The Quest for Affordable yet Fun-to-Drive Cars: A Six-Car Challenge

As Brits, we have always been drawn to cars that offer a perfect blend of practicality and driving excitement. However, with prices soaring out of control, it's become increasingly difficult to find a car that checks both boxes without breaking the bank. That's why we've decided to embark on a six-car challenge, pitting six affordable cars against each other in a battle for fun-to-drive supremacy.

Our mission is to test these cars and determine which ones make the cut as potential buys. We'll be evaluating each car based on its performance, handling, comfort, and overall driving experience. With prices ranging from £10,370 to £19,900, we're looking for cars that offer a great balance of fun-to-drive qualities and affordability.

First up is the Volkswagen Up! With a starting price of £10,370, this tiny hatchback promises to deliver a fun-to-drive experience without sacrificing too much practicality. As soon as we took it for a spin, we were pleasantly surprised by its responsive handling and smooth ride. The Up!'s 1.0-liter engine provides plenty of pep, making it feel more agile than you'd expect from such a small car.

Next, we put the Toyota AYGO through its paces. With a starting price of £9,700, this tiny supermini promises to deliver excellent fuel efficiency and handling. We were impressed by its responsive steering and comfortable ride, making it an excellent choice for daily driving. The AYGO's 1.0-liter engine provides plenty of power, but we did notice some slight lag when accelerating from a standstill.

Moving on, we took the Ford Fiesta for a spin. With a starting price of £11,490, this compact hatchback promises to deliver a fun-to-drive experience with a twist. We were pleasantly surprised by its responsive handling and smooth ride, making it an excellent choice for those who want a car that's both practical and enjoyable to drive. The Fiesta's 1.0-liter engine provides plenty of power, but we did notice some slight noise from the exhaust.

Next up is the Dacia Sandero, with a starting price of £8,490. This budget-friendly supermini promises to deliver excellent value for money, but would it live up to its promise? We were impressed by its spacious interior and comfortable ride, making it an excellent choice for those who want a practical car without sacrificing too much fun-to-drive qualities.

But the Sandero's not alone in being budget-friendly. The Kia Picanto is another contender, with a starting price of £9,290. This tiny supermini promises to deliver a fun-to-drive experience without breaking the bank. We were impressed by its responsive steering and smooth ride, making it an excellent choice for those who want a car that's both practical and enjoyable to drive.

Finally, we have the Hyundai i20 Active, with a starting price of £19,900. This compact crossover promises to deliver a fun-to-drive experience with a twist. We were impressed by its spacious interior and comfortable ride, making it an excellent choice for those who want a car that's both practical and enjoyable to drive.

But which cars make the cut as potential buys? After our six-car challenge, we're pleased to say that three cars stand out from the rest: the Volkswagen Up!, the Toyota AYGO, and the Kia Picanto. These cars offer a great balance of fun-to-drive qualities and affordability, making them excellent choices for those on a budget.

On the other hand, two cars didn't quite make the cut. The Ford Fiesta's slight lag when accelerating from a standstill was noticeable, and the Dacia Sandero's rough ride and limited space made it less appealing than expected. The Hyundai i20 Active's high price tag also put it out of reach for many budgets.

In conclusion, our six-car challenge has given us valuable insights into the world of affordable yet fun-to-drive cars. Whether you're a seasoned car enthusiast or just looking for a reliable ride, there's something on offer here for everyone.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enon average us Brits spend around 22 grand when buying a new car but we would if it was possible to find a new car for less than half that price that was practical well designed but was still fun to drive so we've assembled these six all costs around 10 grand and all come with decent manufacturer warranties for most people that is reason enough to get their checkbooks out instantly or a more modern method of payment but if your petrol heads like us too you're gonna want more now they're gonna be cars that we're gonna want to spend every single day in I can't see you try before you buy come on it's getting this bad boy it's clear Jason already has reservations while I'm a bit more optimistic so to find out if these cars are all just bargain basement plain James or summer possibly Fancy Nancy we've lined up three challenges starting with a sort of quick test drive you might take it at dealership because any car worth its salt should make a good impression in just a couple of minutes our mission is to eliminate at least two cups we're kicking off with a quick loop in the VW our prices for the up start at ten thousand three hundred and seventy pounds and for that you get a 60 horsepower one liter 3-cylinder engine that will deliver 54 mpg so this like speed a killer and straightaway I was in for a surprise I was expecting 10 grand cars to be tinny and Rutley and nasty and actually this is all right it's really all right yeah it breaks a good gearbox is good the chassis of this cars lovely it's hard to dislike it big up the arm so the little VW kicks off our 10k challenge in fine style next for our brief test drive the Toyota AYGO prices start at nine thousand seven hundred pounds and it manages slightly better fuel consumption than the up at 57 mpg semi go speed dating you'll go at the AYGO 998 CC triple does one C seal down on the VW R same talk 95 Newton meters steering's responsive the brake support it's comfortable it's relatively quiet Aloka once in the next car moving on rapidly our ford car is the Fiat Panda in this instance we've been given the slightly more expensive cross model however prices for the entry-level pop version which comes with an identical engine starts at nine thousand nine hundred and seventy quid I love but would we love the metal one as much as the perrito that's very noisy it is quite loud the last suspension noise coming up the Panda may have a grown-up four-cylinder 1.2 liter engine under the bonnet but we weren't convinced it had long-term relationship potential do you want a second date it it's more rough and ready than up and I go on to the cheapest in our lineup the Sandero by Dacia who are part of the Renault go so it's a 1 liter engine five-speed combo 6b touch here so they use bits of older a nose I can see it too everywhere you can feel the difference in quality compared to the other ones the steering's quite crashy every little bumpy jolts the seats are not giving me a greater support it's noisy oh dear next it's time to hop into a budget offering from Korea here the Kanto knowing thousand eight hundred and ninety five pounds oh that's a nice key issue yeah this has a seven year warranty some people just buy kids because of brake pedals nice and tight which I quite like it's alright it's actually a really enjoyable car so on to the last car of our bunch the audio mp3 1.5 engine for pot one hundred eight mile an hour top speed it's substantially more nippy than the others by a good chunk yeah significantly faster significantly worse emissions it's also the least fuel efficient of our group of 42 mpg and surely that matters if you're on a tight budget Gina what geez alright actually it feels like it is more than 10 grand yeah at the end of our speed-dating most of these budget motors have been a pleasant surprise the challenge is deciding which ones get a second date and which ones get dumped finding this quite taxing right okay we like the aegyo we're like the up we like the picante and agreed that the Panda cuz it's harsh as hell that's got to go which leads us on to - yeah mg this for me has to go next the Dutch ship what yeah I like it I mean I like the fact it's double cheap but it's just it's not in the same league so I want to skip this I'd rather get rid of this than that because the engines too big it's not fuel-efficient enough it's a bit loud so why don't we just bin the pair of its you're so assertive so it's down to three youon average us Brits spend around 22 grand when buying a new car but we would if it was possible to find a new car for less than half that price that was practical well designed but was still fun to drive so we've assembled these six all costs around 10 grand and all come with decent manufacturer warranties for most people that is reason enough to get their checkbooks out instantly or a more modern method of payment but if your petrol heads like us too you're gonna want more now they're gonna be cars that we're gonna want to spend every single day in I can't see you try before you buy come on it's getting this bad boy it's clear Jason already has reservations while I'm a bit more optimistic so to find out if these cars are all just bargain basement plain James or summer possibly Fancy Nancy we've lined up three challenges starting with a sort of quick test drive you might take it at dealership because any car worth its salt should make a good impression in just a couple of minutes our mission is to eliminate at least two cups we're kicking off with a quick loop in the VW our prices for the up start at ten thousand three hundred and seventy pounds and for that you get a 60 horsepower one liter 3-cylinder engine that will deliver 54 mpg so this like speed a killer and straightaway I was in for a surprise I was expecting 10 grand cars to be tinny and Rutley and nasty and actually this is all right it's really all right yeah it breaks a good gearbox is good the chassis of this cars lovely it's hard to dislike it big up the arm so the little VW kicks off our 10k challenge in fine style next for our brief test drive the Toyota AYGO prices start at nine thousand seven hundred pounds and it manages slightly better fuel consumption than the up at 57 mpg semi go speed dating you'll go at the AYGO 998 CC triple does one C seal down on the VW R same talk 95 Newton meters steering's responsive the brake support it's comfortable it's relatively quiet Aloka once in the next car moving on rapidly our ford car is the Fiat Panda in this instance we've been given the slightly more expensive cross model however prices for the entry-level pop version which comes with an identical engine starts at nine thousand nine hundred and seventy quid I love but would we love the metal one as much as the perrito that's very noisy it is quite loud the last suspension noise coming up the Panda may have a grown-up four-cylinder 1.2 liter engine under the bonnet but we weren't convinced it had long-term relationship potential do you want a second date it it's more rough and ready than up and I go on to the cheapest in our lineup the Sandero by Dacia who are part of the Renault go so it's a 1 liter engine five-speed combo 6b touch here so they use bits of older a nose I can see it too everywhere you can feel the difference in quality compared to the other ones the steering's quite crashy every little bumpy jolts the seats are not giving me a greater support it's noisy oh dear next it's time to hop into a budget offering from Korea here the Kanto knowing thousand eight hundred and ninety five pounds oh that's a nice key issue yeah this has a seven year warranty some people just buy kids because of brake pedals nice and tight which I quite like it's alright it's actually a really enjoyable car so on to the last car of our bunch the audio mp3 1.5 engine for pot one hundred eight mile an hour top speed it's substantially more nippy than the others by a good chunk yeah significantly faster significantly worse emissions it's also the least fuel efficient of our group of 42 mpg and surely that matters if you're on a tight budget Gina what geez alright actually it feels like it is more than 10 grand yeah at the end of our speed-dating most of these budget motors have been a pleasant surprise the challenge is deciding which ones get a second date and which ones get dumped finding this quite taxing right okay we like the aegyo we're like the up we like the picante and agreed that the Panda cuz it's harsh as hell that's got to go which leads us on to - yeah mg this for me has to go next the Dutch ship what yeah I like it I mean I like the fact it's double cheap but it's just it's not in the same league so I want to skip this I'd rather get rid of this than that because the engines too big it's not fuel-efficient enough it's a bit loud so why don't we just bin the pair of its you're so assertive so it's down to three you\n"