Looking for a cheap new car? You’ll have a harder time than ever, because cars have been getting more expensive for some time. That’s where our guide to the cheapest new cars on sale in 2026 comes in.
So it pays to shop around and find an affordable car when the time comes to find something newer. The cheapest new cars you can buy now are more expensive than they would have been a few years ago, but also offer more safety and comfort features than before.
You’ll need just under £15,000 to purchase the UK’s cheapest new car. All the cars in this list are compact, cheap to insure and should be affordable to run – and some of them are electric for even more potential savings.
Our top 10 refers to the list price (or recommended retail price) and doesn't include some short-term discounts, so you may find cheaper examples out there. We also haven't included quadricycles such as the Citroen Ami, which we'll explain at the bottom of this article.
The cheapest new car on sale in the UK today is the Dacia Spring, giving the Renault-owned brand the top two places in our list. The Spring is several thousand pounds cheaper now than it was when it first launched, with stronger competition than ever in the small EV market.
The Spring is a fully electric city car, offering potentially large running cost savings combined with a quiet and easy driving experience. Like the Sandero, the base Spring comes reasonably well equipped, although not in terms of performance: with just 45hp its official 0-62mph time is a yawning 19.1 seconds. It’ll do a decent 140 miles on a charge, but with cramped rear seats, a lack of refinement, poor handling and a one-star Euro NCAP rating we reckon it's be too compromised for most.
2. Leapmotor T03
Price: £12,995 Power: 95hp
Like the idea of a Dacia Spring but want a bit something less basic? Step forward Stellantis-owned Chinese brand Leapmotor with the T03. It's not much more to buy than the Dacia, but for that you get more than double the power, a longer range, rapid charging capability and a more comfortable ride.
What’s more, the Leapmotor T03 also has a bit more space in the back (albeit still only two seats) a better-quality interior and vastly more standard equipment than the Dacia, including alloy wheels, a panoramic sunroof, a rear-view camera and even adaptive cruise control – plus a load of extra safety assist tech. It’s a pity that the standard 10-inch touchscreen is frustratingly fiddly, though, while the T03’s boot is small and those driver aids can intrude.
3. Dacia Sandero
Price: £14,765 Power: 100hp
The Dacia Sandero has been a constant in our list of the cheapest new cars on sale. You might expect a tiny city car for this price, the Dacia Sandero is a spacious supermini with enough room for even large adults in the rear seats - and a good-sized boot.
What’s more, the cheapest Sandero is nowhere near as basic inside as older models. You get greatly improved quality, along with a decent level of standard equipment including air-con, cruise control and even rear parking sensors. The turbocharged 1.0-litre petrol engine delivers more performance than most cars in this list, while it’s a comfortable drive too. The only black mark is the disappointing Euro NCAP safety test score.
4. Dacia Sandero Stepway
Price: £16,065 Power: 110hp
No, you aren't seeing double: the Sandero Stepway might look like a Sandero trim level, but it's a separate model in its own right according to Dacia.
Effectively, it's a Sandero sprinkled with some off-road influence, including slightly raised suspension, plastic cladding around the bumpers and wheelarches and lifestyle features such as roof bars. Don't go planning muddy excursions, though, as the Stepway doesn't have any four-wheel drive or other mechanical changes underneath, just a tiny bit more power.
Still, it'll be ideal for avoiding kerb damage at the supermarket car park, while that rugged body cladding might mean less paint damage if you have a prang.
5. Suzuki Swift
Price: £16,499 Power: 110hp
The Suzuki Swift is a very good small car that had strong competition at its original price point of just under £20,000. However, Suzuki has now slashed the price of the Swift, cutting a massive £3,500 off the car's retail price.
Whereas once its relatively cheap-feeling interior and modest performance made it a small car with some compromises, the Swift is cheaper than the much smaller, slower Kia Picanto and only a bit pricier than the Dacia Sandero. Given its willing engine, fun handling, great standard kit list and superb real-world efficiency, it's now a real contender.
6. Kia Picanto
Price: £17,095 Power: 67hp
The long-serving Kia Picanto has become more desirable (if a bit more expensive) in this latest generation. It looks sharper and comes better equipped, but it’s still even smaller than a Dacia Spring and is considerably better to drive in or out of town.
We love the Picanto’s keen handling, slick manual gearbox and willing (if underpowered out of town) petrol engine. We also like the surprising amount of interior space compared to its external size, the quality of the interior and the decent standard kit on the base model including all-round electric windows, a reversing camera and an eight-inch touchscreen with sat-nav and smartphone connectivity. The Sandero does give you more car for less money, but you do get a seven-year warranty with the Kia.
7. Fiat 500e
Price: £17,245 Power: 95hp
The all-electric version of Fiat's iconic city car has just got cheaper than it's ever been. The Fiat 500e now qualifies for the maximum £3,750 Electric Car Grant, making it one of the most affordable (and definitely the most desirable) EVs on sale.
Granted, this price only gets you the 500e with the smaller 24kWh battery pack, which has a modest range of 118 miles. But if that work's for you, you're getting a car with a nicely designed interior, a comfortable ride and much better refinement than the old petrol model. Just bear in mind that's it's still very cramped in the back seats, and the boot is small.
8. MG 3
Price: £17,995 Power 115hp
MG is a brand now synonymous with affordability, and the latest MG 3 is its smallest and cheapest model. While it can’t quite match the Dacia Sandero in the pricing stakes, the MG counters with a more powerful petrol engine and heaps of standard equipment including adaptive cruise control, lane keep assistance, rear parking sensors and a touchscreen with sat-nav.
The MG’s keen handling also makes it more fun to drive than the Dacia, as does the revvy petrol engine. The only downsides are that other small cars like the Renault Clio are better to drive still, and more comfortable with it, while the MG3’s touchscreen is fiddly to operate, and the engine gets noisy and lacks efficiency. The MG3 Hybrid+ is a better bet, but it is £2,000 more expensive.
There's still an impressive array of cars available for under £20k despite inflation and other factors pushing up prices. I'm very impressed by Suzuki's new price on the Swift, which makes it a seriously good buy for the money.
The Citroen E-C3 is closely related to the new Fiat Grande Panda, but while the Fiat grabs all the headlines the Citroen came first - and is a tiny bit cheaper to boot.
A £1,500 Electric Car Grant discount makes the E-C3 ever so slightly cheaper than the BYD Dolphin Surf, although you have to make do with the Urban Range battery option with a range of 130 miles. Still, the Citroen is very comfortable over bumps, surprisingly spacious and very easy to both drive and live with.
10. BYD Dolphin Surf
Price: £18,675 Power: 87hp
BYD's smallest model, the BYD Dolphin Surf, isn't the cheapest electric car in this list. But it's more sophisticated than the Dacia and Leapmotor, with better technology and a well-sorted driving experience.
Yes, you only get 87hp, but it's perfectly perky for urban driving, while the Dolphin Surf also has a surprising amount of space for four adults. You also get a stylish interior with loads of tech as standard, with even the cheapest Active variant getting sat-nav, adaptive cruise control, keyless entry, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera. The only fly in the ointment is a mediocre 137-mile range on a charge with the cheapest version.
One to consider: Citroen Ami
At just £7,695, the Citroen Ami is far more affordable than the cheapest car at the top of this list. So why haven’t we featured it?
Well, the key reason is that it technically isn’t a car. The Ami is classed as a large quadricycle – the upside of that being that 16 year olds can drive one in the UK on a moped licence. The downside is that classification means it’s limited to just 28mph and doesn’t have to meet any of the safety regulations ‘proper’ cars are required to meet.
That, combined with a range of just 46 miles and a serious lack of comfort features, makes the Ami difficult to recommend unless you never leave town. But if you like the look of the Ami, you should also consider its Italian cousin, the similarly priced Fiat Topolino.
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