Best new cars for under £250 per month
You really can bag some top cars for a minimal budget, and here's our pick of the bunch
Inflation and the cost of living crisis haven’t done too many favours for our bank accounts in recent years, but you may be pleasantly surprised to know that you can still bag some of the best new cars for under £250 per month.
Some of the very cheapest models on offer are compact superminis like the Dacia Sandero and MG3, but you can even find family-friendly SUVs like the MG ZS within this price bracket. There are even some electric cars to choose from, ranging from the diddy Dacia Spring to the spacious Vauxhall Frontera.
Our road-testing experts have driven every single car on this list, and you can find top deals along with their verdicts below.
Dacia Spring - £190 per month
Why it’s a great buy: Britain’s cheapest new car has more power, less fear of corners and buckets of rugged charm – for £190!
Need an electric city car on a budget? The Dacia Spring should be on your shortlist. The firm recently updated its baby with a new battery, a revised chassis and a punchier motor – despite its successor arriving next year. The Spring used to roll like a drunken sailor in corners, but fitting an anti-roll bar should quell that, and while the 99bhp motor sounds puny, it’s a big upgrade over its 64bhp predecessor.
Such figures encapsulate the Spring’s modesty: range is 140 miles and peak DC charging just 40kW, but replenishing such a small battery won’t take ages. The car is only 3.7 metres long, but its boxy shape boosts practicality, and the mid-range 100 Extreme we’ve picked has a rear parking camera and a 10-inch touchscreen with sat-nav. Comfy and efficient, the Spring is a compelling bargain motor.
- Model: Dacia Spring 100 Extreme
- Type: City car
- Price: £12,990
- Deposit: £1,945
- Months: 36
- Deposit contribution: £0
- Monthly: £190
- Optional final payment: £4,928
- Total cost: £13,698
- Representative APR: 2.9%
Dacia Sandero - £218 per month
Why it’s a great buy: Even after all these years, the Dacia Sandero still feels like a lot of car for the money, and it’s better equipped than ever. The arrival of some absurdly affordable EVs means the Sandero is no longer the UK's cheapest new car, but ut it’s still right up there, and even more so with the right finance deal – as this £218-per-month contract shows.
It’s no bare-bones model, either, because Journey is the top trim and packs everything from parking cameras to wireless phone charging, on top of the 10-inch media display, foglights and cruise control from further down the range. The 1.0-litre TCe petrol engine is peppy – and frugal, too, at 52.3mpg.
- Model: Dacia Sandero 100 TCe Journey
- Type: Supermini
- Price: £17,065
- Deposit: £2,600 Months:
- 36 Deposit contribution: £150
- Monthly: £218
- Optional final payment: £8,859
- Total cost: £19,467
- Representative APR: 6.9%
MG3 - £221 per month
Why it’s a great buy: Brisk performance and a sensible cabin give the MG3 a grown-up feel, despite its good-value price tag
You’ll struggle to better the MG3 Hybrid’s 191bhp output for less than £20,000 (or a little more than £220 a month with a £2,900 deposit). A 0-62mph time of eight seconds flat is pretty brisk for a relatively unassuming supermini like this, and means it’s never short of pace when pulling away from a junction or joining a motorway – you can thank the punchy electric motor’s assistance for that. While the handling can’t provide similar thrills, there is at least a grown-up ride as a consolation prize.
The MG3’s cabin is also grown up, again punching above its price tag. The styling is smart and understated, plus the materials are better than you’d expect in a sub-£20k car. SE trim, meanwhile, nets you adaptive cruise, automatic air-con, and Eco, Sport and Normal driving modes.
- Model: MG3 Hybrid+ SE
- Type: Supermini
- Price: £19,495
- Deposit: £2,900
- Months: 36
- Deposit contribution: £1,750
- Monthly: £221
- Optional final payment: £7,880
- Total cost: £20,001
- Representative APR: 2.9%
MG ZS - £222 per month
Why it’s a great buy: The MG ZS is the same size as a Nissan Qashqai and packed with standard equipment, but costs less than a Juke
The MG ZS is a familiar sight these days, and when you can get this Nissan Qashqai-sized SUV for only £222 a month, it’s no surprise the UK public has taken to it. The British badge might help, too, even if the reality is that these cars arrive on boats from China, but the keen handling feels like it’s been honed on these shores. This money doesn’t get the punchy hybrid model, and the 113bhp 1.5-litre feels a little slovenly by modern standards, but the space and standard equipment on offer make the ZS feel like a bargain.
- Model: MG ZS 1.5 SE
- Type: Small SUV
- Price: £20,495
- Deposit: £3,100
- Months: 36 Deposit contribution: £1,600
- Monthly: £222
- Optional final payment: £8,901
- Total cost: £20,838
- Representative APR: 2.9%
Vauxhall Frontera - £231 per month
Why it’s a great buy: It’s easy enough to find an EV for this price, but not one that can offer as much space as the Vauxhall Frontera.
Under the skin, the Vauxhall Frontera Electric is very similar to the Citroen e-C3 Aircross – and it’s similarly good value. While Vauxhall hasn’t put much of its own spin on the styling, the cabin has more of the Brit brand's flavour and some will prefer its more conventional layout. The 44kWh battery promises up to 186 miles of range, which should suit urban commuters fine and handle well planned road trips, too. Getting an EV with a big boot and a spacious cabin like this for just over £230 a month is the biggest draw here, though.
- Model: Vauxhall Frontera Electric 44kWh Design
- Type: Small SUV
- Price: £23,945
- Deposit: £3,800
- Months: 36
- Deposit contribution: £1,500
- Monthly: £231
- Optional final payment: £10,533
- Total cost: £23,495
- Representative APR: 0%
Latest Vauxhall Frontera deals
Toyota Aygo X - £249 per month
Why it’s a great buy: Incredibly frugal hybrid powertrain gives the Toyota Aygo X the cheapest running costs this side of an EV
On purchase price alone, the Aygo X looks a bit expensive for the latest version of what used to be one of the most affordable nameplates on the road. But this hybrid-powered model offers so much more for your money, not least performance that no Aygo or Aygo X before could dream of. Thanks to a three-cylinder hybrid set-up, it burbles from 0-62mph in little more than nine seconds – nearly six seconds faster than the old model.
The hybrid tech also means a truly Puritan appetite for fuel, with a claimed 74.3mpg. You might even be able to beat that around town, where the Aygo X is in its element; being small, it’s a doddle to thread through narrow roads and into parking spaces. Rear-seat space is pretty tight, but it’s fine for kids, while the cabin feels built to last and mid-range Design trim is well equipped, too.
- Model: Toyota Aygo X Hybrid Design
- Type: City car
- Price: £23,745
- Deposit: £3,600
- Months: 36
- Deposit contribution: £3,250
- Monthly: £249
- Optional final payment: £11,003
- Total cost: £26,558
- Representative APR: 6.9%
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