The cheapest new cars even just a couple of decades ago would have been sub-par, uneconomical and unreliable.
In 2024, however, even the cheapest come from manufacturers with a proven track record, dealerships up and down the country and a decent warranty, while the best cheap cars themselves are genuinely brilliant.
The values of cars both new and used have been newsworthy in recent times because of their episodic increases and decreases.
Used electric car prices are rock-bottom, while the RRP of new cars skyrockets. The now off-sale Ford Fiesta increased in list price by £10,000 from 2013 to 2023, for instance.
If you haven’t looked at new car prices for more than a decade, you may be surprised. Nevertheless, these are the very cheapest new cars on sale, ordered by their list prices.
Cheapest new cars
1. Kia Picanto – £13,695
The cheapest new car on sale is the Kia Picanto and not, in fact, the Dacia Sandero. The Picanto is Kia’s smallest car and competes with other city cars, such as the Toyota Aygo X and Hyundai i10 (found further down this list).
There’s only one choice of engine – a 1.0-litre non-turbocharged unit – meaning it’s among the cheapest cars to insure as well as to buy. A sub one-tonne kerb weight makes it a featherweight compared with other new cars, but with a mere 66bhp on tap it is still pretty slow. The 0-60mph run takes around 15sec with the manual or more than 16sec with the automated manual frustratingly stirring away for you.
Your £13,695 will buy you a model in 1 spec, which means four seats and no niceties such as Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. But the Picanto does at least come with Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile warranty.
Read our Kia Picanto review
2. Dacia Sandero – £13,795
There’s only £100 in it, but Dacia’s big-seller (the second best-selling car in Europe for 2023) is no longer the cheapest car in the UK.
It’s still cracking value, though, because it’s a fully fledged supermini, complete with seating for five and a 328-litre boot, offering the same kind of space as a Skoda Fabia.
It’s surprisingly fun, too. There’s comparatively little body roll and it really flows across a road. It’s not quite class-leading in terms of fun, but for the price, little can beat it.
Base-spec cars come with a 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine or LPG for eco warriors on a shoestring. The gearbox may be a tad clunky, but the brakes bite well, even in the wet.