Rankings
32 rankings over the 164 cars we track — cheapest to keep, cheapest to insure, lowest MOT failure rate, and what clears a clean-air zone on a small budget. Every list is worked out from our own dataset when the site is built, so nothing here is a shortlist somebody froze.
A ranking only gets a page when enough cars qualify to make it a ranking rather than a list, so some marques and body styles are deliberately absent. Every figure is an estimate from public data, shown as a range, and never a quote.
Cheapest to keep on the road
Insurance, road tax, fuel and the MOT fee for a year, added up. One page per age, because this order genuinely changes as you get older.
164 cars ranked, top 25 shown
Cheapest first cars to run at 17
Insurance, road tax, fuel and the MOT fee for a year, added up and ranked cheapest first — the figure that actually leaves your account, not the one on the windscreen.
164 cars ranked, top 25 shown
Cheapest first cars to run at 19
Insurance, road tax, fuel and the MOT fee for a year, added up and ranked cheapest first — the figure that actually leaves your account, not the one on the windscreen.
164 cars ranked, top 25 shown
Cheapest first cars to run at 21
Insurance, road tax, fuel and the MOT fee for a year, added up and ranked cheapest first — the figure that actually leaves your account, not the one on the windscreen.
Cheapest to insure
Ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, overall and then narrowed down by marque and by body style.
164 cars ranked, top 25 shown
Cheapest cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver on a black-box policy, with every car priced again at each age we model.
66 cars ranked, top 25 shown
Cheapest superminis to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every supermini in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
32 cars ranked, top 25 shown
Cheapest hatchbacks to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every hatchback in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
27 cars ranked, top 25 shown
Cheapest city cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every city car in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
26 cars ranked, top 25 shown
Cheapest crossovers to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every crossover in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
17 cars ranked
Cheapest Volkswagen cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Volkswagen in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
13 cars ranked
Cheapest Ford cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Ford in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
12 cars ranked
Cheapest Renault cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Renault in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
12 cars ranked
Cheapest Vauxhall cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Vauxhall in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
11 cars ranked
Cheapest Toyota cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Toyota in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
10 cars ranked
Cheapest Hyundai cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Hyundai in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
10 cars ranked
Cheapest Peugeot cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Peugeot in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
8 cars ranked
Cheapest Audi cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Audi in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
8 cars ranked
Cheapest Kia cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Kia in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
8 cars ranked
Cheapest Nissan cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Nissan in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
8 cars ranked
Cheapest Skoda cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Skoda in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
7 cars ranked
Cheapest SEAT cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every SEAT in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
7 cars ranked
Cheapest saloons to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every saloon in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
6 cars ranked
Cheapest estates to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every estate in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
5 cars ranked
Cheapest Citroen cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Citroen in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
5 cars ranked
Cheapest Fiat cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Fiat in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
5 cars ranked
Cheapest Honda cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Honda in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
5 cars ranked
Cheapest Suzuki cars to insure at 17, 19 and 21
Every Suzuki in our first-car set, ranked by our estimated annual premium for a new driver, and priced again at each age we model.
Lowest MOT failure rates
Ranked by the share of MOT tests each model fails in the DVSA analysis. Only body styles where we hold stats for enough cars get a page.
42 cars ranked, top 25 shown
Superminis with the lowest MOT failure rate
Ranked by the share of MOT tests each model fails in the DVSA analysis, lowest first — a pattern across a whole model, not a promise about the one in the advert.
23 cars ranked
Hatchbacks with the lowest MOT failure rate
Ranked by the share of MOT tests each model fails in the DVSA analysis, lowest first — a pattern across a whole model, not a promise about the one in the advert.
22 cars ranked
Crossovers with the lowest MOT failure rate
Ranked by the share of MOT tests each model fails in the DVSA analysis, lowest first — a pattern across a whole model, not a promise about the one in the advert.
18 cars ranked
City cars with the lowest MOT failure rate
Ranked by the share of MOT tests each model fails in the DVSA analysis, lowest first — a pattern across a whole model, not a promise about the one in the advert.
6 cars ranked
Saloons with the lowest MOT failure rate
Ranked by the share of MOT tests each model fails in the DVSA analysis, lowest first — a pattern across a whole model, not a promise about the one in the advert.
Clean-air zones on a budget
Cars our data marks ULEZ-compliant that still sell for very little — check the specific vehicle before you rely on it.
Figures checked July 2026