Buying your first car can be tricky, especially if you’re a petrolhead and want to show the world that you’re more interested in motors than the average spotty-faced Vauxhall Corsa owner.
You’re probably looking for something stylish that’s new enough to play your own music in and that offers a bit of involvement in the driving experience. You’re also likely to be working to a very tight budget, both to buy the car and then get it insured.
We’ve pored over the classifieds and run more insurance quotes than we care to remember to put together a definitive guide to the best first cars for new drivers.
Each car on this list has a unique selling point to mark it out from the other slabs of metal in your average car park. From stylish superminis to hot hatches, there’s a good option here for everyone.
Bear in mind that this list is in alphabetical order, not based on which is best. You'll be the judge of that.
Best first cars for enthusiasts
The C2 VTR certainly looks the part of a hot hatch with its squat, bulldog-like stance and sharp-edged bodykit.
The spec is promising as well. Early VTRs pack a 1.6-litre four-pot that pushes 108bhp through the front wheels, dispatching the 0-62mph sprint in a respectable 10.9sec. The tyres are fatter, the suspension stiffer and the steering quicker too, making full use of the C2’s lightweight chassis.
This all makes for a pretty nippy package – if not one that's as fun as the Saxo VTR that preceded it. That's because the C2’s lifeless steering and laggy Sensodrive automated manual gearbox ultimately limit driver engagement.
Yet what makes the C2 VTR such a compelling option is the relatively low cost of insurance. The 1.6-litre VTR sits in group 13, while the much wheezier 61bhp 1.1-litre version is down in group three.
C2s are cheap to buy too, with asking prices for 1.6-litre VTRs hovering around £1000-£3000.
We’d also recommend seeking out an example of the C2 GT, which was a bona fide homologation special for the World Rally Championship.
It swapped the tragic Sensodrive ’box for a proper manual shift, and shaved 28kg off the VTR’s kerb weight. It’s a full 1.4sec quicker to 62mph, yet remains in insurance group 13. The only problem? Just 2500 were made, so they’re much harder to track down today.
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MX-5, or, something the person's actually interested in, it doesn't necessarily have to be fast etc, could be a classic VW or Fiat 500 etc.
Problem is that most insurance companies won't insure a young driver with many of the cars on this list and if by chance they did the cost of the annual premium with probably be more than the value of the car, What this article should be advising them to buy are cars with the lowest insurance group build up a few years no claims get more experience on the road before buying somthing more powerful.
I would add the previous gen Mazda 2 that is light, has an amazing gearbox (same as the NC MX5) comes with plenty of safety kit and is more reliable than any of the cars in this list.