BYD Dolphin review – our favourite new car
Best cars for under £300 per month – top 10 in 2024
There should be a new car for everyone for £300 a month – these are the best deals out there
Financing is the most popular method to buy a new car in the UK, and you can put an excellent set of wheels on your driveway for just £300 a month.
Private Contract Purchase (PCP) deals are a finance method offered by manufacturers that allow you to pay for a car over a handful of years. Typically, you’ll pay an upfront deposit, an agreed number of monthly instalments, and a final lump sum payment if you wish to keep the car. It’s a more affordable way to get behind the wheel of a new car, and the predictable payments make it easy to factor into your monthly budget.
So what do you get for £300 a month? Quite a lot, surprisingly. Manufacturers are aware that £300 a month is a popular price point, and they’re keen to offer great deals to entice customers. You can find everything from hatchbacks to estate cars and SUVs for under £300 a month, with a mixture of petrol, diesel, hybrid and fully electric models.
We have picked the top 10 cars you can finance today for under £300 per month. Beware that in order to hit that £300 mark, some cars will require a larger upfront deposit than others, while some will have different annual mileage limits and interest rates. Our advice is to always read the small print and fine-tune each PCP deal to your needs.
One final note: manufacturers update their pricing throughout the year, so the cars on this list are all available for £300 per month at the time of writing. For a selection of PCP deals at different price points, you can read our best new cars deals page, which is updated weekly.
The best cars for £300 per month
Read on for our list of the top 10 best cars for under £300 per month you can buy right now.
- Best option for electric car buyers
Although the BYD Dolphin lacks the legacy of rival European hatchbacks such as the Volkswagen Golf or Renault Clio, that didn’t matter at the Carbuyer Car of the Year Awards 2024 – the Dolphin was crowned the overall winner. The Chinese EV impressed us with its efficient electric technology, premium interior and its bargain price tag. It starts from around £25,000 in Active trim, translating to monthly payments of less than £300 through a PCP deal.
Sure, it's not the most exciting car to drive, but the Dolphin is well-suited to urban driving, feeling comfortable over bumps and with little noise from the EV powertrain. The interior looks like nothing else at this price point; there are swooping curves throughout, a 12.8-inch rotating infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and just enough premium materials. It's a shame that its 45kWh battery can only be charged at speeds of up to 60kW, but at least it’ll manage over 200 miles between charges.
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- Best option for families
The Skoda Octavia is a fantastic all-rounder, making it a smash hit with families for over two decades. Throughout that time, it has shared its underpinnings as the Volkswagen Golf, although the Skoda’s larger size often makes that hard to believe. As the Golf has grown and become more advanced, so has the Octavia, which is more accommodating and better equipped than ever. If the regular hatch isn’t roomy enough for you, there’s always the Skoda Octavia Estate, which can also be had for under £300 per month. Safety keeps improving, too, with sturdy construction and plenty of advanced driver safety aids ensuring a five-star Euro NCAP rating.
Its broad engine range provides plenty of options, from the surprisingly punchy and fun 1.5-litre TSI petrol to the powerful 2.0-litre TDI diesel. A 2024 facelift introduced a new mild hybrid version, delivering improved fuel economy, while the interior saw a welcome refresh. Overall, the Octavia is a very difficult car to beat – especially at under £300 per month.
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- Best option for SUV buyers
The Hyundai Tucson doesn’t just stand out when it comes to looks, it also has a premium-feeling interior, lots of tech and loads of space. The Tucson is one of the most practical family SUVs around, and is even quite good to drive. With all those attributes, it’s hardly surprising that we awarded it our Car of The Year trophy for 2022.
The Tucson was updated in 2024, introducing Hyundai's latest interior technology but without losing the stellar build quality of the old model. It’s available with a range of engines, although hybrid versions are likely to cost more than £300 per month or require a large upfront deposit. Stick to the petrol engine, which is capable of 40mpg, and you can pick up one of our favourite family SUVs for hatchback money.
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- Best seven-seat option
Dacia is a car maker famed for its value-for-money, and the Jogger is perhaps the biggest bargain of the lot. Starting from just over £18,000 – or under £300 a month through a manufacturer PCP deal – you’ll struggle to find a new car with seven seats for less. What the interior lacks in premium materials, it makes up for with space. The cabin is simply vast, with three rows of seats that can happily accommodate adults. If you’re not using the rear-most pair of seats, they can be folded down, increasing boot space to over 700 litres.
Your engine options aren’t vast with the Jogger – buyers can pick between a 1.0-litre petrol engine or, more interestingly, a 1.6-litre full hybrid. Both are available for under £300 per month, but the latter adds an extra layer of refinement to the Jogger’s driving experience. Its electric motor adds a noticeable shove at lower speeds, while also improving fuel economy – Dacia claims it’ll return up to 59mpg.
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If you fancy the idea of an electric hatchback but the BYD Dolphin above doesn’t cut it in the styling department, the Cupra Born could be what you’re looking for. Available for under £300 a month – but with a fairly hefty deposit – the Cupra Born is a sportier take on the Volkswagen ID.3, improving upon that car’s looks and interior despite costing less.
Your £300 per month will only get you behind the wheel of the entry-level Born V1 with the smallest 58kWh battery, but you should still see up to 265 miles of range. Its 201bhp electric motor lacks the punch of more expensive models, although it’ll be perfectly adequate for most drivers, achieving the 0-62mph sprint in 7.3 seconds. Practicality is strong thanks to a 385-litre boot (bigger than a VW Golf’s) and some clever interior storage solutions. Be warned that the rear seat headroom is limited – a trade off for the Born’s sloping roofline, so make sure to try before you buy.
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The Renault Captur is one of our favourite small SUVs, thanks to its versatility, stylish interior and economical engines. We reckon it’s one of the best all-round small SUVs on the market, only improved further by its 2024 facelift. The Captur is now more stylish than ever, but it's also better to drive without sacrificing comfort. It’s a shame that the plug-in hybrid engine is no longer offered, but the regular self-charging hybrid is an excellent fit for the Captur and is available under the £300 per month mark.
In fact, nearly every Captur model is offered by Renault for under £200 per month through PCP. You will need a hefty deposit, but if you have the cash to hand over upfront, then the Captur makes for an excellent affordable SUV. If it was our money, we’d opt for the E-Tech hybrid model – it’s much quicker than the 1.0-litre petrol engine and returns up to 60mpg.
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You’re not short of choice in the small SUV market in 2024, but few models have the character of the Jeep Avenger. With chunky SUV looks and some genuine off-road abilities, the Avenger makes for a compelling all-weather urban runaround. Despite its small size, the Avenger is surprisingly roomy, with space for four passengers and a decent boot. Up front, there’s a pair of crisp digital displays for driving information and infotainment, while the controls are well laid out and everything feels solidly put together.
Unless you’re willing to fork out a very large deposit, your £300 a month won’t get you behind the wheel of the electric Jeep Avenger. Instead, you can pick from the equally capable petrol and e-Hybrid mild hybrid models. The former isn’t particularly quick or refined, so we recommend upgrading to the e-Hybrid. It gets a slick six-speed dual-clutch gearbox in place of the manual gear lever, while it can cruise in pure electric mode at low speeds, improving fuel consumption.
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- Best option for sports car buyers
The affordable sports car market has sadly dried up in recent years, and there are few options for under £300 a month unless you’re willing to hand over a five-figure sum upfront. Thankfully, the Mazda MX-5, still just about makes the cut. It’ll put just as big a smile on your face as more expensive roadsters, but the upfront deposit is comfortably in four-figure territory. Better still, not only is it fun on a twisty road, it’s also economical and comfortable enough to use on a daily basis.
Previously, the entry-level version didn’t feature a touchscreen, but now it does – complete with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. Alloy wheels, LED lights and air conditioning, parking sensors and heated seats all come fitted as standard – you can add more, but the extras are largely unnecessary and add extra weight.
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MG’s renaissance has taken the affordable car market by storm, with models such as the electric MG4 proving a smash hit with UK buyers. But it’s the new hybrid MG3 hatchback that perhaps offers the best value of the lot, available through MG for comfortably under £300 a month with a reasonable upfront deposit. It’s remarkable how much tech the Chinese-owned British brand has managed to cram into the MG3’s cabin and under the bonnet, with similarly-priced rivals feeling old hat in comparison.
All models get a 1.5-litre engine mated to a self-charging hybrid system. Unlike most hybrids, the electric motor does most of the heavy lifting, contributing 134bhp to the total 192bhp. Not only is the system efficient – we saw around 55mpg during our in-depth test – but it’s quick too. The MG3 will hit 62mph in eight seconds from a standstill, while it’s agile enough to put a smile on your face along a B road.
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MPVs are something of a dying breed in 2024, but Citroen is one of the few remaining car makers to offer an old-school van-based people carrier. It provides a level of practicality that you simply won’t find in an SUV of a similar size; there’s up to 1,050 litres of boot space, five or seven individual seats, and a pair of large sliding doors. It’s offered in two sizes – M (Medium) and XL – and both are available within our £300 a month budget, but the regular Medium wheelbase model has more than enough room for most families. It feels more car-like than van-like from behind the wheel, helped by a newly-updated interior as part of the Berlingo’s 2024 facelift.
Citroen gives you plenty of choice when it comes to your engine preference. For under £300 a month, you can pick the petrol or diesel models in Medium guise, both of which come with a six-speed manual gearbox. Buyers who live in urban areas may be better suited to the electric e-Berlingo, available in both M and XL lengths. With a 205-mile range and 100kW rapid charging speeds, it brings the Berlingo right into the modern age and will cost peanuts to run if you recharge at home.
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Give our list of the best cars for £200 per month a read for a selection of even more affordable PCP deals…
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