Best used family cars for less than £20,000

If reliability is your primary concern, you probably won’t do much better than the Honda Civic. It has a fantastic record, with owners reporting an extremely low number of faults.

What’s more, the Civic has a huge boot and a decent amount of rear leg room. Just be aware that there isn’t much rear head room for adults and the ride and steering aren’t as polished as some rivals'.

We found 2019 Honda Civic 1.5 Turbo Sport, 2148 miles, £19,000

Want lots of car for your cash? Well, the Vauxhall Astra offers just that, because it’s cheap as chips. We’d suggest going for the sprightly turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol engine over the noisy diesels, but on the whole, the Astra is reasonably comfortable, reasonably spacious, reasonably efficient and reasonably good to drive. A very reasonable car, in other words, even if it isn't one that will earn the envy of your friends.

We found 2019 Vauxhall Astra 1.2T 125 SRi Nav, 3099 miles, £12,500

The Hyundai i30 is softer than most of its rivals, giving a reasonably comfortable ride without being floaty. Its turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol engine dishes out decent rather than Earth-shattering performance but shouldn’t drain your wallet. Plus, the car offers plenty of equipment as standard, including air conditioning, alloy wheels, a DAB radio and automatic emergency braking. Also, every example should still have plenty of warranty coverage left, which is comforting.

We found 2019 Hyundai i30 1.4 GDi Premium SE, 2500 miles, £17,650

If you want great fuel economy but also a car that’s fun to drive, you should have a look at the Mazda 3. Both diesel and petrol versions achieve impressive real-world efficiency, while an involving chassis means it’s a treat if you get a bit of twisty road to yourself. The downside is that it’s not particularly roomy in the back, plus the small windows can make it feel gloomy. 

We found 2019 Mazda 3 2.0 Skyactiv-G Mhev GT Sport, 6000 miles, £19,490

Fancy the quality, image and exciting driving style of a BMW but in a family hatchback package? That’s where this second-generation version (there is now a newer third-generation version of the 1 Series on sale, based on BMW's own Mini) of the BMW 1 Series comes in. The sacrifice you make is that it isn’t as spacious as some rivals and standard kit is a bit stingy on some versions. But if driving involvement is paramount or you just want the quality and kudos of a BMW, the 1 Series will be hard to resist. And as an added bonus, it offers a range of very efficient engines. 

We found 2019 BMW 1 Series 118d Sport, 3386 miles, £16,980

The Ford Focus is Britain’s most popular family hatchback, and it isn’t hard to see why. First up, it’s cheap both to buy and to run. It’s also great to drive, with a lively chassis and responsive steering. Ford's 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine is peppy enough for most people, too, and while the Focus isn’t quite as classy as the Volkswagen Golf inside, the ubiquitous Titanium variant does at least get plenty of equipment. What’s more, there are loads of examples out there to choose from, so finding a good one shouldn’t be hard.

We found: 2019 Ford Focus 1.5 Ecoboost 150 ST-Line, 2078 miles, £16,500

The Volkswagen Golf is a fantastic all-rounder, combining excellent comfort, enjoyable handling, enough space for most small families, a high-quality interior and quiet road manners. Of course, the smart styling and VW badge make it a desirable car, and so it commands a bit of a premium over some of its rivals. But it still isn’t too expensive, and for its considerable range of talents, we reckon that extra is worth paying. Prices are steadying now the new Mk8 car's on the market, so it's a good time to bag a Mk7 model. 

We found 2020 Volkswagen Golf 1.5 TSI Evo Match Edition, 5073 miles, £18,000

Sharp styling makes the Seat Leon an instant eye-catcher, but its beauty isn’t just skin-deep. It’s great fun to drive, too, with a taut chassis that makes it responsive and involving. Yet it's also comfortable, and it's endowed with a spacious interior full of tactile materials. Okay, so it isn't quite as plush as the Volkswagen Golf, but you can forgive that when you realise the Leon is cheaper to buy than not just that car but also the Skoda Octavia. An all-new Leon launched in 2020 means it's a good time to do a bit of bartering on the older model. 

We found 2019 Seat Leon 1.5 TSI Evo FR, 1332 miles, £16,293

A strong combination of comfort, equipment and space have made the Skoda Octavia a real favourite with family car buyers. Granted, its interior isn’t quite as swish as that of the Volkswagen Golf, but what it does offer is a vast boot and loads of room for rear-seat passengers. What’s more, it drives tidily, with composed handling and a comfortable ride, and it’s great value. There may now be an all-new 2020 Octavia on sale now but this version remains one of our favourites. 

We found 2019 Skoda Octavia 1.5 TSI SE Technology, 4294 miles, £16,295

As a new car, we reckoned this 2012 to 2020 version of the Audi A3 Sportback was the best family hatchback around. In fact, it was crowned our 2020 Used Family Car of the Year. Despite being a premium product, it still has a spacious and practical interior that’s covered in high-quality materials, superb ride and handling and an excellent range of engines. What’s more, you don’t have to pay a proper premium to get in one, because there are plenty of nearly new examples of this just-replaced generation around in well-equipped Sport guise for similar money to the other cars on this list.

We found 2019 Audi A3 Sportback 1.5 35 TFSI Sport, 10,321 miles, £18,850