The UK car market has plenty of cars to choose from for £30,000 or less, including some of the best and most popular vehicles on sale.
Coming from all manner of segments, the five we’ve selected are some of the very best options under that price mark – with models aimed towards practicality, performance and generally being great.
Here are five of the best for less than £30,000…
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Audi A4 Avant - £29,255
Built to be spacious, comfortable and crammed with tech, the A4 Avant is one of the best family cars you can get in this price range. From the base SE spec, cars come with a seven-inch infotainment system with smartphone interfacing, Bluetooth, three-zone climate control, 17-inch alloys, comfort suspension, cruise control, parking sensors, autonomous braking and LED daytime running lights. Add to that the capacious 505-litre boot which can be extended to 1,510 litres when the rear seats are folded flat – making for an excellent loading space.
BMW 2 Series - £25,060
If you’re after a sporty coupe that looks sharp and packs a lot of equipment for the money, then the BMW 2 Series could be for you. With the range-topping M240i model a bit further out of the price range, customers will find that M Sport models with efficient smaller petrol engines can be bought for under £30,000 and they come with a stylish body kit, as well as 18-inch alloys, M Sport suspension, LED lights, BMW’s iDrive infotainment setup, Bluetooth, air conditioning and sport seats. It’s an exciting package and may be worth going over the limit for a more exhilarating drive.
Ford Fiesta ST - £18,995
The Fiesta ST is a raucous hot hatch that is one of the best performing cars on the road right now. Yes, it is quite compact, but it packs a heck of a punch for a car of its size. The 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine produces 197bhp and 290Nm of torque – translating to a 0-60mph time of just 6.3 seconds and a top speed of 144mph. You can even get the top-end ST-3 model for £22,145, and with that you get a limited slip differential for improved handling, multiple safety systems and the Sync3 infotainment system with a B&O Play sound system. It really is one of the best cars on sale.
Skoda Superb - £22,130
As the car’s name suggests, it is rather good, and if you want space and comfort in a large family hatch, there’s nowhere else you should look. The stylish Superb comes with a huge boot, masses of passenger space in the back and great spec from the base S model. A 625-litre boot is more than big enough for most, but if you want to stretch that out a little more, go for the estate version which offers the largest load space of almost any car on the market – 1,950 litres with all the seats folded down.
Volkswagen Golf GTI - £28,465
The Golf GTI is one of the best and most iconic cars in motoring, and although it may not be the most exciting hot hatch around, it’s one of the most practical and is consistently great. Even the GTI Performance model starts from less than £30k, and with impressive performance to go along with a 380-litre boot and high quality equipment. If you want a mature hot hatch that can settle down to a gentle cruise in the blink of an eye, look at the Volkswagen Golf GTI – it’s wonderful.
