Best cars for over £20,000

Car prices may be continuing to venture upwards, but a budget of over £20,000 will give you the pick of some excellent used cars. With everything from sensible family cars to opulent luxury limos, the variety on offer can almost prove overwhelming. But we’re here to help, and our expert road testers have rounded up the very best cars for over £20,000.

With this kind of cash it’s fair to expect a car to be in very good mechanical and cosmetic condition. Ideally, it’ll also be a low-mileage example that’s being supplied by a reputable dealer. Whatever the case, be sure to take a test drive and seek out a full service history. Even if a car fetched serious money when it was new, this doesn’t guarantee that it’s been looked after by the previous owner, so due diligence is as important as always.

Audi A8 

• Price new: £69,385  
• Price now: £25,500
• Powertrain: 3.0-litre 6-cylinder diesel, AWD  
• Power: 286bhp  
• 0-62mph: 6.3 seconds

Audi’s flagship A8 saloon is notable in many ways, but the company is probably not so proud that it is one of the fastest depreciating cars you can buy. Drive one out of the showroom and before you get home, it could be worth £20,000 less than the official list price.

While that is bad news for new-car buyers, it means the big Audi is brilliant value as a used model. It has all the quality and equipment you’d expect from a limousine that was designed to go head to head with the best from Mercedes and BMW, with the most advanced technology available. Its lightweight aluminium bodyshell means it is more efficient and good to drive, too.

The A8 comes with a choice of petrol, plug-in hybrid and diesel power. Unless you are buying one to use as a company car (in which case you’d go for the PHEV), we’d recommend the economy and huge range of the V6 TDI.

See our used Audi A8 deals

BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe

• Price new: £71,215
• Price now: £35,250
• Powertrain: 3.0-litre 6-cylinder petrol, RWD
• Power: 328bhp  
• 0-62mph: 5.4 seconds

When they were new, some BMW 8 Series models were considered direct rivals to exotica such as Aston Martins and the Porsche 911. But the  used-car market is a great leveller and the big BMW just doesn’t have the image to rival those models. So while a 911 holds its value well, the values of the 8 Series plummet in the first few years, allowing canny buyers to pick up a brilliant luxury car for less than half its original price.

The engines range from a mile-munching diesel to the supercar-chasing M850i, with two and four-door coupés or a convertible. We’d stick with the 3.0-litre 840i Gran Coupé for the best combination of performance, economy and dynamics, with an added bit of practicality.

See our used BMW 8 Series deals

Hyundai Tucson

• Price new: £40,875
• Price now: £27,500
• Powertrain: 1.6-litre 4-cylinder petrol PHEV, AWD
• Power: 261bhp  
• 0-62mph: 8.6 seconds

The Hyundai Tucson has snatched our Mid-size SUV of the Year prize in the Auto Express New Car Awards for the past four years on the trot, thanks to its combination of eye-catching styling, overall quality and driving dynamics. It makes a great used buy, too, especially because all Hyundais are covered by an impressive five-year warranty.

Buying nearly new will save you a five-figure sum on the list price, and there’s a huge choice of engines and transmissions, with the option of pure petrol, mild-hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrains. We found a 2024 N Line PHEV with 14,000 miles for £27,500, but be aware that top-spec Tucsons had an original list price of more than £40,000, so you have to pay the ‘luxury’ car supplement of £410 on top of the usual VED road tax until the car is six years old.

See our used Hyundai Tucson deals

Kia Niro EV

• Price new: £37,235  
• Price now: £24,750
• Powertrain: 64kWh battery, 1x e-motor, FWD
• Power: 201bhp  
• 0-62mph: 7.8 seconds

Electric car buyers can save a fortune if they are happy to be the second owner.  Even though their ‘used’ car might actually have been driven less than 20 miles, the need  to hit targets means dealers will register cars and then quickly move them on with a big discount. This is great news for EV bargain hunters, because Kia’s ever expanding range of electric cars includes some of our favourites. The Kia Niro EV is a great all-rounder, with a 285-mile range, a family-sized interior and plenty of cutting-edge technology.

We found several delivery-mileage examples of the Niro with at least £10,000 off the list price. The best was a model in mid-range 2 trim with the optional black paint for £24,750.

See our used Kia Niro EV deals

Porsche 718 Cayman

• Price new: £46,075  
• Price now: £30,000
• Powertrain: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder petrol, RWD
• Power: 298bhp  
• 0-62mph: 5.3 seconds

Owning a Porsche will be on most enthusiasts’ bucket lists, and if you want to stick to the newer models, then the Porsche 718 Cayman is the most affordable way in. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be a thoroughly rewarding car to own, because even the cheapest 718 is great to drive.

It’s available with either a six-speed manual or optional seven-speed PDK twin-clutch automatic transmission. Some will get sniffy about choosing an auto in a sports car, but it’s great to use and actually has better fuel economy and acceleration than the manual.

Demand means Caymans are rarely cheap, so a 2019 PDK will still be worth around £30,000 with 20,000 miles. Meanwhile, a 2021 4.0-litre GT4 we saw was £69,750 – just £7,000 less than its new price.

See our used Porsche 718 Cayman deals

Volvo XC90

• Price new: £54,295
• Price now: £31,000
• Powertrain: 2.0-litre4-cylinder petrol PHEV, AWD
• Power: 449bhp  
• 0-62mph: 5.4 seconds

Volvo tapped into a huge market with the XC90, offering a big seven-seater with everything needed for family life, plus cool Scandinavian style and a reputation for safety.

Most of the newer XC90s have petrol power in some form, and despite having downsized 2.0-litre engines, all are decent performers. But a £30,000-plus budget will be enough to pick up a Recharge plug-in hybrid, which sits at the top of the range in terms of performance and fuel economy. This T8 version will need to be plugged in regularly to make the most of the benefits, but produces an amazing 449bhp.

While the £9,000 price premium over the lesser B6 version is difficult to justify when the car is new, it shrinks to a tempting £1,750 by the time the XC90 is five years old.

See our used Volvo XC90 deals

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