If you’ve recently passed your driving test, you may be looking to buy your first car. If you are, our sister company, Safely Insured, can help you out with your insurance needs - see their First Car Insurance Scheme webpage. Deciding on a make and model can seem quite daunting, what with all the choices currently out there, so we thought we would help you narrow it down. Based on Insurance Costs, Running Costs, Manoeuvrability, and more, we have created a list of ideal new-driver cars: Dacia Sandero, Fiat 500, Fiat Panda, Hyundai i10, Kia Rio, Toyota Yaris, Peugeot 108, Renault Twingo, Skoda Fabia, Smart ForFour, Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Golf and Volkswagen Up! Did you notice a common theme? They were all Hatchbacks, a popular body type for many young drivers, and for good reason.

Vehicle Cost

Buying a car may seem like the most expensive purchase of your life so far, but hatchbacks tend to be available for much less than other sizes - for good reason. They are generally smaller, have smaller engines and are cheaper to insure. Obviously, as in anything in life, you can end up spending more if you go for a top of the range model - but we would encourage you to stick to a more basic model due to the cost of young driver insurance on a car with a more powerful engine. Bought from new, the cheapest from our list above would be the Dacia Sandero. If you are looking to buy a second hand model, you’ll see a significant drop in price. The average learner will be looking to spend just over £2000 on their first car. We've done a basic search on AutoTrader and found quite a few of the cars on our recommended list within that budget.  

Manoeuvrability

Because young drivers are still relatively new to handling a vehicle, having a car with good manoeuvrability is also highly desirable. Some hatchbacks have been designed specifically for city driving. This means that they are designed to manoeuvre into tight spaces and turn in small roads. For example the Fiat Panda even has a 'city' button which makes the steering lighter and thus makes it easier to complete manoeuvres in tight spaces.

Economy (MPG)

By looking at the Miles per Gallon rating of a car (MPG) you can tell how far you should be able to travel on a full tank. Of course the MPG is also affected by your driving style – so expect to see a lot less mileage for your money if you have a habit of over-revving, or driving in a consistent speed/brake cycle. When you search on AutoTrader or whichever site you use to purchase your first vehicle, try adding a MPG filter to your search which will filter out those with lower MPG ratings.

Insurance

The models we've selected in our list are all insurance group 10 or less, when you select the smaller engine, petrol run versions. Keep in mind however, the engine size, and even the age of your car can affect your car's insurance group rating. If you went for a car with a bigger engine or picked an older model, the group rating would increase and so too could your insurance costs.