Five quirky first cars you can buy and insure for the same price as a Volkswagen Polo
August 26, 2026 by Jamie Edkins
I recently wrote a review of my sister’s first car, a Kia Picanto, and while researching insurance costs for new drivers I was presented with some hilarious quotes which got me wondering how anyone can afford to learn to drive in 2026.
Some of the UK’s most popular first cars would cost in excess of £4,000 per year to cover if I was 17 again, but that got me wondering – can you get covered for less if you go for something a bit different? Or could you get something way more interesting for the same money?
To find out, I’ve been getting some insurance quotes posing as a 17-year-old fresh off his test, and I found some great options.
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Insuring your first car: how much do the usual suspects cost?
There are three models which spring to mind when I think of a first car: the Ford Fiesta, the Vauxhall Corsa and the Volkswagen Polo.
It’s the latter I want to focus on here, because despite sitting in a lower insurance group than the Ford the quote I got for the Polo was bonkers.
I found a 2012 Volkswagen Polo 1.2 Match for £3,500. It’s a pretty basic spec with the least powerful engine, and it’s in insurance group 4. Pretending to be a 17-year-old new driver, living at home with my parents in Hampshire, I was quoted a whopping £5,700.
You can cut this down to £1,900 by adding a black box – a telematic device which monitors your driving habits such as acceleration, braking and speed. Even then, it’s a lot of money.
That means you’ll have to pay out £9,200 to buy and insure this car, or £5,400 with a tracker fitted. Here are five other cars you could buy and insure for similar money.
But before I go on, a quick disclaimer. Insurance prices change all the time, and they’ll vary massively depending on where you live, your job, where you park and when you get the quote. The numbers I’ve got here give you an idea of the difference in price, but make sure you get your own, personalised quote when you come to buy your next car.
1. Volvo C30 DRIVe
This is a car I quite fancy owning now, let alone when I was a teenager. The Volvo C30 is a funky-looking three-door which is well-made, comfy to drive and surprisingly spacious inside, and the 1.6-litre diesel DRIVe model will do more than 60mpg.
I found a late 2009 C30 with just over 42,000 miles on the clock for £2,995, and a year’s insurance costs £4,645, dropping to £2,970 with a black box.
| Total without black box | Total with black box | |
|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Polo | £9,200 | £5,700 |
| Volvo C30 DRIVe | £7,640 | £5,965 |
2. Mazda MX-5
The Mazda MX-5 is a car close to my heart, because I used to own one. It’s brilliant to drive, reliable and easy to work on yourself, making it ideal for budding car enthusiasts. You won’t have to give your mates a lift either, because there are no back seats.
You might think a two-seater convertible sports car is out of reach for a first-time driver, but that’s not necessarily so. I found a 2007 MX-5 with the 1.8-litre engine for £3,300, and insurance for the first year came to £5,571. It’s £3,660 with a black box though, so if you go down that route the Polo is a lot cheaper.
| Total without black box | Total with black box | |
|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Polo | £9,200 | £5,700 |
| Volvo C30 DRIVe | £7,640 | £5,965 |
| Mazda MX-5 | £8,871 | £6,960 |
3. Citroen C4 Cactus
The tiny Citroen C1 is a popular first car, but if you want something more substantial then the C4 Cactus is worth considering. It’s a quirky-looking thing, and those big rubber side panels protect against car park dings. It’s also comfy to drive, but the interior feels cheap.
I found a 2015 example with the 1.2-litre petrol engine and a reasonable 85,000 miles on the clock. It’s listed for £3,450, and I was quoted £4,591 to insure it – dropping to £2,561 with a black box.
| Total without black box | Total with black box | |
|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Polo | £9,200 | £5,700 |
| Volvo C30 DRIVe | £7,640 | £5,965 |
| Mazda MX-5 | £8,871 | £6,960 |
| Citroen C4 Cactus | £8,041 | £6,011 |
4. Skoda Octavia
You may think the Skoda Octavia is a car for your parents, but I reckon you should consider it as your first car. It’s comfortable, there’s plenty of room for all your mates and the boot will be big enough for any festival getaway.
It’s also the cheapest car of the bunch to insure. I found a 2017 Octavia 1.0-litre with 88,000 miles on the clock for £5,500, and the first year of insurance was £3,282. Adding a black box drops this to £2,156, so this option only really makes sense if you don’t want a tracker.
| Total without black box | Total with black box | |
|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Polo | £9,200 | £5,700 |
| Volvo C30 DRIVe | £7,640 | £5,965 |
| Mazda MX-5 | £8,871 | £6,960 |
| Citroen C4 Cactus | £8,041 | £6,011 |
| Skoda Octavia | £8,782 | £7,656 |
5. Hyundai Veloster
We’re finishing with the weirdest car on the list. The Hyundai Veloster is a funky-looking coupe with two doors on the left-hand side and one on the other – giving you sleek styling with a bit of added practicality.
I found this 2013 example for sale through Carwow for £4,700, and I was quoted £5,752 to insure it. Ok, so that makes it around £1,250 more overall than the Polo, but which one would you rather show off to your mates? Going for a black box drops the price to £3,418.
| Total without black box | Total with black box | |
|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Polo | £9,200 | £5,700 |
| Volvo C30 DRIVe | £7,640 | £5,965 |
| Mazda MX-5 | £8,871 | £6,960 |
| Citroen C4 Cactus | £8,041 | £6,011 |
| Skoda Octavia | £8,782 | £7,656 |
| Hyundai Veloster | £10,452 | £8,118 |
My final thoughts
The main takeaway from this is that getting on the road for the first time is expensive, and if you really want to save money then you need to get a black box fitted.
But if you don’t want one, or you just fancy something a bit different from all your friends, you can get behind the wheel of some pretty cool cars for less than you might think. Don’t feel like you’re limited to the stereotypical first cars.
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