Best new cars for under £400 per month
Got some cash to splash? These are the best new cars for under £400 per month
If you’ve got a decent amount of money available to put towards a deposit and £400 a month to chip in thereafter, the new car possibilities are almost endless. Depending on your needs, you could end up with a plush yet practical SUV or even one of the best sports cars on the market.
The seven-seat Skoda Kodiaq, the Ford Focus Estate, or even the Mazda MX-5; these are all cars that can be acquired within this price bracket. The all-electric Volkswagen ID.3 and Kia Niro EV are also up for grabs.
Personal Contract Hire (PCH) leasing plans are the best option for some of the lowest monthly prices in the current market. A PCH plan is a contract where you will lease the car over a set period of time rather than own it. You just hand it back at the end of the contract.
Leasing isn’t for everybody, though, so if you’d prefer to own the car outright we’ve also included some Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) options. It’s important to remember, that although the monthly prices for these deals fall within our £400 budget, a larger deposit and the possible final balloon payment will also need to be taken into consideration.
Car deals tend to change rather quickly, so these offers are examples of the best ones that can be found at the time of writing. We've linked our PCH deals to our partners at leasing.com so that you can easily check the very latest prices from a range of providers. The PCP deals we have listed are from the car brands themselves.
Best new cars for under £400 per month
- Audi A5 Coupe
- BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe
- DS 4
- Ford Focus Estate
- Honda Civic
- Kia Niro EV
- Mazda MX-5
- Skoda Kodiaq
- Volkswagen ID.3
Audi A5 Coupe - £390 per month
- Model: A5 Coupe 35 TFSI Sport 2dr S Tronic
- Deposit: £3,511
- Term: 48 months
- Type: Personal Contract Hire
- Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl petrol
- Seats: 4
- Economy: 42.8 mpg
- Boot space: 450 litres
Like the Audi A4 but want it to be a little more stylish? We recommend this A5. There are sharper-driving coupés out there, but this one is well built and very practical for a car of its type, with decent-sized rear seats and a fairly big boot.
Our deal involves a 2.0-litre 35 turbocharged petrol engine, which offers an effective blend of performance and fuel economy, paired with a dual-clutch automatic transmission. You’ll have to make do with the entry-level Sport trim for this money, though.
View the latest Audi A5 deals at Leasing.com…
BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe - £367 per month
- Model: 2 Series Gran Coupe 218i Sport DCT
- Deposit: £3,299
- Term: 48 months
- Type: Personal Contract Hire
- Engine: 1.5-litre 3cyl petrol
- Seats: 5
- Economy: 49.6 mpg
- Boot space: 430 litres
Not everyone will be sold on the 2 Series Gran Coupe’s looks, but if you like what you see, this is a great way into BMW ownership. This M Sport – the higher of the two available grades – adds sporty styling, extra kit and lower, stiffer suspension.
This means it’ll be even better to drive than the already-sharp standard version, but the ride may be firm for some. With a hatchback-style boot opening and a pair of rear doors, it’s much more practical than the 2 Series coupé.
View the latest BMW 2 Series deals at Leasing.com…
DS 4 - £369 per month
- Model: DS 4 1.6 E-TENSE Performance Line 5dr EAT8 PHEV
- Deposit: £3,318
- Term: 48 months
- Type: Personal Contract Hire
- Engine: 1.6-litre 4cyl plug-in hybrid
- Seats: 5
- Economy: 183.8-232.3mpg
- Boot space: 290 litres
DS is the luxury arm of Stellantis and the DS 4 here comes with an efficient plug-in hybrid powertrain and sporty, specced-out Performance Line trim.
The hybrid set-up blends a 1.6-litre inline-four petrol engine, a 12.4kWh battery pack and an electric motor. This provides a pokey power output of 222bhp and an electric-only mode with a top speed of 83mph. If you’re not aiming for that figure, it can run without waking up the engine for up to 38.5 miles, so if plugged in frequently, you might rarely need to use combustion power.
View the latest DS 4 deals at Leasing.com…
Ford Focus Estate - £385 per month
- Model: Focus Estate 1.0 EcoBoost Hybrid mHEV 125 ST-Line
- Deposit: £3,469
- Term: 48 months
- Type: Personal Contract Hire
- Engine: 1.0-litre 3cyl petrol
- Seats: 5
- Economy: 152.3mpg
- Boot space: 575 litres
While SUVs have taken over much of the new-car market, an estate car still makes a lot of sense in 2023, and the wagon version of the Ford Focus is one of the very best.
It’s a good-looking car that’s great to drive and very practical, with a 575-litre boot that expands to 1,620 litres with the rear seats down. You might think a three-cylinder 1.0-litre engine isn’t much in a reasonably large car, but the EcoBoost is a gutsy performer, particularly in this 153bhp form. The ST-Line spec is well equipped, too.
View the latest Ford Focus deals at Leasing.com…
Kia Niro EV - £376 per month
- Model: Niro EV 150kW 2 64kWh
- Deposit: £3,385
- Term: 48 months
- Type: Personal Contract Hire
- Powertrain: 64kWh battery, 1x e-motor
- Seats: 5
- Range: 285 miles
- Boot space: 475 litres
The new Niro looks much better than its blandly styled predecessor, with a sharper-looking face and (sort of) Audi R8-like sideblades, which can be specced in a contrasting colour if you’re feeling bold.
Its 72kWh fast-charging capability is a little behind other models in this class, but the Niro makes up for that by being one of the most efficient electric vehicles out there. It’s pretty quick, too. This one comes in the 2 grade, which is the entry-level trim for the Niro EV, but it has enough standard kit for most people.
View the latest Kia Niro deals at Leasing.com…
Skoda Kodiaq - £366 per month
- Model: Kodiaq 2.0 TDI SE Drive 5dr [7 Seat]
- Deposit: £3,299
- Term: 48 months
- Type: Personal Contract Hire
- Engine: 1.5-litre 4cyl petrol
- Seats: 7
- Economy: 38.1-39.1mpg
- Boot space: 630 litres
An ideal vehicle for people after a family bus, this particular version of the Skoda Kodiaq has the optional seven-seat arrangement.
Space in the third row of seats isn’t stellar, but they’re fine for younger kids and smaller teens. With every seat folded, the Czech machine offers an incredible amount of room, with a total cargo capacity of more than 2,000 litres. Any version of the Kodiaq will do you proud, but this one might just be the sweet spot, combining Sport Line trim with a smooth 1.5-litre inline-four petrol engine.
View the latest Skoda Kodiaq deals at Leasing.com…
Volkswagen ID.3 - £366 per month
- Model: ID.3 107kW Life Pro 58kWh
- Deposit: £3,217
- Term: 48 months
- Type: Personal Contract Hire
- Powertrain: 58kWh battery, 1x e-motor
- Seats: 5
- Range: 264 miles
- Boot space: 385 litres
While there’s room for improvement in the ID.3’s cabin due to a surprising abundance of cheaper trim and some fiddly controls, as a whole this Volkswagen hatchback remains a great way to go all-electric for the first time.
The Life Pro version of the ID.3 features the smaller 58kWh battery pack, but with an official range of 264 miles, it’ll still take you far on a single charge. And when you do need to top up, the Volkswagen’s 125kW fast-charging capability means you won’t have to wait around for too long before you’ll be on the road again.
View the latest Volkswagen ID.3 deals at Leasing.com…
PCP deals
Honda Civic - £399 per month
- Model: Civic e:HEV Sport
- Deposit: £5,847
- Term: 37 months
- Type: Personal Contract Purchase
- Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl hybrid
- Seats: 5
- Economy: 60.1mpg
- Boot space: 410 litres
More than 50 years on from the model’s initial launch, the latest Honda Civic continues this family hatchback’s long-standing combination of efficiency, generous equipment levels and solid build quality.
The Civic Sport on offer here is powered by Honda’s e:HEV hybrid technology. This allows it to achieve fuel economy of up to 60.1mpg, along with low emissions, so there’s some real savings to be had when it comes to running costs.
View the latest Honda finance deals…
Mazda MX-5 - £349 per month
- Model: MX-5 132PS Prime-Line
- Deposit: £5,055
- Term: 37 months
- Type: Personal Contract Purchase
- Engine: 1.5-litre 4cyl petrol
- Seats: 2
- Economy: 44.8mpg
- Boot space: 130 litres
Mazda’s much-beloved MX-5 combines the driving pleasure of a British sports car with the reliability of Japanese engineering - in other words, there’s plenty to like.
This certainly isn’t a practical car with just two seats and a small boot, but the 1.5-litre model on offer here can return over 40mpg and it will definitely put a very big smile on your face.
View the latest Mazda finance deals…
