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Compare the best cheap family cars

High quality and affordable cars for families from rated and reviewed dealers

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Rated 4.6/5 from 48,033 reviews

Best cheap family cars of 2023

The best cheap family cars are those that mix a good level of practicality with a smooth drive, decent looks and, rather obviously, an affordable price tag. Of course, if you’re in the market for a cheap family car you might have to forgo a couple of luxuries, but you’ll still be left with an excellent daily runabout. Here, we’ve compiled some of the best value family cars you can currently buy new through carwow, all for around £25,000 or less.

Dacia Jogger
2024
Smart Spender Award

1. Dacia Jogger

9/10
Dacia Jogger review
The Dacia Jogger is the most affordable seven-seater you can currently buy new. It’s comfortable on the motorway, and has loads of space inside for kids and luggage. Material quality isn’t great, however, and it has gutless performance when fully loaded.
Dacia Sandero

2. Dacia Sandero

9/10
Dacia Sandero review
The Dacia Sandero is the cheapest new car on the UK market, which is certainly not a claim to be sniffed at. For a small car it has a super impressive amount of space on offer, but a two-star safety rating isn’t particularly amazing. Still, it’s one of the best budget family cars you can buy.
Skoda Scala

3. Skoda Scala

8/10
Skoda Scala review
The Skoda Scala might be on the small side, but it has a massive boot and offers an excellent level of equipment. It’s a bit dull to drive on a twisty road, but it looks classy both inside and out and is priced extremely competitively.
Renault Kadjar

4. Renault Kadjar

8/10
Renault Kadjar review
If you’d prefer an affordable SUV instead of a hatchback or estate, then the Renault Kadjar is worth a look in. It’s attractive on the outside, and has loads of passenger space and a generous boot. You get a good amount of equipment as standard, too - just know that its cabin is pretty drab to look at.
Citroen C3 Aircross

5. Citroen C3 Aircross

8/10
Citroen C3 Aircross review
This funky compact SUV looks fantastic, comes with a range of smooth engines and is very comfortable on a bumpy road. It has a spacious boot, but there isn’t a huge amount of room in the backseats for adult passengers. Kids should be just fine, though.
SEAT Leon

6. SEAT Leon

8/10
SEAT Leon review
Battery range up to 510 miles
The sporty-looking SEAT Leon is not only reasonably fun to point down your favourite country road, it has loads of passenger space and a good amount of equipment as standard. A bigger boot might be nice though, and some of the controls are really fiddly - particularly the ones that control the infotainment.
Skoda Octavia Estate

7. Skoda Octavia Estate

8/10
Skoda Octavia Estate review
Battery range up to 47 miles
The Skoda Octavia Estate has a seriously huge boot, which is handy if you’ve got a lot of stuff to cart about from place to place. Build quality is excellent and it drives smoothly enough, but it’s not particularly fun on a country road - unless you go for the hot (but pricier) vRS model.
Vauxhall Astra

8. Vauxhall Astra

8/10
Vauxhall Astra review
Battery range up to 35 miles
The Vauxhall Astra not only looks fantastic on the outside, it comes with a huge boot and is super easy to drive around town - provided you avoid the slightly clunky automatic transmission. A bit more rear passenger space would be nice, too.
Kia Ceed Sportswagon

9. Kia Ceed Sportswagon

7/10
Kia Ceed Sportswagon review
The handsome Kia Ceed Sportswagon gets an impressive amount of equipment as standard, and has a large, practical boot. It’s a bit dull on the inside, however, and alternatives can be more comfortable out on a bumpy road.
Dacia Duster (2017-2024)

10. Dacia Duster

6/10
Dacia Duster (2017-2024) review
If you’re after a practical family SUV that’s efficient, spacious and can handle itself off-road, the 4x4 version of the Dacia Duster is a great choice. Two-wheel-drive versions are less appealing however, owing to their reduced capability in the mucky stuff.

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Advice about cheap family cars

Cheap family cars FAQs

Of the cars included on this list, models from Skoda, Kia, Renault, SEAT, Citroen and Vauxhall are all decently rated when it comes to reliability. If you want a family car that scores incredibly highly for reliability then you’ll need to look to Honda, Toyota or Lexus - but these Japanese models tend to come with higher prices.

The cheapest 7-seater family car that you can currently buy new is the car that also tops this list - the Dacia Jogger. With prices starting from around £16,000, this family wagon is tough to beat when it comes to maximum passenger space for an extremely reasonable price. Of course, the used market is another great way to get your hands on a practical 7-seater for less money, too. Check out our list of the best used 7-seater cars.

If you’re willing to forgo its seven-seat capability, the Dacia Jogger’s boot has a cavernous 700 litres of storage space with the rear-most seats folded forwards. The Skoda Octavia Estate and Kia Ceed Sportswagon also fare really well on this front, with boots measuring 640 litres and 625 litres respectively.

This really depends on the type of car you’re after. If you’re set on a brand new car that won’t break the bank, any of the cars included in this list would be a good shout - you’ll just need to be prepared (in some cases) to forgo a posher interior and some desirable bits of equipment. If you value those sorts of things, however, and fancy the opportunity to own a car with a fancier badge on its nose, a used car can make for an excellent value proposition too.

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