Which? member exclusive: top cars for value
With a masters degree in automotive journalism, Dino has a forensic knowledge of the car industry and works closely with our lab to find the best (and worst) models.
Let’s face it: most cars, particularly new ones, are pricey. But our lab testing and pricing data reveals that some models give you more for your money than others, while also scoring better than many of their rivals.
To earn our Great Value badge, a car must meet strict criteria, which includes scoring at least 65% in our tests and being cheaper (by at least 20%) than the average price for a car in its class (small cars, large SUVs, estates and so on).
Read on to find out which cars made the grade in our latest analysis and the models that just missed out.
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What makes a Great Value car?
To identify Great Value cars, we use six months of our pricing data (which is based on new prices including typical discounts) to calculate an average price for each car. We then use this data to create an average price for each class of car we review (small cars, large SUVs and so on).
Any car that is significantly cheaper (at least 20%) than the average price for a car in its class is potentially a Great Value model. To exclude expensive cars, we apply price cutoffs where appropriate.
All Great Value cars must also score at least 65% in our lab tests and (if applicable) have model reliability and Euro NCAP scores of at least three stars out of five. We do this to eliminate cars that aren’t as reliable, safe or as good as rival models.
We also consider the discounts a manufacturer or dealer applies to the cars it sells. A car can’t be Great Value if its low price is due to special government schemes (like the Electric Car Grant) or unusual discounts that don’t match the car’s past pricing history.
We update our list of Great Value cars every six months, so any car we test during this period that meets the criteria is given this status until the end of the six-month period.
Since no two used cars are the same, and prices vary greatly, we only include models that are available to buy new in our list of Great Value cars. Of course, you don’t need to buy them new, so we’ve included nearly new prices for cars that are one year old.
Best cars: whatever car you choose, make sure it’s Which? Best Buy