Great cars that pass the ULEZ - and some great bargains that don't

Petrols must comply with Euro 4, which became mandatory in January 2006, while diesels must comply with Euro 6, which became mandatory in September 2015. If you drive a non-compliant car into the ULEZ, you must pay a £12.50 daily fee or face a £120 fine, although there are exemptions, including for disabled people, small businesses, charities and historic vehicles (those over 40 years old).

Thankfully, there are plenty of appealing options if you want to avoid the charge. Let's take a look at the grest used cars that pass the ULEZ - and also some cars that don't and as a result can be great bargains if London's ULEZ doesn't impact you - Read on:

These saloons, coupés and estates combine premium feel, practicality and strong driving dynamics. We found a rather tempting 2003 3.0-litre 330Ci Sport for just £3000, while newer petrols from 2010 to 2013 are priced around £7000.

If you want a ULEZ-compliant car with a bit of a premium edge, the A-Class hatchback is a strong option, with plenty of technology and a well-appointed interior, even if the driving experience could be better. Cars from 2013 come in at around £5000 to £7000.

The popularity of the Focus means there are plenty of used hatches and estates available. We found several used compliant Mk3 cars with fewer than 50,000 miles priced from around £5000.

You can buy a new example of this Renault-sired hatchback for only £13,795, but delve into the classifieds and you will find compliant post-2013 Sanderos for less than £3500. Just be careful, because some early diesels won’t make the cut.

If you’re buying a car for the city, why not a city car? The baby VW (and its Skoda Citigo and Seat Mii siblings) is a great choice, with a selection of 1.0-litre petrol engines, some of them turbocharged. You can pick one up for less than £4000, although if you ever venture outside of London and onto a motorway, we would recommend upping your budget to £5000 for a more powerful model.

You have seemingly endless options when it comes to the Fiesta, and it’s a fantastic choice for a ULEZ-compliant runabout. Our top tip would be a low-mileage Mk7 for around £7000. That’s pricier than many small cars on this list, but you get that lovely Ecoboost turbo petrol engine and fantastic handling.

The Yaris is pretty spacious and well equipped, and early cars can be picked up for less than £4000. Many have more than 100,000 miles on the clock, but it’s a Toyota, so that’s just getting warmed up. Stretch to £6500 for a post-2014 car – or more for a frugal hybrid – with 70,000 miles.

As most petrol models produced from January 2006 are ULEZ-compliant, the majority of Mini hatches make the cut and high-mileage cars can be found for as little as £1000. With post-2016 diesels compliant, we found a Cooper D with 84,000 miles showing for £7500.

There’s a lot to like about the little Panda, even if some of the examples in the classifieds are pretty basic. Prices start at £1300, which is an absolute bargain for a car made after 2010. A 2015 petrol will set you back around £5000.

You don’t have to go electric to meet the ULEZ regulations, but it’s the ultimate way to future-proof yourself. On sale since 2012, the Zoe is a venerable veteran of the EV ranks, and early examples will cost from around £6000. 

Most are low-mileage as well, although if you buy an early car, it will come with the small 22kWh battery with a real-world range of around 100 miles. Beware that some batteries were originally leased by Renault, so you might need to pay a monthly fee to use your car – although many owners have since purchased the battery packs outright.

Want an affordable ULEZ-compliant EV but on a tight budget? Well, how about a quadricycle? Admittedly, the £7695 Ami has a narrow use case, given it has only two seats, a top speed of 28mph, a 40-mile range and essentially no cargo space. But for short solo commutes in congested London, it might be all the car – sorry, quadricycle – you need.

MPVs may not be the height of fashion, but used examples offer an affordable route to carrying loads of passengers around the ULEZ area. The Galaxy offers surprisingly strong dynamics and a decent range of engines. Most petrol options from 2001-on are ULEZ-compliant and early cars can be had for around £1000. Beware of heavily used and abused former cabs, though.

One of the first SUVs to be targeted at city dwellers, the RX offers a premium interior and even economical hybrid power. Our money would go on a second-generation car (built from 2003 to 2009), which is available for as little as £2500. Up your budget to £8000 and you can still get one with fewer than 80,000 miles on the clock.

The Berlingo is the best van-based MPV going, offering almost unfathomable amounts of space while not feeling as agricultural as you might expect. And you don’t need an electric version to be ULEZ-compliant: old petrol examples are thin on the ground but obtainable for only around £1000, while post-2016 diesels start from about £6000.

The sixth-generation Passat is a supple, refined and spacious saloon that remains a classy pick almost 20 years later – and you can add practical to that list if you go for the estate. We found a 2006 saloon with the 2.0-litre turbo diesel – good for more than 50mpg on the motorway – and 72,000 miles for sale at £2190.

This is a Yank tank with a difference: about 20% of the 300C was derived from the 1996 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, which made it a fine long-distance cruiser. An example with the Mercedes-sourced 3.0-litre diesel V6, showing fewer than 100,000 miles on the dash, is yours for £2400. There was a rather menacing-looking estate version, too.

Just £1500 gets you into what was once one of the world’s finest grand tourers. If you are able to up your budget a little, we’ve found one with the same diesel V6 as in the 300C (left) for £4995, it has a full service history and just two former keepers. Having racked up only 59,000 miles in 17 years, there’s plenty of life left in it. And it’s still a proper looker.

You might think the ULEZ expansion affects Londoners only, but actually it’s great news for those everywhere else who love a bargain. With thousands more motorists suddenly facing charges to go about their daily business, non-compliant cars have flooded the used market, sending prices into free-fall. Here, then, are the best deals we found ahead of the ULEZ expansion:

Legendary for its ability to ration fuel, the 1.2 TDI Bluemotion version of the Mk5 Polo would return a ludicrous 91.1mpg on the motorway and a still-remarkable 67.3mpg around town. You won’t pay any VED to run it, either. Nice ones – albeit with high mileages – can be had for around £5000.

Need a cheap second car for quick trips to the shops or to teach a young’un how to drive? It doesn’t get much better than the Mk1 Yaris. We found a 1999 petrol with 65,000 miles for just £995.

It may be as basic as ‘proper’ cars get, but if all you need is something to pop to the post office in, it’s hard to beat the original Fortwo. The CDI version’s torquey 0.8-litre diesel lump offers decent off-the-line urge at town speeds, and you get VED exemption to boot. Get a good one from £3000.

The MX-5 is the definitive B-road car not only because it’s brilliant to drive but also because it has historically been so cheap that you don’t get overwhelmed with mechanical sympathy. Early Mk2 cars can be picked up for a mere £1000. They are generally reliable but are notorious for quickly rusting when kept outdoors.

This is a cracking little roadster, thanks to solid fundamentals and Rover’s fizzy K-series engine. Head gaskets are a problem, as are chassis corrosion and the complex Hydragas suspension system. Thus there are myriad cheap fixer-uppers out there, if you’re willing to put the work in. We found one with plenty of rust-prevention work and 71,000 miles on the clock for £1400.

This tall supermini’s lofty mission resonates especially strongly today: the whole point of its lightweight, aerodynamic construction was to save fuel. As with the best classics, it was a terrible failure in its day, so it’s unlike anything to have come since. We found a 1.6-litre petrol example in decent cosmetic shape and with 120,000 miles for £1450.

This was a great car to drive in its era, outclassing both the Peugeot 306 and the Mk3 Volkswagen Golf in the twisties. At £895, the ZX we found is a great prospect for a low-stakes project that you can plug away at over time.

Arguably the final and best car to have come from the BMW of yesteryear, the E39-generation 5 Series still offers a tremendous drive, and its styling is wonderfully restrained compared with today’s pig-nosed equivalent. Asking prices range from £1000 for one in desperate need of TLC to £9000 for an immaculate example with the M Sport package.

This is the car that saved Porsche, thanks largely to its fine engine and fantastic dynamic character. A tad under £4000 is enough for a well-presented one with a decent service history and a couple of quality-of-life modifications, such as an aux input for the stereo. Prices bottom out at around £3200, but you won’t want the hassle of buying a rough one.

Here we’re talking about the long-lived XJ, a big American SUV that has all the charm of a classic Land Rover at a fraction of the cost. It’s well on its way to cult status and exceptionally capable off road, especially after a couple of choice modifications. About £3000 gets you a decent runner, while £7500 buys an immaculate example.

Most of these have stratospheric mileages at this point, but if you want a 4x4 that’s as stylish as it is capable, you will struggle to do better than a Discovery 3. You can get a tatty one for £1500, but we would spend around double that on a car that has all its service stamps, because this is the polar opposite of the Toyota in terms of trustworthiness. Pay special note to whether the timing belt has been changed, as it’s an expensive job. 

This big, traditional off-roader is famed for its dependability, such that one with 100,000 miles can be considered barely run-in. Around £4500 gets you into a Cruiser that’s cosmetically rough with a suspect history, while nicer examples are £10,000. It’s great if you just need something that works, regardless of the conditions.