ford to Vauxhall and Volkswagen, Britain’s favourite car brands’ cheapest models as cost of a motor soars
IF you worry about household inflation, just take a look at car prices.
The average motor is going up even faster.
It’s mostly because the cheapest models are being taken off sale, so if you want to buy new it’s hard to avoid being upsold to a bigger, smarter or more electrified car.
Britain’s most popular supermini, the Ford Fiesta, goes out of production next month, so you need to get in fast.
Renault just announced the Clio will no longer have a pure petrol engine, so the hybrid-only versions will start at a smidge under £22k.
The Nissan Micra has gone off sale too.
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There are 11million superminis on Britain’s roads right now, a third of all the cars we drive.
Yet new ones are becoming an endangered species.
One of the reasons for this shift upmarket is that parts supplies, especially silicon chips, have been unreliable ever since the pandemic.
So manufacturers put the scarce chips into more expensive cars where they can make more profit.
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Also, buyers want lots of equipment, including a colour screen and air-con. Plus the law demands more and more accident-prevention features.
That’s why cars have gone up faster than food.
A loaf of bread is the same thing now as ten years ago.
But a base-model car has become much more complex.
So we decided to check out the cheapest models from Britain’s favourite brands.
Number one seller is Volkswagen, offering a huge choice of cars.
At the bottom is the little Up! Unusually, it can still be had as a three-door, it’s cheap to insure, and it’s a very pleasant drive.
A win for the “cheap” car hunter, starting at £14,360.
Ford has lost top spot, partly because it has starved us of cheap models — including the baby Ka.
Ford’s cheapest is the Fiesta Trend with 75bhp. At £19,350 with no options, it only just slips in under £20k.
Even posh Audi, now Britain’s number three car brand, doesn’t charge much more for its A1. That starts at £21,210.
Next brand is Kia, which remains committed to cheap cars.
Its little Picanto starts at £13,415, though younger buyers might want to add another £2k for a colour screen that mirrors their phone apps.
Toyota’s baby Aygo has morphed into a mock-crossover called Aygo X. So its price has edged up. Even so, £15,990 is a bargain, given it has good safety kit and a colour screen.
With the Micra having died, Nissan’s cheapest is the Juke, starting at £20,985.
It’s selling fast, keeping the Sunderland factory workers busy.
BMW has no small car — it owns Mini after all.
So the cheapest is the 118i SE hatch, at £28,290. At least its cabin has quite a lot in common with £100k Beemers.
Hyundai still has the little i10, and the firm’s UK boss told us it will remain as a gateway to the brand.
It starts at £15,420, but that’s a facelifted one and the previous cars, which are little different, can still be found new from about £13,500.
At number nine, Mercedes, like BMW, has nothing very small. Its entry is the A180 hatch at £31,905.
Notice something?
Vauxhall has only just made the cut in tenth place.
Corsa is available in Design trim for an attractive £18,585, with £500 off if you order online.
Snapping at Vauxhall’s heels is budget brand MG.
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Though best known for electric cars, its little MG 3 hatch starts at £13,820.
Which, by the way, is a mere £25 more than Britain’s cheapest new car, the Dacia Sandero.
