First cars

The Skoda Citigo Monte Carlo is an ideal first car. Its sporty body kit makes it look like a baby hot hatch, but it costs buttons to run and insure. It’s not quick, but it’s tiny size makes it a fun car to hustle through the city and there’s just enough space inside for a four adults.

The VW Polo is an ideal first car for grown ups. Its impressive cabin space, solid build quality and comfortable road manners mean it feels like a larger car on the inside. On the outside, though, it’s still quite small – meaning it’s easy to park and doesn’t cost a fortune to run. All these skills won it the Little Legend award at carwow’s 2018 Car of the Year Awards.

The Ford Fiesta’s direct controls and perky engines make it an ideal first car if you love driving and its optional B&O stereo puts most aftermarket systems to shame. It’s cheap to run and has room for three mates, a tent and all the essentials you need for a weekend festival.

The Kia Picanto’s huge seven-year warranty makes it an ideal first car if you’re looking for years of worry-free service. GT Line models look very sporty, but cost little to run. Inside, there’s just enough space for four people and you a get decent level of standard equipment.

The Fiat 500 is an ideal first car if you want something cool. Its retro styling makes most other small cars look a little cold and the same is true on the inside, even if the back seat’s cramped. The 500’s small engines are cheap to run and nippy enough for town driving.

The Seat Mii is great value, great fun to drive and cheap to run – it’s a top learner car. It shares a lot with the VW Up and Skoda Citigo but has a slightly different design so you’ll be sure to stand out. Large windows and the small size of it help immensely when manoeuvring and the light gearbox wont stress you at all. You can also very easily hook up a smartphone phone to the stereo and use that as infotainment.

The Suzuki Ignis is a funky-looking small car with a roomy cabin and light controls that make it a doddle to drive. Its narrow body makes it perfect for practising parallel parking, but there’s still enough space in the back for two tall teenagers to get comfy. Its very easy to see out of, too.

The Hyundai i10 is does a surprisingly good job ironing out bumps and potholes around town for such a small car, so there won’t be any distractions when you’re getting to grips with your mirror, signal manoeuvre practice. All models come with front and back doors as standard, and you can get it with a smartphone-compatible seven-inch touchscreen, too.

The eye-catching Toyota Aygo is a compact car that’s just about big enough to carry four. It’s easy to drive and its cabin is sensibly laid out – so you won’t have to go searching for awkward buttons when you’re driving along. It’s far from the fastest car around, but it comes with a frugal petrol engine that’s pretty perky around town and very cheap to run.

Now, a Dacia Sandero is hardly the most desirable car for a 17-year old but glance over the looks and what you get is a lot of value for your money. The gearshift in the Sandero is light and easy so you won’t be too annoyed in a traffic jam and if you go for the most basic one, you get unpainted bumpers and steel wheels meaning you won't have to stress about small scrapes or scuffed wheels.

The Hyundai i10 is the company’s smallest and cheapest car to buy, and if you opt for one of the lesser trim levels, it sits in just group 2 (out of 50) for insurance costs. It’s also a superb little car, being spacious enough for four adults to sit comfortably inside and offering good handling, a comfortable ride and frugal engines.

The Skoda Citigo is one of the best city cars around. It has strong-but-fuel-efficient engines, great handling, is comfortable and good space inside. The good news is, that if you stick it its lesser engine and trim levels, it’s also brilliantly cheap to buy and insurance, too, sitting way down in group 2.

The Citroen C4 Cactus shows you can defy convention and still build a brilliant family car. Its quirky styling makes it look like a pseudo SUV and the spacious interior is even quirkier than the outside. It even drives differentially to other cars, its squidgy, comfortable suspension makes for a refreshing change to the increasingly sporty set up of other small cars. With that in mind, you’ll not be surprised to hear the C4 Cactus won the Comfort Award at carwow’s 2018 Car of the Year Awards.

The Volkswagen Up and Skoda Citigo very similar, but we’ve included the VW because, if you budget stretches a smidge further, it offers a more upmarket cabin for not a lot more cash. Of course, it has the same furgal engines, comfy ride and spacious cabin that the Citigo does too. Best of all, the cheapest models are in the group 2 for insurance costs.

The Nissan Micra makes the list because it’s a small car, with city car insurance costs. The entry level model sits in the lowest group 1 insurance category, yet offers more grown up driving experience than most city cars, while naturally providing more space for passengers and luggage. It’s a no brainer if you need the extra room onboard.