Leasing can be an affordable, practical route into having your own private car, but it's not always easy to tell the good deals from the duds.
The experts at our sister magazine What Car? work hard to find you the best pay-monthly schemes, taking into account mileage allowance, montly outlay, contract length and initial deposit. We'll be bringing you the best deals they find from a different segment each week.
This week, family hatchbacks:
1. Volkswagen Golf 1.5 TSI Evo Life
£1333 deposit, £222 per month, 48 months, 8000 miles per year
This new Mk8 Golf is a bit of a peach. It’s still one of the best all-round family hatches you can buy, or lease, as here. It’s not the cheapest, but it offers a great interior, smooth ride, great handling and strong engines.
2. Seat Leon 1.5 TSI Evo SE
£980 deposit, £162 per month, 48 months, 8000 miles per year
In many ways as good as the closely related Golf but cheaper and dressed in a sharper suit, the Leon is another of our favourites. It handles well, and although its interior has been improved, its sportier mien will appeal to those looking to cut a dash in the family hatch class.
3. Ford Focus 1.0 Ecoboost 125 ST Line
£1176 deposit, £196 per month, 48 months, 8000 miles per year
Once, if you wanted a family car that really handled well, the Focus was numero uno. The latest one is not so up front about it but it does uphold that reputation and its engines are good. The cabin is unremarkable, though.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Firstly you don't want a 48m lease on most cars as they'll be out of warranty during the lease period (few exceptions). These cars may well have the longer warranty but I've not checked
Secondly, you want the lease to be cheaper than depreciation to be considered a good deal. Looking at the Kia here, you're paying £8907 for a car with a list price, going from your linked review, of between £9245 and £10220. I imagine with discount it'd be cheaper to buy the car outright than lease it for 4 years and then just hand it back.
Does anyone at autocar understand leasing? Maybe have a look at the leasing thread on your petrol head orientated sister site eh...
"Ensure" what exactly? ;-)
,,,,exactly.
Autocar scribes getting very sloppy these days!
How is the Ford Puma 1.0 Ecoboost 155 Titanium under £250 per month?
£3357 deposit plus £244 per month, total cost £12141 over 36 months
which I work out to be £337 per month
incidentally, £12141 is 58% of the £21000 value of the car