Everyone wants the best chance of success when it comes to passing their driving test and the car you learn to drive in can play a big part in boosting your confidence.
We’ve reviewed the top recommendations from Auto Express and What Car to present our ultimate guide to the best learner driver cars. We considered factors like safety ratings, MPG, vehicle size, brand reliability and insurance groups.
Which cars are best for learner drivers?
Toyota Yaris
- Toyota Yaris
- SEAT Mii
- Skoda Citigo
- Renault Twingo
- Citroen C1
- Peugeot 108
- Kia Picanto
- Volkswagen up!
- Seat Ibiza
- Nissan Micra
- Volkswagen Polo
- Fiat Panda
- Hyundai i10
- Skoda Fabia
- Toyota Aygo
- Ford Fiesta
- Ford Focus
- Vauxhall Corsa
The top 5 cars for learner drivers
Citroen C1
- The Toyota Yaris is a compact and agile city car. Its smaller size in comparison to some of the other cars in the ranking and handling make it a suitable choice for anyone learning to drive, as does its top safety rating (5/5). Toyota’s also have the highest brand reliability score in the research of 96%/.
- The SEAT Mii, a sister car to the Volkswagen up!, is a smaller car that is easy to manoeuvre and park, both key considerations for any learner. It features in a low insurance group (2), meaning the learner’s premium is likely to be lower.
- The Skoda Citigo is the most compact car in the Czech manufacturer’s range, making it a convenient size for anyone who has just started their lessons. It also provides 64 miles per gallon, one of the highest in the research.
- The Renault Twingo is a smaller car with easy handling for all the tricky manoeuvres learners have to master.
- The Citroen C1 is a popular choice for a first car or anyone who is starting lessons, while it also ranks highly for its safety measurements (4/5) and brand reliability (94%)
What makes a good learner car?
The car’s compact size
Renault Twingo
A smaller car is often easier to handle, which can come in especially handy when driving during peak traffic. As learner drivers get to grips with handling a new car, the size of it – which can also be reflected by insurance premiums – is something that may appeal.
Our data shows that the Kia Picanto, SEAT Mii and the Renault Twingo are top choices when it comes to their size. They are the smallest width cars featured in Auto Express and What Car’s lists, offering the potential for easier handling.
Low running costs
Skoda Citigo
Many learner drivers may be younger and counting the financial cost of their driving lessons. When learning to drive privately, they may want to consider the efficiency of the car.
We looked at each car’s MPG (miles per gallon) and brand reliability to see which cars would offer value when it comes to driving out and about.
Our data found the following three learner cars coming out top for efficiency:
- Peugeot 108
- Skoda Citigo
- Volkswagen up!
The car’s safety features
How safe is the car someone is learning to drive in? Are all the essential safety features in full working order?
The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) examines the safety of cars using a five-star system. This involves a series of simplified vehicle tests that represent important real-life accidents that result in injuries or fatalities.
The safest cars for learner drivers in our list, according to Euro NCAP ratings, are:
- Toyota Yaris – 5 stars
- Seat Ibiza – 5 stars
- Volkswagen Polo – 5 stars
- Skoda Fabia – 5 stars
- Ford Fiesta – 5 stars
- Ford Focus – 5 stars
How long the car lasts
When learning to drive or buying a car for the first time, it’s worth considering how long you are planning on keeping the vehicle. Is it going to be a run-around that can get you from A to B while you get used to life on the roads, or are you hoping to keep it for a good few years?
Would you prefer a new car or a used car? New cars often come with warranty deals and up-to-date tech features, while older ones will be cheaper to buy upfront and may have a few dents and scratches if you’re not as concerned by the aesthetics.
What is the vehicle risk rating?
The vehicle risk rating system evaluates the performance, damageability, repairability, safety and security of the vehicle on a scale of 1 (low risk) to 99 (high risk).
Many older vehicles will be ranked in the previous car insurance groups system, which had low-risk vehicles ranked by lower numbers – which would often be cheaper to insure.
Seat Mii
The cars in the lowest insurance groups in our list are:
- Nissan Micra (1)
- Seat Mii (2)
- Skoda Citigo (2)
- Volkswagen up! (2)
- Seat Ibiza (2)
- Hyundai i10 (2)
- Renault Twingo (3)
- Volkswagen Polo (3)
- Fiat Panda (3)
What’s the best car insurance for learner drivers?
The government’s Ready to Pass campaign suggests it takes an average of 45 hours of lessons with an instructor and 22 hours of private practice to pass a driving test.
If you want to take advantage of extra hours learning with a friend or family member, you’re going to need learner driver insurance. Available from 12 hours to 28 days, this policy helps you get in extra practice while reducing the cost of learning and protecting the supervisor’s no claims discount.
Once you’ve passed your test, you may be interested in taking out a potential new car for a spin. If you’re buying privately, don’t forget your test drive insurance. Driving any car without insurance is illegal so you’ll need at least third party cover (please note Tempcover’s UK policies are comprehensive).
Potential penalties for driving without insurance include:
- A minimum of six penalty points.
- A £300 fine.
- A potential court order that could lead to an unlimited fine or driving ban.
Tempcover It!
Once you have made your decision and decided to buy your car, you could look into driveaway insurance. This temporary car insurance allows you to get your new car home safely, giving you more time to look into annual insurance policies.
There are many learner-friendly cars for you to take your private lessons in. These cars are also often suitable for first-time independent drivers due to their size, safety features and affordability. Just take your time to find the right first car for you.
Sources
Tempcover used Auto Express and What Car guides to gather an existing list of the best learner cars to drive in.
Electric cars were removed due to one of our indicators being MPG.
We then took these recommended cars for learner drivers and ranked them by reliability, safety, size, MPG and insurance costs.
Each metric was scored out of 10 and then averaged to determine the overall ranking.
- https://www.euroncap.com/ – Car Safety Rating /5. The latest year available was taken for each car.
- https://www.whatcar.com/news/reliability-survey-most-reliable-cars-brands/n26159 – Reliability on a car brand level.
- https://www.parkers.co.uk/– Car specifications including MPG, size and insurance group. Where possible, the basic trim level was selected for each car; however, this was not an exact science and is only intended as an indication within the ranking. The assumption was made that cars that are smaller are easier to handle and therefore better for learner drivers.
