10 interesting used cars for under £5k we found this week

Turns out you can get a lot of Fiat Panda for your £5k these days, with low mileage versions available and 1.2-litre engines that only command £35 per year in road tax. And yet, the one you really want is the 4x4. Who knows when you might need to cross a slippery field or a very small stream? Best to be prepared for every eventuality.

This is a 2014 car with a cheery 105,000 miles covered so far.

Want something a little hotter from the same stable? Early examples of the modern-day Abarth 500 have dipped comfortably below the £5,000 mark. Has anything this small ever made quite so much noise?

This is a 2009 car with just 71,000 miles on it.

Weren’t expecting that, were you? Yes, we love fast Volvo estates here at TG, but nobody wants to sound like a broken record just recommending the same thing over and over again do they? 

So why not try something completely different… a fast Volvo saloon. The R replaced the T-5R and for one year only a manual gearbox and slightly more powerful (250bhp rather than 240bhp) 2.3-litre five-cylinder engine were available. 

With 192,000 miles on the clock this one has just been run in.

The Smart Roadster Coupe was based on a stretched ForTwo platform, was powered by an 81bhp 698cc three-cylinder and used a clunky six-speed automated manual gearbox, but is there a cheaper way into proper breadvan ownership? We’re not sure there is now that Polo Breadvan prices have taken off. 

This smart Smart seems a bargain at £4,995.

We did say these were going to be interesting used cars. They don’t come much more interesting than the Nissan Cube in this price range, and the one we’ve found is a corker…

Check out this bewinged example that’s done 109,000 miles.

The Saxo was common as muck on UK roads in the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s, but most have either rusted to dust or been wrapped around trees by teenagers in the years since. 

That makes this completely original VTR a bit of a find, and it’s only got 72,000 miles on the clock.

Look! Three-spoke alloy wheels! Today is a good day. 

The Aero was the sporty iteration of the Saab 9000 and this one has covered a cool 192,000 miles.

Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division might be churning out some impressive road cars at the moment, but it hasn’t come out of nowhere. Previously its T-Sport versions of the Yaris and Corolla were buzzy and interesting hot hatches. Reliable too. 

This 89,000-mile facelift Corolla should be good fun to own.

If it’s a 2000s hot hatch you’re looking for though, could you really turn down the chance of buying an EP3 Type R? Rumour has it some are still wearing their original rear tyres thanks to a complete lack of contact with tarmac. 

Prices seem to have crept up recently, but this one is in budget and has covered 140,000 miles.

Need something with a similar vibe but easier to get in and out of? The early Mini Countryman in Cooper S spec could be had with 181bhp and a manual gearbox. Nice.

This one has had the timing chain and cylinder head replaced after over 100,000 miles.