Family cars for supermini money

To say that the second-hand car market is struggling would be something of an understatement; you can almost hear the gurgle as the residuals drain away. But not all classes of car are being affected in the same way – one sector in particular remains solid as a rock.

Small diesels are holding on to their value in spectacular style. Such is the demand for super-economical, tax-efficient cars in the current financial storm, buyers are paying over the odds for any supermini wearing a TD badge. As a result, prices of three-year-old superminis are riding high.

In turn, values of large-capacity models are tumbling, as owners become more and more fearful of being lumbered with expensive bills for their annual road tax – on top of high fuel costs – when the retrospective vehicle excise duty rules come into force in April. The effect of these two price trends is that savvy buyers can cash in – and get a three-year-old family model for the same cost as a supermini of the same vintage.

“It’s a knee-jerk reaction,” said Jeff Paterson of Glass’s Guide. “Fuel prices and the road tax situation have created a large premium for diesels over petrol, and smaller cars over bigger models.”

We’ve rounded up five large family cars you can buy for supermini money. We stuck to three-year-old models with fewer than 60,000 miles on the clock, and focused on small diesels at the bottom end of the price scale. And the message is clear: think big this autumn, and the second-hand market is your oyster.