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.
The ranking
| # | Car | Est. cost to keep at 21 | Of which insurance | Insurance group | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiat 500e 42kWh (2020–2026) | £1,833/yr | £857–£1,543 | Group 17 | £12,448 |
| 2 | Peugeot 107 1.0 (2005–2014) | £1,855/yr | £797–£1,435 | Group 3 | £2,489 |
| 3 | Fiat 500 1.2 (2008–2019) | £1,881/yr | £768–£1,382 | Group 5 | £4,693 |
| 4 | Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 CDTi (E) (2014–2017)* | £1,916/yr | £875–£1,574 | Group 7 | £2,670 |
| 5 | Volkswagen ID.3 City Pure Performance (2020–2026)* | £1,917/yr | £964–£1,735 | Group 18 | £10,098 |
| 6 | Ford Fiesta 1.5 TDCi (Mk7) (2012–2017)* | £1,932/yr | £926–£1,666 | Group 9 | £3,274 |
| 7 | SEAT Mii 1.0 (2012–2017) | £1,939/yr | £791–£1,424 | Group 1 | £4,390 |
| 8 | Ford Ka 1.2 (2009–2016) | £1,939/yr | £802–£1,443 | Group 3 | £2,750 |
| 9 | Citroen C1 1.0 (2014–2018) | £1,942/yr | £825–£1,485 | Group 3 | £4,250 |
| 10 | Hyundai i10 1.0 (2014–2017) | £1,944/yr | £846–£1,523 | Group 1 | £5,500 |
| 11 | Skoda Citigo 1.0 (2012–2018) | £1,945/yr | £796–£1,432 | Group 1 | £4,770 |
| 12 | Renault Clio 1.5 dCi (Mk4) (2013–2016)* | £1,975/yr | £854–£1,971 | Group 12 | £3,106 |
| 13 | Toyota Aygo 1.0 (2014–2018) | £1,994/yr | £844–£1,519 | Group 3 | £5,995 |
| 14 | Peugeot 108 1.0 (2014–2018) | £1,995/yr | £865–£1,557 | Group 3 | £4,495 |
| 15 | Kia Rio 1.25 '2' (Mk3/UB) (2011–2014)* | £2,009/yr | £833–£1,499 | Group 5 | £2,466 |
| 16 | Renault Clio 0.9 TCe (2013–2016) | £2,022/yr | £905–£1,628 | Group 7 | £4,495 |
| 17 | Peugeot 208 1.2 (Mk1) (2012–2015) | £2,029/yr | £910–£1,638 | Group 8 | £3,495 |
| 18 | Toyota Yaris 1.0 (2011–2019) | £2,036/yr | £896–£1,612 | Group 5 | £7,590 |
| 19 | Volkswagen e-up! 32kWh (2020–2022)* | £2,037/yr | £876–£2,021 | Group 10 | £9,000 |
| 20 | Volkswagen Polo 1.4 TDI (6C) (2014–2017)* | £2,043/yr | £898–£2,073 | Group 13 | £4,820 |
| 21 | Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDI (Mk3) (2015–2018)* | £2,043/yr | £828–£1,911 | Group 10 | £3,782 |
| 22 | Volkswagen Polo 1.0 (Mk5) (2014–2017) | £2,049/yr | £905–£1,629 | Group 4 | £6,998 |
| 23 | Suzuki Celerio 1.0 (2015–2019) | £2,049/yr | £833–£1,499 | Group 3 | £4,880 |
| 24 | Nissan Micra 1.2 (K13) (2011–2016) | £2,051/yr | £875–£1,575 | Group 6 | £3,800 |
| 25 | Skoda Fabia Estate 1.2 TSI (90PS) SE (2015–2017)* | £2,055/yr | £929–£1,673 | Group 8 | £4,872 |
Figures checked July 2026
How to read this
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.
25 cars are listed below, out of the 164 in our set that qualify — the best 25 on this measure, not a selection anyone made. The order is worked out at build time from our own dataset every time it is regenerated, so when the underlying figures move, this page moves with them. £222 separates the top of the table from the bottom.
The order changes with age: 24 of the 25 cars below sit at a different position at a different age, by up to 8 places. That is why this page is ranked at one age rather than pretending one order fits all of them.
What the figure includes: our estimated insurance premium, road tax, fuel and the standard MOT fee for a year, assuming 6,500 miles. It excludes servicing, tyres, repairs and anything that goes wrong — and it excludes the cost of buying the car, which is shown separately so you can see both. Insurance is the volatile part, which is why the table shows it inside the total as a range.
Estimates, not quotes. Insurance figures are our modelled expected annual premium for a new driver on a comprehensive black-box policy, and they are shown as a range because that is the honest way to present a model. The range is not the same width for every car: it widens where our own data is thinner, so a wider range means less certainty rather than a worse car. The ranking below is not ordered on it — it is a supporting figure here.
Every figure is anchored to London, because that is where our premium data is strongest, and London postcodes carry some of the highest premiums in the country. This page cannot know your postcode, so no row here gets our narrowest confidence band. Put your own postcode into the First-Car Finder and both the figure and the range get closer to you. Prices marked * are an editorial estimate rather than a measured listing median — worth cross-checking against live adverts.
How we work these figures out
Insurance estimates are expected annual premiums for a new driver on a comprehensive, black-box policy in London, calibrated against published young-driver premium datasets; the low–high range reflects how much real quotes vary from person to person. Running costs assume 6,500 miles a year at £1.51/L petrol or £1.65/L diesel, DESNZ Jul 2026 (and 26.1p/kWh, Ofgem cap for the electric ones) plus the standard MOT fee, and exclude servicing. Insurance groups, typical prices and MOT failure rates are read straight off our dataset, which is regenerated from its cited sources rather than edited by hand — so this page has no figures of its own to go stale.
These are estimates based on public data, not quotes, and Vouched does not give insurance advice. Treat the ranking as a starting point for comparison shopping, not a number to hold a provider to. When you're ready, we introduce you to authorised providers for a real quote.
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