What happened to cheap and cheerful cars?
Michael joined Which? in 2017 and is the senior researcher on the Cars team. He’s passionate about improving safety and fairness for all road users — from drivers to pedestrians.
New car prices are ballooning and the days of sub-£10,000 models are long gone. Even budget stalwarts, such as the Vauxhall Corsa that cost £6,500 in 2006, now cost nearly three times what they did back then (and well above inflation).
Meanwhile, the VW Golf went from less than £12,000 at the turn of the century to £27,000 today – again, well above the £22,500 you’d expect if its price was strapped to inflation.
So what’s driving the price of new cars? The explanation is a mix that includes the costs that have affected everything in life for the past few years, technological advancements, regulations and the somewhat awkward transition to EVs.
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