Learning to drive is still a rite of passage for young people, and buying your first car is the natural next step. Yet it can be a fraught process, with many factors to consider.
Finding a car that’s not only affordable to buy but offers the right combination of safety, equipment (and yes even desirability) is difficult enough, but doing all that while keeping insurance costs as low as possible can be very tough indeed.
And that's not just the case for newly-minted 17-year-olds, either. First-time drivers of any age suffer the same issues.
However, today's new drivers can enjoy all of those factors, as the low end of the market where they’ll be looking at is jam-packed with slick city cars and superb superminis. Today’s small cars often have all the essential equipment you’d expect, as well as some you might be surprised at. Believe it or not, it's totally possible to get a cool first car.
What to look for in a first car
The biggest hurdle facing most young drivers is a financial one. Even with the bank of mum and dad helping out, the costs of owning a car can be prohibitive enough to keep many on the bus even after they’ve passed their driving tests.
It's worth noting that many new drivers will choose to spend their first years in an inexpensive used car rather than purchasing brand-new, which is often a sensible move. But even with a couple of years experience, it can still be very expensive to run a car - so the principles of buying a first car still apply.
The most difficult cost to stomach is that of insurance. As a new driver with no experience, you’re a risk to insurance companies and as such will attract sky-high premiums. There are a few ways to help lower this cost, such as opting for a black-box policy or adding an experienced named driver to your plan, but it all starts with the right car in a low insurance group.
As much as you may want a powerful and fast first car with a beefy engine, that will ramp up your insurance cost at a frightening rate. The lowest insurance groups in a car’s range correspond with the smallest and least powerful engines – they’re almost always powered by petrol, and fitted with manual gearboxes, as these have the lowest insurance ratings. Automatic gearboxes, larger or diesel engines or complex hybrid systems tend to push premiums skyward.
Safety is important – inexperienced young drivers do statistically have a lot of accidents, so for peace of mind, it’s best to opt for a car with as high a crash test rating as possible. This is one area where opting for a newer car will have great benefits over one that’s even a few years old – active safety features such as autonomous emergency braking have the ability to stop an accident before it turns into an expensive crash.
Then, of course, there are all the important qualities to look for in a car regardless of when you’re buying it. Good visibility, responsive engine, a no-nonsense interior with controls placed in logical spots and enough practicality to cover your usual needs.
New or used first car?
Most drivers choose a used car for their first motor, and there are many benefits to doing so. The biggest is probably mitigation of risk - statistically, as many as one-in-five drivers will be involved in an accident in their first year. Lack of experience can lead to traffic collisions, even if it's not your fault - and so it can make a lot of sense for a driver's riskiest years to take place in something less valuable than a brand-new car.
There's also the question of expense - after all, once insurance is accounted for there are not too many 17-year-olds with the disposable income to finance a brand-new model.
If you can afford a new car, though, there are lots of good reasons for doing so. Driving the newest vehicle you can afford ensures you'll have access to the latest tech - particularly safety equipment such as autonomous emergency braking or active lane-keeping aids that can prevent you from having an accident in the first place. They're more likely to have a top-end Euro NCAP crash test safety rating, too.
Insurance premiums for brand-new models can sometimes be lower than those of used cars, and newer cars tend to be more efficient and kinder to the environment than their predecessors, too.
Better yet, leasing a car takes the sting out of ownership. Rather than having to fork out for a huge deposit or upfront purchase, you simply pay a monthly fee across a fixed term. At the end of the term, you just hand the car back - easy as pie.
Enter The Renault Clio
Taking home the Parkers Award for ‘Best First Car’ means the Clio is, at least in our opinion, the best small car you can buy at the moment.
The Clio’s success story begins with its good looks. Superficial, yes, but fashion-conscious young buyers want something that looks fresh, and this certainly does. That carries over to the inside, where all Clios get an up-to-date dash design. Mid-spec trim levels have all the tech you’d want, while top-end cars get some really premium stuff like digital dials, a 9.3-inch portrait infotainment touchscreen, and wireless charging.
A range of frugal and fun engines cap things off, but it’s the value proposition where this car distinguishes itself. It’s cracking value on finance and significantly cheaper than most of the competition to buy outright, too.
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.Article from https://www.parkers.co.uk/best-cars/
