What Is The Average Car Price In The UK?
If you’re looking to buy a new car, the first thing you’ve probably thought about is how much cash you’re able to splash.
Whether you’re buying for the first time, or this ain’t your first rodeo, the cost can often come as a shock. You think you’ve finally found the one, then the salesman hits you with the £50k price tag… maybe not.
To help guide you on your budget of how much to spend on a car, we take a look at the average car prices in the UK based on their body type and model.
Average price overall
The average cost of a car can be difficult to work out, purely because there are so many influencing factors. Everything from the size, make, model, and spec can have a huge impact on what you pay.
To help make working out the cost that little bit simpler, we’ve split up the average costs by car body style. We calculated the costs based on the 10 most popular models of each car body type.
Large Cars
Unfortunately, for large car enthusiasts, they typically work out to be the most expensive. As they simply require more materials to be made, and often come with larger tyres, the upfront cost is already boosted.
Average SUV cost - £38,015
Other than the Skoda Kodiaq and Seat Tarraco, at roughly £28k and £30k respectively, most popular SUVs came in at around the £40k mark.
| Car Model | Cost |
|---|---|
| Audi Q5 | £44,115 |
| Land Rover Discovery Sport | £31,820 |
| BMW X3 | £44,205 |
| Jaguar F-Pace | £40,675 |
| Skoda Kodiaq | £28,185 |
| Mercedes Benz GLC | £44,545 |
| Alfa Romeo Stelvio | £33,990 |
| Volvo XC60 | £42,830 |
| Seat Tarraco | £30,080 |
| Kia Sorento | £39,710 |
Average MPV cost - £28,331
MPV costs really depend on the manufacturer. You can get a reliable Citroen Berlingo for around £22,000, or pay close to £34,000 for the more upmarket Ford Galaxy.
| Car Model | Cost |
|---|---|
| Volkswagen Touran | £29,750 |
| SEAT Alhambra | £30,600 |
| Renault Grand Scenic | £23,285 |
| VW Sharan | £33,135 |
| Ford S-Max | £33,335 |
| Ford Galaxy | £33,735 |
| Citroen Berlingo | £22,135 |
| BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer | £30,210 |
| Peugeot Rifter | £23,620 |
| Vauxhall Combo Life | £23,505 |
Medium cars
If you’re looking for something a bit more conservative, a medium car should fit the bill. Costs for a hatchback are significantly lower than larger cars, whilst saloon and estate prices really vary depending on the manufacturer.
Average hatchback cost - £21,964
The ever handy hatchback comes in at a fairly reasonable average cost. Prices are fairly consistent at around £20,000, unless you opt for the pricier Audi or BMW hatchbacks.
| Car Model | Cost |
|---|---|
| VW Golf | £20,280 |
| Ford Focus | £21,995 |
| Seat Leon | £20,855 |
| Audi A3 Sportback | £24,825 |
| BMW 1 Series | £26,450 |
| Mazda 3 | £21,720 |
| Skoda Octavia | £21,700 |
| Kia Ceed | £19,225 |
| Honda Civic | £19,645 |
| Mercedes Benz A-Class | £22,945 |
Average saloon cost - £36,852
Though you can get a lower cost saloon like the Skoda Octavia for just £21,700, higher cost saloons such as the BMW M5 Series (a whopping £88,880!) drive the average up.
| Car Model | Cost |
|---|---|
| BMW 3 Series | £33,250 |
| BMW M5 Series | £88,880 |
| Guilia by Alfa Romeo | £33,190 |
| Jaguar XE | £29,975 |
| Skoda Superb | £30,860 |
| Audi A6 | £37,629 |
| Skoda Octavia | £21,700 |
| VW Passat | £28,205 |
| Lexus IS | £32,279 |
| Volvo S90 | £32,555 |
Average estate cost - £30,768
| Car Model | Cost |
|---|---|
| BMW 5 Series Touring | £42,710 |
| Skoda Superb Estate | £30,860 |
| Ford Focus Estate | £22,215 |
| Mercedes E-Class Estate | £42,100 |
| VW Arteon Shooting Brake | £34,370 |
| Audi A6 Avant | £42,735 |
| Volvo V90 | £42,045 |
| Peugeot 508 SW | £27,970 |
| Skoda Octavia Estate | £22,680 |
Small cars
Undeniably the most budget friendly, small cars come with the lowest upfront price, and the lowest car running costs.
Average city car cost - £13,600
City cars are just about the best bang for your buck when it comes to cheap cars. The Kia Picanto starts at just £11,450. The Volkswagen e-UP starts at around £24,085, over double!
| Car Model | Cost |
|---|---|
| Fiat 500 | £12,214 |
| VW Up | £12,380 |
| Hyundai i10 | £13,195 |
| Kia Picanto | £11,450 |
| Toyota Aygo | £13,335 |
| Suzuki Ignis | £14,249 |
| Fiat Panda | £11,895 |
| Citroen C1 | £12,195 |
| Peugeot 108 | £12,785 |
| Volkswagen e-Up! | £24,085 |
Average supermini cost - £17,736
| Car Model | Cost |
|---|---|
| Ford Fiesta | £16,385 |
| VW Polo | £16,930 |
| Vauxhall Corsa | £16,440 |
| Seat Ibiza | £16,790 |
| Peugeot 208 | £16,910 |
| Honda Jazz | £19,445 |
| Toyota Yaris | £20,210 |
| Audi A1 | £19,955 |
| Mini Hatch | £16,200 |
| Renault Clio | £18,100 |
Cost of the UK’s most popular models
If you’re not quite sure which body style you want to go for, why not look at some of the UK’s most popular cars?
| Car Model | Cost |
|---|---|
| Vauxhall Corsa | from £15,485 |
| Ford Fiesta | from £16,385 |
| VW Golf | from £20,280 |
| Mercedes Benz A-Class | from £23,085 |
| Ford Puma | from £20,415 |
| VW Polo | from £15,010 |
| Kia Sportage | from £21,560 |
| Toyota Yaris | from £16,184 |
| BMW 3 Series | from £29,990 |
| Nissan Qashqai | from £22,875 |
When considering your car, the make and model will have a huge influence on more than the upfront cost of the car. More expensive car brands will see your average car insurance cost rise significantly, so it’s always worth checking quotes on sites like CompareTheMarket.
Though upmarket brand cars could require less frequent repairs, it can be a gamble with car maintenance costs, as repairs are more costly.
Conclusion
If you’ve decided on the car for you, we’ve got plenty of posts to guide you through the buying process. Check out our posts on the best way to finance a car, or the cost to lease a car.
Found that the average price for a car doesn’t quite work with your budget? You can condense the cost by leasing a car. Check out our guide explaining how car leasing works and you can browse prices by comparing personal car lease and business car lease deals on Lease Fetcher.