Three-car garage: Vauxhall Insignia, Fiat 124 Spider and Hyundai Ioniq Electric for £30k
New cars are getting insanely expensive; we find three cars to fit every scenario for less than a base Kia Sportage
Wind the clock back 10 years, and if you had £30,000 to buy a new family car, you’d be spoiled for choice, with everything from mainstream hatchbacks to even some more premium saloons and SUVs being available to you. Nowadays, such a lofty sum will usually only net you a small crossover, perhaps with a couple of grand to spare – and that’s without even considering forking out extra for a fun weekend car.
With such a conundrum in mind, we've scoured the Auto Express Buy a Car service to find three cars which cover almost every situation you could find yourself in – urban commutes, long-distance hauling and spirited drives – for less than the price of a base-spec Nissan Qashqai or Kia Sportage.
Hyundai Ioniq Electric – £9,749
While some are beginning to reach price parity with petrol models, EVs have long been notoriously expensive. However, sharp depreciation means you can get your hands on one without eating up too much of our £30,000 budget.
We found a 2022 Hyundai Ioniq Electric with just 25,000 miles on the clock for £9,749. This features a 38kWh battery which, on the official WLTP cycle, will return around 190 miles per charge. It should be dirt cheap to run, costing roughly £3 to charge fully at your typical off-peak domestic electricity rate of eight pence per kilowatt-hour. Light steering and a nippy 134bhp should make it ideal for darting between traffic when you’re late for work, too.
If this Hyundai Ioniq Electric was snatched up too quickly for you, there are more Hyundai Ioniq Electric deals available through our Buy a Car service...
Latest Hyundai Ioniq Electric deals
Vauxhall Insignia – £8,895
A spacious hatchback boot; acres of legroom in the rear; plush suspension – there are many reasons why the Vauxhall Insignia is a solid family car choice, and its popularity in the fleet sector means that there are plenty to choose from on the second-hand market.
Our pick is a 2017 example with 49,000 miles which we found listed for just a fiver under £8,900. This packs a punchy 172bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine which not only returns over 56mpg, but should also be a handy towing companion with a two-tonne unbraked capacity in manual gearbox form. Just make sure to pick an Sri Nav model, like the one we found, or above because these come with all the goodies you’d expect from a big family car such as dual-zone climate control, cruise control and parking sensors.
If this Vauxhall Insignia has already found its new home, you can find more Insignia deals through the Auto Express Buy a Car service...
Latest Vauxhall Insignia deals
Fiat 124 Spider – £11,595
You'll often see the Mazda MX-5 occupying lists of the best affordable sports cars you can buy, but many often forget about the Japanese icon’s better-looking Italian sibling, the Fiat 124 Spider, which was sold between 2016 and 2019.
We found a tidy-looking 2017 model with just 22,500 miles on the odometer for £11,595. With a peppy 140bhp 1.4-litre petrol engine and manual gearbox, the Fiat should be great fun on a winding country road, with 0-62mph taking around 7.5 seconds. The manual soft-top is the real attraction here, though, which takes mere seconds to fold away and only adds to the excitement.
If you’re able to stump up even more cash, the sporty Abarth 124 Spider gets an extra 30bhp and a host of performance upgrades, but isn’t entirely necessary to have fun.
Is this Fiat 124 Spider the one that got away? Don't worry, there are more to be found through Auto Express Buy a Car service...
Head to the Auto Express Buy a Car service and let us know which cars you’d park in your dream three-car garage in the comments section below…
