The list of Britain’s best-selling cars has changed a bit in the last few years. Once upon a time it was topped by small, economical hatchbacks – Ford Fiestas, Vauxhall Corsas, you know the sort of thing. But with the demise of cars like these, and the rise of crossover SUVs, the list of Britain’s best-selling cars for 2024 was rather different.
In fact, for the first time ever, SUVs took the top three places in the list, with the Ford Puma, Kia Sportage and Nissan Qashqai filling the podium. But for all three of these cars, prices in the showrooms are high – as indeed they can be, given the demand for them.
Perhaps it’s better, then, to look for them on used car forecourts, where nearly-new examples give you all the benefits of these best-sellers, but at a much lower price. Indeed, savvy buyers can get a bargain if they can find an example of the model they want in the specification they desire with just a few thousand miles on the clock.
Take the Ford Puma, for example. Brand-new, an entry-level example of Britain’s best-selling car with the excellent 123bhp mild hybrid petrol engine and a manual gearbox will set you back £26,350. But you can go on CarGurus today and find a year-old example with just 5,000 miles on the clock in sportier-looking (and more desirable) ST-Line trim, being offered for just £18,610 – a saving of almost £8,000.
Even greater savings are to be had if you want the sporty ST version of the Puma, with its 168bhp engine. Brand-new, this version will set you back £33,600 at least – and that’s before you add any options such as metallic paint. But on the second-hand market you can pick up a 2024 example of the same car with a meagre 4,000 miles on the clock for £24,990, saving yourself almost £9,000.
What about the second best-selling model, then? Well, arguably buying a nearly-new Kia Sportage makes even more sense than any other car here, because of its whopping warranty. After all, choose a year-old example and you still get six years’ warranty left – far more than you would even on a brand new Ford Puma or Nissan Qashqai.
The Sportage is brilliantly practical, smart to look at and smart inside, too, and you get the choice of mild, full and plug-in hybrid powertrains, depending on which suits you best.
Go for the mid-range 1.6 Mild Hybrid 2 model brand new, and you’ll spend £32,390 – a not-insignificant sum. But a Kia main dealer is currently advertising an example of the same car registered in October 2024, with just 581 miles on the clock, for £25,000. That’s basically a brand-new car. In other words, doing without just six months of the seven-year warranty can save you more than £7,000.
What about the Nissan Qashqai? Well, don’t imagine its place on the third step of the podium makes it a poor relation. After all, tens of thousands found homes in the UK last year alone, and we still love its winning blend of all-round ability.
You can get the Qashqai in mild or full hybrid forms; the latter is a good engine with lots of power and very reasonable fuel economy, and feels very smooth to drive. But it doesn’t come cheap – even specified as a mid-range N-Connecta you’ll still pay £36,600 for the privilege.
Yet my quick search on CarGurus unearthed one that’s just five months old, and has covered 1,500 miles – yours for £26,990. So where’s the catch? Well, I’ll admit that there is one – this example is a late-registered pre-facelift example, so it doesn’t look quite as fresh as the new model. But I’d be able to live with that for a saving of almost £10,000 over the cost of buying brand-new – wouldn’t you?
