Best used family SUVs for less than £20,000

Buying a used family SUV needn’t cost you the earth. In fact, you can buy examples often only a year or two old for less than £20,000, and these highly practical cars now make a huge amount of financial sense as a second-hand purchase.

Most of these SUVs have the raised-up driving position and chunky looks that buyers love, as well as large boots and flexible interiors. However, there are so many to choose from that finding the right car for you can be bewildering. Here, to help out, we're counting down our top 10 favourites.

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The Nissan Qashqai was a trendsetter when it arrived and it continues to be a very popular choice. This recently updated third-generation car is quiet, comfortable and economical. The driving experience leaves room for improvement, as does its questionable reliability in its previous versions (see our latest What Car? Reliability Survey), but it remains a sensible, compelling and great value choice.

"The ever-popular Qashqai may not be a class leader in my eyes, but it's a safe choice that's easy to get on board with." – Oliver Young, used cars reporter

We found 2023 Nissan Qashqai 1.3 DiG-T Acenta Premium, 9456 miles, £19,299

Strengths

• Lots of safety kit
• Good quality interior
• Great driving position

Weaknesses

• So-so performance
• Some rivals are more fun to drive
• Lacks the seating flexibility of many rivals

If interior space is high on your list of priorities, take a look at the Hyundai Tucson. Four tall adults will have plenty of room and the boot is cavernous. Interior quality impresses, too. This dramatic-looking new version of the Tucson can now be had easily within our budget, too. It's also comfortable, spacious and practical, and its reliability record is particularly strong. It's also much better to drive than its predecessors.

"The Tucson feels a bit plain inside – the recent facelift has made the interior noticeably more modern and classy – but you can't argue with the space on offer." – Oliver Young, used cars reporter

We found 2022 Hyundai Tucson 1.6 GDi SE Connect, 22,506 miles, £18,950

Strengths

• Frugal hybrid
• Well-made interior
• Practical and spacious
• Confidence-inspiring reliability

Weaknesses

• Ride can be fidgety
• No sliding rear seats
• Not as much fun to drive as one or two rivals

The Mazda CX-5, is a terrific all-rounder. If you’re after a used SUV to transport your family around in it’s almost unbeatable, being good to drive, decently practical and, above all, superb value for money. Enthusiastic drivers will love it for its surprisingly agile handling, and families will love it for its practical, spacious and exceptionally high-quality interior. The CX-5 is also handsomely equipped and exceptionally well screwed together, with a good reliability record.

"The CX-5 is great to drive, especially if you don't mind an old-school driving experience like I do – for instance, the petrol engines need plenty of revs to really get going." – Oliver Young, used cars reporter

We found: 2022 Mazda CX-5 2.0 SE-L, 25,402 miles, £19,450

Strengths

• Premium inside
• Good handling
• Well equipped

Weaknesses

• Firm ride
• Steering could be better
• Lacklustre engines

The stylish Peugeot 3008 is great to drive and comfortable to ride in and very nice to look at. The interior is a little different from most, too, with that small steering wheel and a relatively high seating position. It's practical, smart and good value. Only a distinctly average showing in our latest What Car? Reliability Survey relegates it down our list.

"For a car devoid of a premium badge, I found the 3008's interior pretty stylish and plush." – Mark Pearson, used cars editor

We found 2023 Peugeot 3008 1.2 PureTech 130 Active, 22,756 miles, £19,400

Strengths

• Upmarket interior
• Standard safety kit
• Practicality

Weaknesses

• Vague controls
• Popular, so can be pricier than other used rivals
• Slow infotainment system
• Reliability a bit mixed

The Volkswagen Tiguan has regularly been one of the most popular family SUVs around. This second-generation version is beautifully made and finished, and is also a solid performer, with punchy engines that have no trouble carrying a car-load of people around (or towing a caravan). It's also refined, practical and spacious.

"I find the Tiguan an easy recommendation, because it's comfy, well built and well executed in general." – Oliver Young, used cars reporter

We found: 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan 1.5 TSI 150 Life, 35,801 miles, £19,350

Strengths

• Good to drive
• Refinement
• Smart interior

Weaknesses

• Rearmost seats in the Allspace model are very tight
• Handsome, but not very exciting to look at
• Reliability average

Car buyers do like a premium brand, and they don’t come much more blue-chip than BMW. The BMW X1 is great to drive, comes with bags of room inside and has a quality interior that features the excellent iDrive infotainment system (that's aided by a handy rotary controller). It's well equipped, too, and our 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey found the petrol-engined versions to be one of the most reliable family SUVs available.

"Like anyone I speak to who's experienced it, I found the X1's infotainment so easy to use, you wonder why more systems aren't as intuitive." – Mark Pearson, used cars editor

We found 2021 BMW X1 1.5 18i xLine sDrive, 27,100 miles, £19,799

Strengths

• Good to drive
• High-quality interior
• Spacious and practical

Weaknesses

• Lots of road noise
• Fairly pricey

Another great family SUV, the Seat Ateca is one of the very best of its kind to drive – feeling sure-footed on a challenging B-road, nimble on city streets and refined on a motorway. It’s also backed up by a cracking range of engines. Practicality is still a top priority: the doors open wide to make putting a child car seat in easier, the boot is big and the interior is spacious.

"Seat has crafted some stellar driving experiences before, so, when the Ateca made its debut, perhaps I should've seen its handling prowess coming." – Mark Pearson, used cars editor

We found 2023 Seat Ateca 1.0 TSI SE Technology, 1234 miles, £19,456

Strengths

• Spacious interior
• Class-leading handling
• Boot space pips rivals
• Good value used

Weaknesses

• Some rivals offer more flexible seating
• Interior isn’t that plush
• One or two are more economical

The Skoda Karoq just edges out its broadly similar sibling the Seat Ateca. It's extremely practical (even more so than the Ateca), plus it drives well and is excellent value for money. The ride is cosseting, and it's decently refined in town and on a motorway. The Karoq’s greatest asset, though, is its interior, which is flexible, smart and beautifully built, with loads of space for all your passengers.

"Skoda doesn't scrimp on space and the Karoq is no exception. When testing one out, my family and I very much appreciated the vast passenger space and big boot." – Mark Pearson, used cars editor

We found 2023 Skoda Karoq 1.0 TSI SE Drive, 18,849 miles, £19,290

Strengths

• Spacious and practical interior
• Comfortable ride
• Punchy engines

Weaknesses

• A little bland to drive
• Not as efficient as some
• VarioFlex seats optional on some models

The Kia Sportage delivers on what families demand from a mid-sized SUV and then some. Passengers of all sizes can fit comfortably in the front and back seats, plus the boot is vast and you can fold the back seats in a useful 40/20/40 split. The Sportage also has a lofty driving position for a grand view ahead.

There are fuel-sipping hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions available, but the entry-level (but still excellent) 1.6-litre petrol model is what you'll be looking at for this kind of money.

"The Sportage managed to cater for my family of four and, what's more, I was left with space and practicality to spare." – Mark Pearson, used cars editor

We found: 2022 Kia Sportage 1.6 T-GDi 2, 23,000 miles, £19,047

Strengths

• Smart interior
• Large boot
• Well equipped

Weaknesses

• Hybrid and plug-in hybrid are a tad expensive
• Auto gearboxes not the slickest
• Rear head room with panoramic roof not the best

Our top pick, the Volvo XC40 mixes style, space and comfort with cutting-edge safety. It's a highly desirable used choice, a car that oozes style both inside and out. It's a smooth and hushed performer, too, with a low level of wind and road noise, helping to make the interior a noticeably refined place in which to spend time. When it comes to interior quality, the XC40 is exceptionally classy. All the surfaces feel suitably upmarket, thanks to plush, soft-faced materials, and everything feels robust, too.

"For a family SUV, I thought the XC40 felt like it had quite a low centre of gravity, helping it corner well but without the need for super stiff, ride-damaging suspension to control its body movements." – Oliver Young, used cars reporter

We found: 2022 Volvo XC40 T3 Momentum, 31,100 miles, £18,897

Strengths

• Stylish interior
• Comprehensive safety kit
• Supple ride on most versions

Weaknesses

• Fiddly infotainment
• Lacks flexible rear-seat arrangement
• Some reliability reports were a little mixed

The Jeep Compass suffers from a fair few problems, such as unrefined engines, an unsettled ride and a cheap-feeling interior.