Best used family cars to buy 2026
Our guide to the best used family cars on sale in the UK today
If you’re in need of a new vehicle to take on family duties, opting for a used family car could help you save some money, while still keeping pace with the latest in-car technology and safety equipment. With so many used family cars on the market, selecting the best model to take on this task isn’t always easy. This is where our used family car guide comes in.
The very best used family cars focus on maximising value for money and space. Body styles like larger saloons, hatchbacks and MPVs which used to be the bread and butter of everyday family motoring may have fallen slightly out of fashion, can offer excellent value for money.
SUVs and crossovers also make for great family cars, especially with there being so many on the used market. While these body styles don’t feature on this list, we’ve got a page dedicated to the best used SUVs.
With the family car arena being highly competitive, manufacturers have focused on upgrading the quality and technology available, with even some entry-level cars getting equipment like adaptive cruise control, sat-nav, parking sensors or Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. This is great news if you’re shopping for a family car on a budget, meaning you could get more for your money.
Best used family cars
Our road test experts have driven every family car on sale in the UK and think the Dacia Jogger is the very best. This MPV came out on top thanks to its blend of low running costs, low depreciation, seven-seats and generous amounts of practicality.
If you need a diesel car with seven seats, the Ford S-MAX is a great MPV alternative to the Jogger.
Not everyone will want an MPV as their family transport, and this is where the Skoda Octavia Estate comes in. It offers lots of space, low running costs and comes loaded with plenty of Skoda’s ‘Simply Clever’ features.
| Rank | Make and model |
| 1. | Dacia Jogger |
| 2. | Ford S-MAX |
| 3. | Skoda Octavia Estate |
| 4. | Peugeot 408 |
| 5. | Tesla Model Y |
| 6. | Vauxhall Insignia |
| 7. | Skoda Superb |
| 8. | Mazda 6 |
| 9. | Volkswagen Passat |
| 10. | Toyota Prius |
Keep scrolling to learn more about the best used family cars, or click the links in the table above to jump to a specific make and model...
1. Dacia Jogger
● 1.0 TCE Extreme (2026), 1,700 miles, £20,300
Why buy? Great value both new and used, the Jogger has plenty of practicality
We are big fans of Dacia’s no-nonsense, high-value cars, and so are owners, according to the brand’s stellar results in our Driver Power surveys. The Jogger is the most versatile and practical model in the company’s range, cleverly mixing the seven-seat capacity of an MPV with styling that’s half-SUV, half-estate car.
Unlike many smaller people-carriers, the rear row of seats is spacious, and the interior is packed with family-friendly features such as folding picnic tables, cup-holders and cubbies. Fold the seats and the Jogger has 1,809 litres of luggage space – more than a Volvo V70. If that’s not enough, you can use the modular roof bars to bolt on bikes and boxes.
The Dacia is also surprisingly good to drive. True, it could never be considered a quick car, but both the turbocharged 1.0-litre petrol and 1.6-litre hybrid powertrains perform surprisingly well, while the suspension soaks up potholes effectively. Good fuel economy also means that the Jogger will be decently inexpensive to run.
The cheapest examples from 2022 can be found for around £10,000, while an ex-demo Hybrid Extreme will cost less than £20,000. We’d say that the well equipped mid-range Expression with the three-cylinder 1.0-litre engine is the sweet spot in the line-up, because it has features including an eight-inch touchscreen, climate control and those clever roof bars.
But with the savings you’ll make by buying nearly new, we wouldn’t blame you for treating yourself to the frugal HEV in posh Extreme trim.
Latest used Dacia Jogger deals
2. Ford S-MAX
● 2.0 TDCI Titanium (2013), 146,000 miles, £1,995
Why buy? Good to drive with seven-seat practicality and prices that start from £1,500.
If family commitments mean your sporty saloon or hot hatch has to give way to seven seats and enough boot space to carry a cot, don’t despair. The Ford S-MAX is lower-slung than usual MPVs, and has some of the chassis sparkle you’d expect from the company’s clever engineers.
The cheapest examples are now in banger territory, but there are still plenty that have been looked after and cost less than £3,000.
3. Skoda Octavia Estate
● 1.5 TSI SE Technology (2020), 88,000 miles, £9,990
Why buy? Owners love this spacious Skoda, and there are plenty to choose from.
While SUVs are in vogue, the Skoda Octavia wagon is proof that there is still life in the estate car. Driver Power results show that owners love them, with plenty of space for passengers and luggage, solid quality and the running costs of a supermini.
It’s a popular choice with fleets so there are plenty of well maintained ex-company cars around on the second-hand market. We recommend the excellent 1.5-litre TSI petrol.
Latest used Skoda Octavia Estate deals
4. Peugeot 408
● 1.2 Puretech GT (2024), 48,873 miles, £14,699
Why buy? With stand-out styling and a high-quality feel, the 408 is great value.
Running a Peugeot as your family car was once seen as a mainstream choice, but the striking 408 is now something of an oddball in a sea of SUVs and models from premium brands.
It can hold its own against them all, though, both in terms of practicality and quality, but it’s a car that will have lost a huge amount of its new value in the first few years, meaning it’s a brilliant bargain second-hand.
5. Tesla Model Y
● Long Range RWD (2025), 10,100 miles, £34,700
Why buy? Cheap to run and gives access to the exceptional Tesla charging network.
The aggressive finance deals on new Tesla Model Ys have kept demand high, but mean the prices of used versions are a bit of a bargain. There is plenty of choice, with the most common – and best value – being the lower- spec single-motor models in the white paint that was the only no-cost option.
They are huge inside and there is a seven-seat version. Plus, you get access to the Tesla Supercharging network.
Latest used Tesla Model Y deals
6. Vauxhall Insignia
We've always liked the second-generation Vauxhall Insignia. In fact, we think so highly of the model that it scooped our Best Used Family Car award five years in a row between 2020 and 2025. In 2017 the Insignia also claimed Best Large Family Car in the Carbuyer awards – and repeated the feat in 2018. It was also the Auto Express Family Car of the Year in 2018, and then took the same gong the following year. With all those accolades behind it, it's no surprise that it comes highly recommended.
Vauxhalls were always favourites among fleet buyers, but things had moved on by the time the Insignia Mk2 arrived, and the company found sales much harder to come by, with premium alternatives selling in bigger quantities. Historically one of the biggest car companies in the UK, Vauxhall didn’t even feature in the 10 top-selling brands in 2024, and this decline in popularity is given away by the fact that there aren’t as many used Insignias to go round as you might expect. That’s a shame, because this really is a very desirable family car.
In typical Vauxhall fashion the company offered a wide choice of powertrains, all turbocharged, and these initially included petrol (1.5 or 2.0-litre) and diesel (1.6 and 2.0-litre) units. Later on would come a 207bhp twin-turbo diesel, a 120bhp 1.5-litre diesel and a 1.6-litre petrol engine. Many of these engines were offered with a choice of power outputs, but whichever one you buy, it will have a roomy cabin and a user-friendly dashboard, and decent – but not quite class-leading – boot space.
Trim levels are confusing. The entry-level Design spec is quite spartan, so we’d aim for at least an SRi Nav or a Tech Line Nav. At the top of the pile is the Elite, which is genuinely luxurious; even the outer rear seats are heated, for example. Best of all, the Insignia is pretty reliable, so everything should still be working perfectly, at a fraction of its price when new.
Latest used Vauxhall Insignia deals
7. Skoda Superb
The third-generation Skoda Superb is one of the most spacious family cars you can buy. There’s loads of room for five people and their luggage, while you get great value and solid build quality, efficient engines and lashings of standard equipment.
Prices start at £6k, but we were taken with the 39k-mile 2019 2.0 TDI Sport Line on Auto Express Buy a Car, for just over £15,000.
Latest used Skoda Superb deals
8. Mazda 6
Mazda has a habit of producing great-looking cars, but the Mazda 6 isn’t just a pretty face – it’s also terrific to drive, with punchy petrol and diesel engines. Loaded with kit, the cabin is a class act that feels truly premium.
Sold from 2013-2022, some of the car's tech isn’t cutting edge, but with a 50k-mile high-spec six-year-old example available for around £12k, you won’t feel robbed.
9. Volkswagen Passat
Volkswagen occupies a twilight zone between volume and premium brands, and nowhere is this more apparent than with the Passat.
With lots of hi-tech features and a level of build quality that you really only get with more expensive cars, the Volkswagen Passat will cover huge mileages with ease. This eighth-generation edition was available from 2015 until 2023, and prices start at just £4,000.
Latest used Volkswagen Passat deals
10. Toyota Prius
The Toyota Prius introduced the concept of ‘alternative’ hybrid powertrains in the late 1990s is now so far into the mainstream that it’s a shoe-in as one of our favourite used car options for families.
The model continues its pioneering mission to make everyone a hybrid driver, but there’s nothing about the current Toyota Prius to justify outmoded ‘hair shirt and sandals’ eco-warrior slurs. The Prius is simply a great family car that’s cheap to run, fully lives up to Toyota’s fantastic reliability rep, and looks good too – at least if you’re on the admiring side of its 'Marmite' styling.
Latest used Toyota Prius deals
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