Best cars & vans

Best cars for £20,000 or less

£20k is serious used car money, these are our favourite buys for that kind of budget

£20,000 certainly isn’t small change, but the list of new cars that you can buy with this amount of cash is smaller than ever. Take a look at the used car market, though, and you’ll be spoilt for choice as there’s plenty of bargains to be found. To make your search as easy as possible, our experts have rounded up the best cars for £20,000 or less right here.

Our list contains a broad selection of cars from a variety of manufacturers, ranging from the sporty Cupra Formentor to the zero-emission Vauxhall Corsa Electric.

If you are tempted by one of the higher-end models that has suffered at the hands of depreciation, remember to account for running costs. Premium cars often demand equally-premium prices when it comes to maintenance and fuel bills, so your bargain could end up being costly if you aren’t careful.

Cupra Formentor

  • Price new: £30,060  
  • Price now: £19,350
  • Powertrain: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol, FWD
  • Power: 148bhp  
  • 0-62mph: 8.9 seconds

Do you like the idea of a family SUV but don’t want to give up the sportiness of a hot hatchback? Cupra has your back with the Formentor. It’s almost as practical as rivals such as the Nissan Qashqai, but has a lower roofline with more aggressive styling and sportier driving manners.

When the Formentor was launched, there were some very keen lease deals that bolstered sales. Those cars are now being fed into the used market and although prices are above those of an equivalent Volkswagen Golf, the Formentor should retain more of its value in future.

There is a good choice of powertrains and specs, including a hybrid, but we think the V1 with the 1.5-litre TSI engine has enough equipment and performance to keep most drivers happy.

See our used Cupra Formentor deals

Ford Puma

  • Price new: £25,635 
  • Price now: £16,495
  • Powertrain: 1.0-litre 3-cylinder petrol, FWD
  • Power: 123bhp 
  • 0-62mph: 9.8 seconds

Following the demise of the Fiesta, Ford’s little SUV, the Puma, has taken over as the company’s biggest seller, and it also topped the overall sales charts in the UK last year. It’s easy to see why, because it offers the raised driving position drivers love, together with fun dynamics, low running costs and reasonable practicality.

We found a late-2022 example in the sporty-looking ST-Line trim with 6,000 miles for £16,495 at a Ford dealer. The better-equipped ST-Line X commands a premium of around £500 at this age, while the automatic gearbox is slightly more desirable than the manual, too.

Make sure the service records are up to date, because the EcoBoost engines can suffer from poor reliability if they are neglected.

See our used Ford Puma deals

Kia Ceed

  • Price new: £25,300
  • Price now: £17,000
  • Powertrain: 1.0-litre 3-cylinder petrol, FWD
  • Power: 118bhp  
  • 0-62mph: 10.7 seconds

We are big fans of the Kia Ceed as a new car, but it arguably becomes even more convincing when it hits the second-hand market.

It’s good to drive, practical and has all the technology you expect, but it's usefully cheaper than a Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf at the same age and mileage, despite having the back-up of Kia’s seven-year warranty. That 
means a 2023 Ceed will still be covered until 2030, while these rivals will only have a year left.

Although the posher trim levels such as the stylish GT-Line can seem tempting, the lowlier Ceeds have always made more sense, because they are still well equipped and the ride is more forgiving on smaller wheels. The ISG auto gearbox isn’t the best, so we would suggest keeping it simple with a 1.0T manual.

See our used Kia Ceed deals

Toyota RAV4

  • Price new: £47,340
  • Price now: £19,950
  • Powertrain: 2.5-litre 4-cylinder PHEV, AWD
  • Power: 302bhp  
  • 0-62mph: 6.0 seconds

Toyota’s 4x4s have a reputation for toughness and reliability that is the envy of rivals, and it’s backed up by one of the best warranties in the business. Every Toyota in the UK is eligible for up to 10 years or 100,000 miles of cover, so long as you have the vehicle serviced on time at an official dealer.

That means the used prices are traditionally higher than rivals, but we think the Toyota RAV4 still makes a great buy. The first of the plug-in models are now starting to appear on the market at prices just below our £20,000 limit.

The PHEV is a genuinely efficient car, with a 30-mile-plus electric range and decent fuel economy, while it gets from 0-62mph 2.1 seconds faster than the hybrid RAV4.

See our used Toyota RAV4 deals

Vauxhall Corsa Electric

  • Price new: £34,480
  • Price now: £17,500
  • Powertrain: 50kWh battery, 1x e-motor, FWD
  • Power: 134bhp  
  • 0-62mph: 7.6 seconds

The bafflingly complex rules around emissions mean that car makers have to sell a certain amount of electric cars or face fines. The result of that is that some manufacturers have made up for any shortfall in sales by registering EVs as demonstrators and then selling them on at a knock-down price after a few weeks.

As a result there are some real bargains out there, especially if you fancy a supermini. We spotted several Vauxhall Corsa Electrics advertised with delivery mileage for £17,500, knocking almost half off the original list price for the range-topping Ultimate trim. The dealer we spoke to was keen to do a deal, so there’s a chance to bag even more of a bargain. All the Corsas we saw had the older 136bhp motor and 50kWh battery, with a still-decent 222-mile range.

See our used Vauxhall Corsa Electric deals

Volvo S90 

  • Price new: £47,800  
  • Price now: £18,500
  • Powertrain: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder diesel, AWD  
  • Power: 233bhp 
  • 0-62mph: 6.7 seconds

When choosing a new executive car, the default option is to head to a German brand’s showroom. But in the used market we’d suggest you might find a deal from a less obvious source: Volvo.

The Swedish company is best known for its estates and SUVs, but the S90 is a forgotten gem in the big-saloon sector and represents great second-hand value as a result. It’s comfortable, spacious and efficient, with dynamics that encourage you to make the most of the refinement rather than trying to set new lap records.

The diesel and PHEV powertrains are the most prevalent and are a popular choice as executive chauffeur cars, so many will have high mileages and should therefore be more affordable. But we found a 2019 D5 AWD with the desirable R Design pack for £18,500 with only 51,000 miles. That’s a lot of car for the money.

See our used Volvo S90 deals

Buy a car with Auto Express. Our nationwide dealer network has some fantastic cars on offer right now with new, used and leasing deals to choose from...

Used cars under £20,000

A-Class Saloon

2021 Mercedes

A-Class Saloon

52,164 milesAutomaticPetrol1.3L

Cash £16,300
View A-Class Saloon
GLA

2020 Mercedes

GLA

35,184 milesManualPetrol1.6L

Cash £15,374
View GLA
Range Rover Sport

2017 Land Rover

Range Rover Sport

68,091 milesAutomaticDiesel2.0L

Cash £17,000
View Range Rover Sport
C-HR

2018 Toyota

C-HR

44,340 milesAutomaticPetrol1.8L

Cash £16,000
View C-HR
Corolla

2022 Toyota

Corolla

54,130 milesAutomaticPetrol1.8L

Cash £15,900
View Corolla
Grandland X

2021 Vauxhall

Grandland X

14,515 milesAutomaticPetrol1.2L

Cash £15,700
View Grandland X
2008

2023 Peugeot

2008

10,006 milesManualPetrol1.2L

Cash £15,460
View 2008
Sportage

2021 Kia

Sportage

37,819 milesAutomaticPetrol1.6L

Cash £17,830
View Sportage
Golf

2024 Volkswagen

Golf

39,590 milesManualPetrol1.5L

Cash £18,915
View Golf
Kuga

2019 Ford

Kuga

18,206 milesAutomaticPetrol1.5L

Cash £15,000
View Kuga
i20

2023 Hyundai

i20

19,896 milesManualPetrol1.0L

Cash £15,392
View i20
ID.3

2021 Volkswagen

ID.3

14,689 milesAutomaticElectric

Cash £15,560
View ID.3
Qashqai

2022 Nissan

Qashqai

30,008 milesManualPetrol1.3L

Cash £18,695
View Qashqai
Q5

2020 Audi

Q5

68,717 milesAutomaticDiesel2.0L

Cash £18,950
View Q5
Galaxy

2018 Ford

Galaxy

47,037 milesManualDiesel2.0L

Cash £15,514
View Galaxy
C-HR

2022 Toyota

C-HR

38,160 milesAutomaticPetrol1.8L

Cash £18,542
View C-HR
Mokka

2022 Vauxhall

Mokka

11,569 milesAutomaticPetrol1.2L

Cash £17,169
View Mokka
1 Series

2020 BMW

1 Series

40,503 milesManualPetrol1.5L

Cash £16,079
View 1 Series
2 Series Coupe

2020 BMW

2 Series Coupe

29,743 milesManualPetrol1.5L

Cash £15,560
View 2 Series Coupe
C-HR

2022 Toyota

C-HR

32,067 milesAutomaticPetrol1.8L

Cash £17,816
View C-HR
Mokka

2022 Vauxhall

Mokka

13,209 milesManualPetrol1.2L

Cash £16,708
View Mokka