Best cheap company cars 2025
These are the best company cars for a limited budget
Having the option of a company car through your job can be a great perk, but if you’re spending a small fortune for the privilege then it can quickly become a bit of a burden. Fortunately, the best cheap company cars aren’t only kind to your bank account, but they’re also rather desirable.
Below we’ve gathered what our expert road testers believe are the best cheap company cars on the current market. Not only do these cars need to offer a low Benefit-in-Kind tax rate and affordable running costs in order to make the grade, they have also been highly recommended by our team after extensive testing that totals thousands of miles at the wheel, so you can be sure that you’re getting the very best, and cheapest, wheels for your company car allowance.
The best cheap company cars
Read on to find the best company cars for a smaller budget.
1. Citroen e-C3
- Prices from £22,000
The Citroen e-C3 is finding itself at the top of a lot of lists recently, not least our 2024 New Car Awards. And it takes first place in the company car stakes too, since you’ll struggle to find a company car that’s cheaper overall to run. The low on-the-road price (it starts at only £21,990) combines with ultra-low electric car BiK rates (3% from April 2025) for a car that will cost a company car user in the lower income tax bracket only £132 per year, and even a higher-rate payer will stump up only £263.
And while you could theoretically get something like a Dacia Spring or Citroen Ami for even less, the e-C3 is an electric vehicle you could realistically use every day without making too many compromises. A 198-mile range means it still isn’t going to replace that long-range plug-in hybrid or diesel for a sales rep, but as a commuter car it’s more than enough, and the spacious cabin and comfortable ride will be welcome, too. The e-C3 may have a fight on its hands when the electric Fiat Grande Panda arrives though – it’s essentially the same car, but with more appealing interior and exterior styling.
2. Kia EV3
- Prices from £33,000
It can’t quite match the ultra low running costs of the Citroen e-C3, but if you want a company car with a little more pizzazz than the cheap and cheerful Citroen, then the Kia EV3 fits the bill perfectly. It’s one of our favourite new cars, with striking styling that apes the larger Kia EV9, a high-tech and high-quality interior, and plenty of range, whether you go for the entry-level 58kWh battery pack, which does 267 miles on a charge, or the larger 81kWh pack and its 372-mile offering.
The range kicks off at just under £33k, with a P11D value of £32,940. When you run the numbers against the 2025 to 2026 BiK rate of 3 per cent, a basic-rate taxpayer will pay only £198 to run one as a company car for a year, and around double that for a 40 per cent taxpayer. The former figure is only a little more than the £190 annual VED bill that most cars attract. The EV3’s definitely about more than numbers though, as the interior’s spacious and well-designed, and the 201bhp powertrain is quick off the mark. It’s not the best-driving SUV on the market (though this isn’t a segment known for its great entertainers, so it’s far from the worst either), but the ownership experience should more than make up for that.
3. Hyundai Kona Electric
- Prices from £35,000
To prove that low cost doesn’t mean low quality, one of our favourite cheap company cars was also our Car of the Year back in 2023. The second-generation Hyundai Kona Electric has been built with customer feedback in mind, as well as that of our expert road testers. The original Kona suffered from fundamental flaws, such as a noticeable lack of interior space, but Hyundai has taken careful care to eradicate these from the new model. The brand has also borrowed some styling influences from its Ioniq range, with the result being a practical yet tastefully quirky small SUV.
While there is the choice of petrol or hybrid power, the fully-electric Kona offers the best value for money and the most tempting Benefit-in-Kind savings; the entry-level model will cost around £419 per year for a higher-rate taxpayer. Hyundai claims up to 230 miles of range for the Kona Electric – increasing to a whopping 319 miles for the Long Range variant – so long commutes should prove stress free. The interior is a comfortable and pleasant place to sit, too, and physical switchgear helps to do away with frustrating sub-menus.
Latest Hyundai Kona Electric deals
4. MG4
- Prices from £27,000
While BYD is one of China’s latest entries into the UK car market, the resurrected MG brand was one of its first. The MG4 is by far the best EV yet to wear the iconic octagonal badge, and it offers huge value for money. We think it’s such a bargain that we named it our 2023 Affordable Electric Car of the Year, and it’s because of this all-round value that the MG4 is becoming an increasingly common sight in office car parks across the country.
For a starting price of under £27,000 you get a fully-electric hatchback with between 218-323 miles of claimed battery range – depending on your chosen specification – similar on-board tech to much more expensive rivals, plenty of space for a family of five and their luggage, and even a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. The MG4 falls short of first place, though, as we found the build quality to be a bit questionable in a number of areas on our long-term test car.
5. BYD Dolphin
- Prices from £26,200
While BYD – Build Your Dreams – is a behemoth of a brand back home in China, it is a complete newcomer to the UK’s streets. The Atto 3 was the first BYD to reach our shores and it certainly set things off on the right foot. The Dolphin followed closely behind, and it continues to uphold the brand's promising reputation while boasting a temptingly low price.
The Dolphin has been designed with comfort in mind rather than sportiness, and we certainly felt the benefits of this approach when driving it on UK roads. While the interior features less gimmicks than the Atto 3, the level of quality is very high for the price and there’s plenty of technology at your fingertips – although some functions are buried deep within sub-menus. Overall, though, the Dolphin should prove to be an affordable company car, with P11D pricing from just over £26,000 meaning BiK of only £157 a year for basic rate payers and £314 for higher-rate taxpayers.
6. Renault 5
- Prices from £23,000
You’ll struggle to find a cheap company car that will attract more attention than the new Renault 5. In taking its inspiration from the 1970s original – but remixing it with modern details, vivid paint hues and electric power – Renault has created one of the most appealing small cars around, and better still, the French brand has also priced it competitively.
This isn’t just good news for new car buyers, but for company car users too. The low list prices keep BiK rates to a minimum, so the basic 118bhp car at £23k means BiK bills of only £138/£275 a year for lower and higher rate taxpayers, while the most affordable of the more powerful, larger-battery Fives, the Techno 150, only lifts that to £162/£323. The Renault’s fun to drive too, has a high-quality interior, and with the bigger battery has a claimed range of up to 248 miles, and should do 200 miles in real-world driving without trying too hard.
7. Fiat 500e
- Prices from £25,000
If you’re something of a fashionista, the Fiat 500e’s funky retro styling is very likely to appeal. This Italian city car is more than just a looker, though, as it offers a generous helping of on-board tech, impressive refinement and up to 199 miles of range. The good news is that we found it possible to reach this claimed range in the real world when we tested the 500e over a period of six months, although a particularly careful approach to driving is required.
While the little 500 is most at home on city streets, it doesn't feel out of its depth on the motorway. Performance is reasonable with either 92bhp or 116bhp on tap depending on your chosen variant. If you have a serious need for speed, though, there is also the option of the hotter Abarth 500e.
8. Dacia Jogger Hybrid
- Prices from £23,100
With seven seats and up to 2,085 litres of cargo space, there aren’t many cars that are as practical as the Dacia Jogger, and even fewer can match its sub-£19,000 starting price. Opt for the 1.6-litre hybrid for just over £23k and you’ll reap a claimed fuel economy figure of over 57mpg, along with lower BiK bills than any other version of Dacia's MPV – it sits in the 27% bracket for 2025/2026.
Inside the budget-friendly Jogger is an interior that is typically Dacia; it’s very functional without much in the way of excitement. That said, the materials feel durable and some luxuries such as keyless entry, automatic air-conditioning and all-round sensors are fitted as standard on the Hybrid models.
9. Citroen e-C4
- Prices from £26,500
While a French hatchback might not be the first model that comes to mind when you hear the phrase “company car”, the Citroen e-C4 is definitely worth considering. If you’re not entirely convinced just yet, Citroen C4 owners rated it as the Best Car to Own in our 2023 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey.
The C4 scored highly for its ride quality, handling and smoothness as well as the level of quality and reliability. The e-C4 adds in the benefits of a near-silent powertrain and lower running costs, too. When we spent six months with the e-C4 as part of our long-term test fleet, we found it easy to live with as it felt far more conventional than many of its rivals. It also felt compact enough to navigate through smaller streets, but the tradeoff is the slightly cramped back seats. A low purchase price (a P11D value of just over £26,000) and that electric powertrain helps it to very low Benefit-in-Kind figures for company users: a basic-rate taxpayer will stump up less than £160 a year for the privilege of running one as a company car.
10. MG ZS EV
- Prices from £30,500
The recent influx of Chinese EVs has quickly disproved the theory that only the very smallest electric cars can carry a low price. The MG ZS EV is a fully-fledged mid-size SUV – rivalling the likes of the Nissan Qashqai – but it starts from under £31,000. This price makes it one of the cheapest electric SUVs out there.
There’s room for five passengers to sit comfortably, and the 470-litre boot should take all their luggage with ease, so the ZS EV performs well as a family car. Standard kit is pretty generous, too, and even the smaller 51kWh battery pack claims up to 198 miles of range (Long Range variants get up to 273 miles). You also get a seven-year/80,000-mile warranty as standard for peace of mind. Some of the fit and finish did remind us of this car’s budget status, and MG’s last-place finish in our Driver Power manufacturer rankings leaves a lot to be desired, but few cars can match this sheer level of value.
Best cheap company cars
- Citroen e-C3
- Kia EV3
- Hyundai Kona Electric
- MG4
- BYD Dolphin
- Renault 5
- Fiat 500e
- Dacia Jogger Hybrid
- Citroen e-C4
- MG ZS EV
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