Motoring expert Richard Aucock* reviews his seven top car picks that are available on the Motability Scheme this quarter, including long-range electric cars, safe and sturdy cars for the under-25s and desirable all-rounders for no Advance Payment.
The new car market is changing in 2025. The drive to zero emissions means the car industry is switching over to electric. Lots of new electric cars, also known as EVs, are now being launched. The UK’s commitment to phase out regular petrol and diesel cars from 2030 is driving this.
Many new electric cars are available for low or even no Advance Payment. If you have a driveway, your first electric car lease includes a home charger and standard installation. This is the cheapest charging option. It can save you a lot of money compared to running a petrol or diesel car.
If you don’t have a driveway, you will get a bp pulse subscription included in your lease instead. This is Britain’s largest public charging network. Some of these chargepoints offer better charging rates, and some are free. All Scheme customers also get a free Motability Go Charge card. This gives access to more than 50,000 public electric car chargers.
However, if you’re not yet ready to make the switch to electric, don’t worry. There’s still a broad range of petrol cars available on the Motability Scheme. This is part of a mission to offer the right car for everyone, no matter what your mobility needs. In this guide, I have included petrol-powered cars with big boots and economical hybrids that are perfect for the city.
No matter what new Motability Scheme car you choose, you will get the same all-inclusive leasing package. The package covers all the major costs of motoring, including car insurance, servicing and routine repairs. It also includes car tax and breakdown cover. This makes it the cheapest way to drive a new car in the UK.
These are my seven top choices of cars this quarter. They show the sheer breadth of choice available on the Scheme to suit all independent mobility needs. Read on to be inspired about what could be your next new car!
Ford Puma
My top choice for no Advance Payment
The Ford Puma is the best-selling new car in the UK. Thousands of customers choose it every month, and they cannot all be wrong! It is the most accessible new Ford on sale, and effectively replaces the famous Ford Fiesta. The Ford Puma still has compact dimensions but its taller body helps make access easier.
Why is it so popular?
The Ford Puma is a stylish and good-looking small SUV. The curvaceous design is a real highlight. The facelifted interior is more high-tech, too. A large touchscreen dominates the dashboard, while sturdy steering wheel buttons help with ease of use.
The Ford Puma has a good driving position and decent rear seat space. Boot space is a real highlight, with 456 litres of space making it bigger than many much larger cars. The huge ‘MegaBox’ below the boot floor is a clever practical touch too. This Ford Puma uses the latest mHEV hybrid petrol engine, giving everyday power and official fuel economy of more than 52mpg.
Alternatives to consider: The Nissan Juke is another stylish small SUV that is available for no Advance Payment. A rival to the Ford Puma, it has the added appeal of being built in Britain. This version has the latest easier-to-use interior and is available in some bright and fun paint colours.
Kia Sorento
My top choice of 7-seater
£3,999 Advance Payment
The Kia Sorento is a full-size 7-seater SUV with a premium appearance that’s a match for posh brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz. It has recently been facelifted, so has the firm’s latest high-tech front end design. It was also improved within, and there were updates below the surface, too.
Why is it so popular?
The Kia Sorento has real appeal as a 7-seater. This big, tall SUV has high seats across all three rows, giving passengers a superb view out. It feels safe and secure as a result. There’s lots of legroom in the middle row, and the two seats in the third row can also accommodate adults. All seats fold flat easily, with an auto-fold function for the sliding second-row seats. ISOFIX child seat top tethers feature in both second and third row seats.
The Kia Sorento has premium car levels of equipment. The air conditioning extends to rear seat passengers, and the touchscreen system has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This version has the petrol hybrid engine, with a standard automatic gearbox. It has plenty of power to handle seven-up drives. The clever hybrid system gives combined fuel economy of over 42mpg as well. As a full hybrid, it doesn’t need to be plugged in, either.
Alternatives to consider: If you want a 7-seater on the Motability Scheme for no Advance Payment, look no further than the Dacia Jogger. It has three rows of cleverly arranged seats, giving room for up to seven people. They are easy to remove too, so you benefit from a large boot when you don’t need a 7-seater.
Honda Jazz
My top choice for city driving
No Advance Payment
The Honda Jazz is a car that’s really well-liked by its owners. Many of them stick with the Jazz because no other new car on sale can match its appeal. The latest Honda Jazz has a hybrid engine, which combines great economy with eco-friendly low-speed electric driving.
Why is it so popular?
The Honda Jazz is a great car for city driving because of its design. At less than 4.1 metres long, it is a compact size, yet interior space is superb. Rear seat space is particularly surprising, even for tall adults. The 304-litre boot is practical, and the clever ‘Magic Seats’ flip and fold in several useful configurations. You definitely should check them out in the dealer showroom!
Another Honda Jazz strong point is excellent visibility. The windscreen is thoughtfully designed to give excellent front and side vision, so you have a panoramic view of what’s ahead. This makes it extremely easy to drive, even on busy city roads. The engine is punchy, and the automatic transmission makes it easy to drive. Official fuel economy of nearly 63mpg is another strong suit. Your motoring costs could be cut significantly. The Jazz is particularly efficient in the city thanks to its ability to automatically switch into electric mode.
Alternatives to consider: The Kia Picanto and Hyundai i10 are good choices if you want a really compact car for city driving. Both are particularly small on the outside, measuring around 3.6 metres long, which means they’re easy to park. As they’re a bit narrower than most cars, getting in and out in tight parking spaces is easier too.
Hyundai Kona Electric
My top choice of electric car
No Advance Payment
The Hyundai Kona Electric is an excellent electric car currently available on the Motability Scheme for no Advance Payment. Notably, the design of the Hyundai Kona Electric is almost identical to other petrol and hybrid-powered Kona models. This means you won’t stand out as much for driving an electric car. Some drivers really like this.
Why is it so popular?
The Hyundai Kona Electric is a very modern-looking car. It is well proportioned and the sleek design is a step on from the previous Kona Electric. An overall length of 4.35 metres means its size is well-balanced. The dedicated electric car platform also opens up plenty of space inside. It feels open-plan and airy, with lots of room in both front and rear seats. The generous 466-litre boot expands to 1,300 litres with the rear seats folded.
This Hyundai Kona Electric has a good range of 319 miles from its 65.4kWh battery. The sat nav includes a clever function that visually shows you how far you can drive with the remaining charge in the battery. I found this really reassuring. The system will even keep a look-out for nearby chargers as you drive, so you can always be directed to one at the touch of a button. This can help reduce range anxiety.
Alternatives to consider: The distinctive-looking Kia EV3 is another family-friendly electric SUV. It is the current World Car of the Year, with more than 100 journalists voting it their pick of all the new cars on sale in 2025.
Skoda Fabia
My top choice for under 25s
No Advance Payment
The Skoda Fabia is an excellent small car. It competes in the ‘supermini’ new car sector, and is usefully larger and roomier than many of its rivals. The version I’ve chosen here is the stylish SE Edition, which has useful extra equipment that the under-25s will find really useful.
Why is it so popular?
This Skoda Fabia is fitted with the 1.0-litre TSI 116 petrol engine. Because it is turbocharged, it has reassuring pulling power, so it won’t feel out of its depth even on the motorway. Young drivers will like the confidence this provides. The engine is great on fuel too, averaging nearly 56mpg on the official fuel economy test.
This Skoda Fabia SE Edition has a large touchscreen display in the centre of the dash. It wirelessly links with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay devices, which is a really useful feature. I like the stylish two-spoke steering wheel, and keyless engine start/stop adds to its convenience. There are also few small cars as roomy as this. Front and rear seat space is excellent and the 380-litre boot is vast. It’s a similar size to that in a Volkswagen Golf, a car from the class above.
Alternatives to consider: The Hyundai Bayon is another small car that thinks big. It has an airy feel inside and its boot is bigger than many other small cars. It is another car available on the Motability Scheme for no Advance Payment. What’s more, under-25s can drive it.
Renault Captur
My top choice of car with a big boot
No Advance Payment
The Renault Captur is a well-loved small SUV from the French brand. It is compact on the outside, measuring a city-friendly 4,239mm long. But it is bigger where it matters, on the inside. Not only does it have a roomy interior, it also has a surprisingly big boot.
Why is it so popular?
The Renault Captur is a winner for big boot space. It has a standard sliding rear seat, which moves backwards and forwards through a 160mm range. Even with the seat slid fully back, for maximum rear legroom, the boot has a 484-litre capacity. Boot space with the rear seat slid fully forwards grows to a remarkable 616 litres. That’s bigger than many much larger full-size SUVs! Fold the rear seat down, and it expands to a huge 1,596 litres.
The Renault Captur is appealing in other ways. The economical 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine officially returns almost 48mpg. The portrait-format touchscreen is easy to use and uses Google built-in tech. This brings Google Maps, the Google Assistant and a choice of more than 50 apps from the Google Play store. I found the Renault Captur fun to drive too, with well-judged ride comfort and good stability on the motorway.
Alternatives to consider: The KGM Tivoli is another interesting small SUV with a big boot. It has over 420 litres of space, and the well-shaped, high-set load area is easy to access as well.
Hyundai Inster
My top choice for best accessibility
No Advance Payment
The Hyundai Inster is a distinctive small electric car with stylish crossover SUV appearance. It measures just 3,825mm long, making it one of the most compact new cars on the outside. This is great news for accessibility in crowded city centres, and there are even more surprises on the inside.
Why is it so popular?
The Hyundai Inster’s tall design means many people find it really easy to get in and out of. The seats are high off the ground and the tall door openings make it simple to step in and out. The seats are generously sized and as comfortably supportive as a much larger car. I found the view out was excellent too, with great visibility over the bonnet and through the side windows. Even rear seat space is good. The rear seats fold fully flat, giving 1,059 litres of load space. The front passenger seat can fold fully flat, too.
This Hyundai Inster has the 49kWh Long Range battery. It gives an official range of up to 223 miles in this well-equipped ‘2’ grade. Using a public rapid charger, it can go from 10% to 80% charge in just 30 minutes. It’s a lovely car to drive, feeling grown up and refined. I like the upmarket dashboard too, which takes influence from Hyundai’s larger SUVs.
Alternatives to consider: The Dacia Sandero Stepway is another small car with good accessibility. Compared to the regular Sandero, it has raised suspension, so is higher off the ground. This helps make it easier to get in and out of.
Interested in joining the Scheme?
Exchange your qualifying mobility allowance for a brand-new car, Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV), scooter or powered wheelchair with the Motability Scheme.
You’ll get a full package. We’ll cover your insurance, servicing and breakdown.
Am I eligible?
You need to receive one of the qualifying mobility allowances, with at least 12 months left, to be eligible to join the Motability Scheme.
How to join
Ready to join the 860,000 people across the UK already enjoying an all-inclusive Motability Scheme lease? Find out how to join now.
Want to learn more?
We can also send you a free information pack about how the Scheme works. You can request one below:
And be sure to stay in the loop with the latest Scheme news, by signing up to our monthly e-newsletter. We’ll keep you updated with the latest cars on the Scheme, plus other everyday tips and useful accessibility information.
*About the writer
Richard Aucock has been a professional motoring writer since 1998. He’s written about the car industry for the Motability Scheme since 2009. He has many key roles in the motoring world, including the UK juror for AUTOBEST, a juror for the World Car Awards, and Vice Chair of the Guild of Motoring Writers. Richard is also the director of Motoring Research, a leading UK publisher in the industry.
Related Articles
Latest Motability Scheme Price List 2025
What the changing car market means for you
If you care for someone with a disability, the Motability Scheme could help
