New cars cost too much but some brands are finally finding the price sweet spot

There’s no point in denying the painful, wallet-busting truth. Fact is, in these troubled early to mid 2020s, certain car makers have been dreaming up some daftly ambitious, inflation-shattering list prices. Consequently, buyers who have traditionally, happily purchased brand-new models every few years have been prevented from doing so. 

Surprise, surprise, they’re holding on to their cars longer, which is great for non-franchised garage workshops, parts suppliers and MoT stations, but bad for vehicle factory output (it slumped to a 73-year low in the UK last year) and new-car showrooms. 

It’s blindingly obvious to me that some mid to upmarket manufacturers, or those trying to elevate their products from premium to luxury status (good luck with that), stubbornly continue to almost suicidally price themselves out of the market. Inevitably, they sell fewer cars.  

But what seems like a growing number of hungrier, low to mid-market firms are very much pricing themselves in – with models hovering around the £20,000 mark. I’m not talking here about the absolute lowest-priced products, such as the £7,695 Citroen Ami or the £15,990 Dacia Spring. Instead, I reckon it’s the £17,000 to £23,000 territory that you should be entering if you’re after what I consider to be the all-things-considered best and top-value new-car buys at the minute. The products I have in mind are inexpensive rather than cheap. And yes, there really is a difference between the two. 

Starting with what I still – two years after I first drove it – consider to be the finest model in this modest by today’s standards price league, the Renault 5. It’s currently yours for as little as £21,495. But the company’s imminent, already highly rated all-new Twingo is expected to cost less than £20,000, while its next Clio could sit just above that £20k mark. Renault is clearly spoiling you for choice on the inexpensive car front.

Kia is coming back down to earth, courtesy of its intriguing EV2. But even the entry-level version has a £27,995 price tag, although it drops to £24,245 after “Kia’s reservation saving” is included. I predict that decent dealer discounts will also be needed to bring its price more in line with rival products. The VW ID. Polo and Skoda Epiq could well upstage the EV2 – if, as predicted by some, entry-level versions are as low as £22k. The dark horse in all this could be China’s Chery Tiggo 4, a surprisingly long (almost 4.5 metres), chunky, classy-looking SUV that can be yours for less than £20,000.  

If you’re looking for the definition of what inexpensive, smallish, high-quality cars should and will be like in ’26/’27, then look no further than this modest bunch. They impress me a lot. What more do you want or need when pottering around Britain’s often slow, jam-packed streets where average speeds are desperately low?

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