Best new cars for under £250 per month

There’s a broad range of new cars to be found for less than £250 a month, including some of the latest and most impressive family hatchbacks and small SUVs. To save you the trouble of searching we’ve compiled a list of some of the best offers currently available on models we heartily recommend.

Most of the deals on our list are on a Personal Contract Hire (PCH) basis, as these make up the majority of the best prices in the current market. PCH plans allow you to lease a car for a fixed term. You will not have the option of owning the car at the end of the contract but, on the upside, the monthly price can be very reasonable.

Where possible, we’ve stuck to 48-month contracts with a deposit based on nine months’ worth of payments. This spreads the deposit over four years rather than two or three, while giving longer to save up a downpayment for whatever car comes next.

We’ve also included some Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) deals, which tend to work out more expensive but do allow you to build up equity in the car and have the option to own it at the end of the deal. We’ve sourced these PCP deals directly from the manufacturers, but third-party providers are also available.

These prices are representative of the kind of deals available on the UK market at the time of publication. For each model, we've linked to our leasing partner site leasing.com, which pulls together leasing deals from a range of top providers, so that you can check on exactly what's available for that car on the market right now.

Best new cars for under £250 per month

• Citroen C4
• Honda Jazz
• Hyundai i20
• Kia Ceed Sportswagon
• Nissan Qashqai
• Peugeot 208
• Skoda Karoq
• Toyota Yaris
• Vauxhall Crossland

PCH deals

Citroen C4 - £229 per month

• Model: C4 1.2 PureTech 130 C-Series Edition
• Deposit: £2,057
• Term: 48 months
• Type: Personal Contract Hire
• Engine: 1.2-litre 3cyl petrol
• Seats: 5
• Economy: 53.3mpg
• Boot space: 380 litres

For its current generation, Citroen has reimagined the C4 as a coupe-esque SUV. It’s stylish, but could do with a touch more substance; the boot space isn’t brilliant, considering the size of the car, and the infotainment system is fiddly to use. 

But at this price it’s more tempting, because it’s in C-Series Edition trim here. This adds similar interior and exterior styling touches as the C3 C-Series Edition, on top of the C4 Sense Plus’s good kit levels.

View the latest Citroen C4 deals at Leasing.com...

Hyundai i20 - £206 per month

• Model: i20 1.0T GDi 48V MHD SE Connect
• Deposit: £1,856
• Term: 48 months
• Type: Personal Contract Hire
• Engine: 1.0-litre 3cyl petrol
• Seats: 5
• Economy: 55.4mpg
• Boot space: 352 litres

Although this is only the entry-level trim grade for the Hyundai i20 range and its lowest-powered engine, neither factor is much of a concern. The i20 SE has all the key bits of tech buyers are looking for in 2023, and an abundance of safety equipment. 

The turbocharged three-cylinder engine’s 99bhp output will provide more than enough performance for most people. It’s also great to drive, being one of the few cars in the class to give the Ford Fiesta something to worry about on the handling front in recent years. 

View the latest Hyundai i20 deals at Leasing.com...

Kia Ceed Sportswagon - £226 per month

• Model: Ceed Sportswagon 1.5 GDi ISG 2
• Deposit: £2,031
• Term: 48 months
• Type: Personal Contract Hire
• Engine: 1.5-litre 4cyl petrol
• Seats: 5
• Economy: 50.4mpg
• Boot space: 625 litres

The Ceed Sportswagon used to be an absolute bargain of an estate car. While that’s not quite the case any more, owing to Kia’s drive upmarket, it still offers a lot of car for the money.

For your £226 a month, you’re getting a huge and well thought-out boot, plus lots of cabin space. This deal is for the lower of the Sportswagon’s two trim grades, but equipment levels are healthy, and we’ve no complaints about the performance on offer from the 1.5-litre petrol engine. Just don’t expect it to be particularly exciting to drive.

View the latest Kia Ceed deals at Leasing.com...

Nissan Qashqai - £219 per month

• Model: Qashqai 1.3 DiG-T MH Acenta Premium
• Deposit: £1,973
• Term: 48 months
• Type: Personal Contract Hire
• Engine: 1.3-litre 4cyl petrol
• Seats: 5
• Economy: 44.8mpg
• Boot space: 504 litres

The Nissan Qashqai is the bigger brother of the Juke. It isn't as fancy as the Juke in this price range, but if you prioritise space over kit, it’s well worth considering.

Some rivals are more practical than the Qashqai, but we couldn’t find any on as tempting a deal as this. For £219 a month, you can get into an Acenta Premium car, which is one grade up from the entry-level Visia. It pairs a 1.3-litre mild-hybrid engine and a manual gearbox, which we recommend over the CVT automatic. 

View the latest Nissan Qashqai deals at Leasing.com...

Peugeot 208 - £223 per month

• Model: 208 1.2 PureTech 100 GT
• Deposit: £2,010
• Term: 48 months
• Type: Personal Contract Hire
• Engine: 1.2-litre 3cyl petrol
• Seats: 5
• Economy: 50mpg
• Boot space: 311 litres

This 208 is one of the more expensive superminis here, but is also perhaps the most stylish, with its ‘fang’ daytime running lights, spangly grille and ‘claw’ rear lamps. Our deal is for the range-topping GT. 

Even in its mid-power 99bhp form, the engine is a strong performer, suiting the 208’s reasonably athletic dynamic attitude. It’s not the biggest supermini inside, so you’ll need to accept some practicality compromises. The i-Cockpit cabin won’t be to everyone’s tastes, either.  

View the latest Peugeot 208 deals at Leasing.com…

Skoda Karoq - £246 per month

• Model: Karoq 1.0 TSI 110 SE Drive
• Deposit: £2,210
• Term: 48 months
• Type: Personal Contract Hire
• Engine: 1.0-litre 3cyl petrol
• Seats: 5
• Economy: 48.6mpg
• Boot space: 521 litres

We named the Karoq our Used Car of the Year in 2022, but it’s well worth getting one new, too. A recent facelift has helped keep rivals at bay, and the Skoda has a good blend of quality, practicality and tech. 

This one has a 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine instead of the 1.5-litre inline-four in some versions, but it works just fine in the light Karoq. If you’re happy with this unit, you’ll get an excellent car for a great monthly price.

View the latest Skoda Karoq deals at Leasing.com…

Toyota Yaris - £247 per month

• Model: Yaris 1.5 Hybrid Design
• Deposit: £2,224
• Term: 48 months
• Type: Personal Contract Hire
• Engine: 1.3-litre 4cyl petrol hybrid
• Seats: 5
• Economy: 65.7mpg
• Boot space: 286 litres

Although the Toyota Yaris is one of the most expensive superminis we’ve listed, it makes up for it with excellent fuel economy. You pay more because it has a sophisticated full-hybrid set-up, which returns 65.7mpg according to the WLTP cycle, but in our hands, we’ve managed well over 70mpg with this powertrain. 

The high-quality interior is packed with features, even in this lower trim level. It was for these reasons it won the Affordable Hybrid category at our 2022 New Car Awards. 

View the latest Toyota Yaris deals at Leasing.com…

PCP deals

Honda Jazz - £229 per month

• Model: Jazz Hybrid SR
• Deposit: £5,199.66
• Term: 36 months
• Type: Personal Contract Purchase
• Engine: 1.5-litre 4cyl petrol hybrid
• Seats: 5
• Economy: 62.8mpg
• Boot space: 304 litres

The latest Jazz uses Honda’s ‘intelligent Multi-Mode Drive’ hybrid technology to deliver some of the best fuel economy and lowest emissions in the supermini class, and this makes it very affordable to run. Thanks to some clever engineering, such as the ‘Magic Seats’, the Jazz is also surprisingly practical for its size.

With this deal you could have a Jazz in SR trim. This adds in part-leather upholstery, 15-inch alloy wheels, parking sensors and a 9-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. All Jazz models are very safe, too, with a generous amount of standard safety kit that contributes towards a full 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating.

View the latest Honda finance deals...

Vauxhall Crossland - £249 per month

• Model: Crossland Design 1.2 Turbo Petrol 110PS Manual 
• Deposit: £4,200
• Term: 48 months
• Type: Personal Contract Purchase
• Engine: 1.2-litre 3cyl petrol 
• Seats: 5
• Economy: 48.7mpg
• Boot space: 410 litres

The stylish Vauxhall Crossland is an desirable yet affordable family car thanks to the space, practicality and low running costs that are all on offer in this compact SUV. 

The Design spec on offer here is the base model, but there’s still plenty of features included as standard. These include 16-inch alloy wheels, a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, rain-sensing wipers and road sign recognition.

View the latest Vauxhall finance deals...

More of the best new car deals

• Best cars for under £200 a month
• Best cars for under £250 a month
• Best cars for under £300 a month
• Best cars for under £350 a month
• Best cars for under £400 a month
• Best cars for under £500 a month

Looking for a second-hand car instead? Check out our list of the best used car finance deals...