See all Motoring AdviceThere are a few simple rules for picking a car for a learner driver. Primarily, it has to be cheap to insure. Now, no Irish insurer is going to give you a bargain price for any learner driver premium, but by keeping things such as engine size as low as possible, preferably around 1.0 litres, that softens the blow.
Secondly, you’ll want something robust, as learner drivers will all make the odd mistake. Something with a sturdy clutch and gearbox is necessary, and if it comes with easily-repaired bumpers and door skins, that’s a bonus.
Finally, small is good. There is a school of thought that if you learn to drive in a big car, you’ll be more able to drive any other car as you move forward with your driving life, and that idea has more than a little merit. However, on the flip side, a small car generally comes with a small engine (see insurance issue, above) and will be easier to manoeuvre when practicing techniques such as reversing around a corner and parallel parking.
So, what are the best cars for learner drivers?
Dacia Sandero
The Dacia Sandero is the ideal learner driver car for a number of reasons, the primary one being that you can pick one up for such a small amount of cash that you won’t care much if the learner in question bashes it off a gate post or two. Dacias are designed to be cheap to run and repair, so anything that does get broken can be cheaply replaced, while the more recent Sandero — introduced in 2013 — comes with the perfect engine, a 1.0-litre three-cylinder unit which is cheap to insure and costs buttons to fuel. The older Sandero also has the option of an ancient 1.2-litre petrol engine, which won’t cost much more, if anything, in insurance and has spectacularly cheap replacement parts.
Nissan Micra
Long the car of choice for driving schools thanks to its light, easy controls and its dependable engines, the Micra of choice here is the ‘K13’ model introduced in 2010. It’s a simpler car than the previous Micra (the curvy one with the goggle-eyed lights) and it’s robust and easy to maintain. The basic engine was a 1.0-litre, but just beware as quite a few Japanese imports are knocking around with automatic gearboxes, which aren’t much use for a learner driver.
Volkswagen Polo
What’s true for the Polo is also true for the Skoda Fabia and SEAT Ibiza, both of which can be found for less cash than the Polo. So why choose the Volkswagen? Simple — it has a tremendous reputation for strength and quality, and it’s one of the safest small cars that you can buy. Not that the Skoda nor SEAT are any less safe, but if you’re a parent waving away your child and spouse as they head out for some lessons, there’s a particularly reassuring feeling from watching them trundle off in a Polo. The fifth-generation Polo, introduced in 2009, is the one to go for here. It’s old enough that it’ll be cheap to buy, but still has enough modern safety kit and construction for peace of mind. The engine of choice is the 1.0-litre MPI, whose 60hp is going to struggle to get anyone into trouble, although the older-tech 1.4-litre would be a cheaper engine to maintain.
Hyundai i10
The tiny Hyundai majors on learner-driver goodness thanks to its robust engines. The third-generation version is ideal from the point of view of its insurance-friendly 1.0-litre engine, but it’s probably too new a car for it to be cheap enough for a learner purchase. Think instead then of the previous model. Most of those came with a 1.2-litre engine, but the insurance still ought not to be too hot, and there was a 1.0-litre option as well. Hyundai’s mechanical robustness is legendary, and while any of this generation of i10 will have run out of its original five-year warranty, that shouldn’t put you off. This is still a car which will cost buttons to run, and its tiny size makes it great if you’re stuck with city centre learning. All of that goes equally for the mechanically identical Kia Picanto.
MINI One
Using a MINI as a learner car does bust a couple of our rules, chiefly that it’s not the cheapest thing in the world to run, and some of the major components can be quite expensive to replace if anything goes wrong. On the upside, anyone learning to drive in a MINI will truly be learning the finer points of driving skill, thanks to the combo of sharp steering and BMW-engineered suspension. Track down a MINI One from the 2013-2024 model and you’ll actually get a 1.2-litre engine borrowed from Peugeot, which gives decent performance and excellent fuel economy.
Opel Corsa
The Opel Corsa is another long-held driving school favourite, thanks to robust German build quality and frugal engines. The Corsa built between 2014 and 2019 is the best choice here. It did have a 1.0-litre turbocharged engine option, but actually the older, simpler 1.2-litre won’t be much more expensive to insure, and will still cost buttons to run. The ancient 1.4-litre would also be a good choice from the point of view of cheap parts, but few Corsas registered in Ireland would have had that engine.
Volkswagen Up
Another car with multiple siblings — the Skoda Citigo and SEAT Mii in this instance — the Up is one of those cars that seems to have been specifically engineered for learner drivers. Its tiny, boxy shape has lots of big windows, so it’s easy to see out of and a peach to park. It has light, easy-going controls and a sweet little 1.0-litre engine that sips fuel and passes unnoticed beneath insurers’ noses. It’s also robust and well put together, and the handy little clamp on the dashboard for holding a phone gives you a cheap touchscreen. It’s also, like the MINI, a blast to drive, so your learner might actually enjoy themselves…
Ford Fiesta
The sixth-generation model, in production from 2009 to 2017, is the pick of the bunch here. There was the option of the 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine, which is perfect for insurance, but it suffers from reliability issues. Better then to go with the super-smooth 1.25 ‘Sigma’ engine, developed originally for Ford by Yamaha, and it is reliable and frugal. The Fiesta is arguably the best car here to drive, with even better steering and handling balance than the Mini, so any learner driver would be lucky to have one.
Toyota Aygo
The Aygo could almost have been designed as a learner car. It was ruthlessly designed and engineered down to a price when new (all-glass tailgate held up by a single strut, cheap plastics, that kind of thing) which makes it perfect for our purposes — anything that breaks or falls off is cheaply replaced. The 68hp 1.0-litre engine is also a lovely little unit, breezing past the 50mpg mark with ease, but with enough power to put in some main-road practice driving. Being a Toyota, it’s a reliable car too, which eases any running cost worries.
Renault Twingo
The last generation of Twingo — the slightly boxy four-door model that shared a chassis with the Smart ForTwo — never sold all that well, but it makes for a decent learner’s device thanks to cheap Renault servicing costs, and the fact that it has an incredibly small turning circle that makes practicing three-point turns a doddle. As a bonus, your learner driver can rightfully claim that they’ve passed their test in a rear-engined car, as the Twingo’s engine is shoved under the boot. It has all the engineering strength of a Corn Flakes box, but the low weight makes it a genuine pleasure to drive, in spite of the engine’s underpowered nature.