Compare the best cheap family cars

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

Rated 4.5/5 from 62,788 reviews

Best cheap family cars of 2024

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

1. Dacia Jogger

9/10
Dacia Jogger review

What's good

  • Excellent space and practicality
  • Comfortable ride and cabin
  • Easy to drive and park

What’s not so good

  • Material quality isn’t the best
  • No flat floor when removing seats
  • Petrol is slow with seven on-board
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.

What's good

  • Excellent space and practicality
  • Comfortable ride and cabin
  • Easy to drive and park

What’s not so good

  • Material quality isn’t the best
  • No flat floor when removing seats
  • Petrol is slow with seven on-board
Dacia Sandero

2. Dacia Sandero

8/10
Dacia Sandero review

What's good

  • Value for money is tough to beat
  • Interior is spacious and impressively practical
  • Holds its value well

What’s not so good

  • Poor two-star safety rating
  • No USB charge points in rear
  • Colourful paint job costs extra
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.

What's good

  • Value for money is tough to beat
  • Interior is spacious and impressively practical
  • Holds its value well

What’s not so good

  • Poor two-star safety rating
  • No USB charge points in rear
  • Colourful paint job costs extra

Sell your car for what it's really worth

The free, easy way to get 5,500+ dealers all over the UK bidding on your car

Skoda Scala

3. Skoda Scala

7/10
Skoda Scala review

What's good

  • Great value for money
  • Spacious, practical cabin
  • Big boot

What’s not so good

  • No hybrid
  • Hesitant automatic gearbox
  • Not much fun to drive
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.

What's good

  • Great value for money
  • Spacious, practical cabin
  • Big boot

What’s not so good

  • No hybrid
  • Hesitant automatic gearbox
  • Not much fun to drive
Renault Kadjar

4. Renault Kadjar

8/10
Renault Kadjar review

What's good

  • Big boot
  • Spacious interior
  • Well-equipped as standard

What’s not so good

  • Drab interior
  • Alternatives are more fun…
  • …and look more exciting
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.

What's good

  • Big boot
  • Spacious interior
  • Well-equipped as standard

What’s not so good

  • Drab interior
  • Alternatives are more fun…
  • …and look more exciting
Citroen C3 Aircross

5. Citroen C3 Aircross

9/10
Citroen C3 Aircross review

What's good

  • Unique styling helps it stand out
  • Comfy and very easy to drive
  • Smooth and refined engines

What’s not so good

  • Back seats tight for adults
  • Infotainment could be sharper
  • Not very fun in the bends
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.

What's good

  • Unique styling helps it stand out
  • Comfy and very easy to drive
  • Smooth and refined engines

What’s not so good

  • Back seats tight for adults
  • Infotainment could be sharper
  • Not very fun in the bends
SEAT Leon

6. SEAT Leon

8/10
SEAT Leon review
Battery range up to 510 miles

What's good

  • Spacious for passengers
  • Lots of tech and equipment
  • Good value for money

What’s not so good

  • Fiddlt air-con controls
  • Boot could be bigger
  • Not quite as good as a VW Golf
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.

What's good

  • Spacious for passengers
  • Lots of tech and equipment
  • Good value for money

What’s not so good

  • Fiddlt air-con controls
  • Boot could be bigger
  • Not quite as good as a VW Golf
Skoda Octavia Estate

7. Skoda Octavia Estate

9/10
Skoda Octavia Estate review
Battery range up to 46 miles

What's good

  • Huge boot for families
  • Sensible price and running costs
  • Solidly-constructed interior

What’s not so good

  • Bumpy ride at low speeds
  • Uninspiring interior design
  • Won't wow you on a country road
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.

What's good

  • Huge boot for families
  • Sensible price and running costs
  • Solidly-constructed interior

What’s not so good

  • Bumpy ride at low speeds
  • Uninspiring interior design
  • Won't wow you on a country road
Vauxhall Astra

8. Vauxhall Astra

7/10
Vauxhall Astra review
Battery range up to 35 miles

What's good

  • Great styling
  • Large and practical boot
  • Balanced setup

What’s not so good

  • Short on rear passenger space
  • Automatic ‘box can be jumpy
  • Not the most fun to drive
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.

What's good

  • Great styling
  • Large and practical boot
  • Balanced setup

What’s not so good

  • Short on rear passenger space
  • Automatic ‘box can be jumpy
  • Not the most fun to drive
Kia Ceed Sportswagon

9. Kia Ceed Sportswagon

8/10
Kia Ceed Sportswagon review

What's good

  • Good-sized boot
  • Frugal plug-in hybrid model
  • Reassuring seven-year warranty

What’s not so good

  • Plain interior design
  • Alternatives feel posher inside…
  • … and are more comfortable to drive
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.

What's good

  • Good-sized boot
  • Frugal plug-in hybrid model
  • Reassuring seven-year warranty

What’s not so good

  • Plain interior design
  • Alternatives feel posher inside…
  • … and are more comfortable to drive
Dacia Duster (2019 - 2024)

What's good

  • Very cheap to buy
  • Roomy cabin
  • Efficient engines

What’s not so good

  • Feels pretty basic inside
  • Doesn't handle all that well
  • Disappointing safety score
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.

What's good

  • Very cheap to buy
  • Roomy cabin
  • Efficient engines

What’s not so good

  • Feels pretty basic inside
  • Doesn't handle all that well
  • Disappointing safety score

Browse all cars

  •  

     
  •  

     
  •  

     

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.