Car choice: Kia Picanto or VW up!

Peter Mays needs a car for his daughter who has just passed her test. It ‘just needs to be practical’, for around £4,000

(Kia)

A car for the head

Two doors are all very well, but an extra two make a big difference. The Kia Picanto looks very sharp and is fantastically practical. It feels like a proper grown-up hatchback which is a great achievement given its tiny size. Superb value as a new buy, it just gets better once it becomes a used car. We found a 2013 1.0 1 at a Kia dealer, and here is a main dealer car for £4,195 that has 53,828 miles under its wheels. Zero road tax is a big attraction, but as it is freshly listed it may not stay available for long.

(VW (VW)

A car for the heart

The Volkswagen up! This is still quite new and fresh, but it is a lovely little car. Not only does it look great, every element of this car has been thought through. The up! is effectively a miniature Golf, which is a very good thing indeed. Here is a city car that you can’t help falling in love with. We found a 2015 1.0 at a dealer for £4,295. A neat white three-door model that had covered 70,627 miles and just one previous owner. Annual road tax is £20, the perfect first car.

If you would like James Ruppert to help with your car choice, email james@freecarmag.com. For more motoring views visit freecarmag.com

Search for used cars