See all Motoring AdviceThere’s a lot of variety in the modern car world, but that also means that certain models might have fallen through the critical cracks – resulting in a selection of cars that is not always at the top of people’s used-buy lists, even if maybe they should be.
Here, trying to spread them out across various body types, we’ve picked our favourite underrated motors that ought to be considered.
Kia Picanto – city car
It’s easy to default to either the Peugeot 108, Citroen C1 or Toyota Aygo trio, or the Volkswagen Up, Skoda Citigo and SEAT Mii, when looking for a used city car, but the Koreans do this sort of compact car really well. The third-generation Picanto launched in 2017 and while it had a big facelift in 2023 to make the smallest Kia look like the company’s electric vehicles on the outside, the pre-update cars still had great styling. They also possess a refined and grown-up driving experience, with simple 1.0-litre and 1.2-litre petrol engines providing adequate performance with suitably low running costs. Reliability is also a strong point of the Picanto.
Suzuki Swift – supermini
A car which has always been on the periphery of the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo’s class is the Suzuki Swift, but it has slowly been evolving over the years, from a leftfield, budget alternative to the usual choices into a strong contender in its own right. An all-new Swift launched in 2023, but the Mk3 (2016-2023) that preceded it remains a brilliant little thing. Cheeky styling and even a ‘warm’ performance model called the Sport bring plenty of desirability to the Swift’s family, but the regular range of efficient petrol engines plus a generous level of equipment fitted to all models make this a great little runaround, while Suzuki’s reliability record is impressive too.
Mazda6 – family car
It’s not so much that the Mazda6 was underrated – critics generally loved it during its service life – but rather that it never gained quite the showroom success it deserved. This is a car with elegant exterior styling and one of the best cabins in the business, with lovely material finishing and spot-on ergonomics. With the third-generation car, built from 2012 right up until 2023, there’s plenty of choice, including strong turbodiesel engines and smooth petrol options if you prefer, and with facelifts in both 2015 and 2018, and plenty of tweaking over the decade it was on sale, the Mazda6 just got better and better as time went on.
Volvo S90 – executive car
When you think of Volvos, you tend to think of its estates and SUVs, such as the V60, V90, XC60 and XC90. And when you think of executive cars, you normally default to something German, from Audi, BMW or Mercedes instead. Hence why the S90, made from 2016 until 2024, is often unfairly overlooked. It might have slightly fussy rear-light clusters, but that’s about where criticism of the big Volvo saloon ends. It has one of the most opulent, relaxing interiors in the business, with the comfiest seats going (a long-held Volvo hallmark), and a range of powerful petrol, diesel and even plug-in hybrid drivetrains, the latter with up to 455hp if you so require. Get it on air suspension and with a luxury-focused cabin with the light leather and blond wood.
Toyota C-HR – crossover
When the original C-HR launched in 2016, Toyota had been through a prolonged period of mediocrity – it made very worthy, but very dull cars. The C-HR was part of a wave of more vibrant products from the Japanese outfit, though, that transformed Toyota’s overall desirability, and what was amazing was that it did that while being a compact crossover underneath, not always the most exciting of vehicles. However, the C-HR’s genius was that it was great fun to drive, even in its more modest 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol or 1.8-litre hybrid forms, and it looked good on the outside. There’s also a high-quality cabin to enjoy, so about the only drawback is that its swoopy exterior shape does limit outright boot space compared to some rivals. But if you don’t need a huge cargo area, the C-HR could be the perfect car for you.
Citroen C5 Aircross – large crossover
We always felt the C5 Aircross struggled because it was a large crossover, but it never had the option of seven seats. That wouldn’t be a problem for rival manufacturers, which typically offered some form of seven-seat SUV or crossover above their natural competitors for the C5, but Citroen still believed in the good old MPV, so the Aircross was the largest SUV-like machine you could get from it. However, nothing on this list can ride with the same grace and dignity as the C5 Aircross. Its comfort-oriented suspension means keener drivers need not apply for this particular crossover, but if all you want is something good-looking and nicely appointed within, that makes every road feel like it has been recently resurfaced, you won’t do any better for the money than this plush Citroen family-mover.
Alfa Romeo Stelvio – premium SUV
In the list of premium, midsized SUVs, there’s a roll-call of obviousness, if you will: the Audi Q5, the BMW X3, the Mercedes GLC, the Volvo XC60, the Porsche Macan and the Lexus NX. All of these are perfectly fine vehicles, you understand, but the Alfa Romeo Stelvio seems, for some strange reason, to be left out of this group. And that doesn’t seem right to us, because it’s quite brilliant to drive from base model to range-topper. However, you don’t need the Quadrifoglio to enjoy the Stelvio, as it’s still lovely to live with in its ordinary petrol and diesel forms. Admittedly, you’re better off going for a 2020-onwards version, as Alfa made big improvements to the interior quality of the SUV at this point, but even an earlier 2016-2020 car makes a great used buy if you’re after something a little different and more interesting than the norm.
BMW 2 Series Active/Gran Tourer - MPV
BMW came incredibly late to the MPV game, but when it did the 2 Series Active Tourer (shorter wheelbase, five seats onboard) and Gran Tourer (longer wheelbase, seven seats onboard) were people carriers in the true BMW tradition… in that they drove brilliantly and had an array of powerful drivetrains at their disposal. Thankfully, the German company hadn’t forgotten that MPVs should be practical first and foremost, before anyone assesses how well they go around a corner, and so the Active and Gran Tourers had widely configurable interiors with plenty of useful storage space throughout the passenger compartment. These two originals went out of production in 2021, with only the five-seat Active Tourer replaced by an all-new model (still on sale today) by BMW, but that means that second-hand prices for the first-generation MPVs from Munich are at very reasonable levels these days.
Audi TT – sports coupe
This might seem an odd choice on a list of underrated cars, but across all three generations and the quarter of a century it was on sale, from 1998 until 2003, the Audi TT had plenty of merits – yet it never set the enthusiast driver’s world alight. Not even in its more powerful S and RS derivatives could the TT persuade people to choose it instead of a Porsche Boxster or Cayman, or even a Mazda MX-5. But we think the TT offers plenty of joy to the person behind its wheel, and you don’t even need to go for the super-expensive, 400hp RS model in order to experience that. A good Mk3 (2014-2023) Roadster with the 2.0-litre TFSI petrol engine will provide a truly memorable ownership experience, complete with all of Audi’s traditional interior build-quality brilliance and enviable kerb appeal, and all for a perfectly acceptable second-hand price as well.
SEAT Leon Sportstourer - estate
We’re not the biggest fans of estate cars here in Ireland, often typically preferring an SUV or a saloon instead, but if you need a lot of boot space and you don’t want to default to a crossover, you could do a lot worse than the Mk3 SEAT Leon Sportstourer (2012-2020). Its crisp, angular styling is a reflection of SEAT’s positioning in the Volkswagen Group as the sporty brand, but despite that ethos, the Leon remains practical – its 587-litre boot is decent for a car of this class, and means you don’t have to plump for the more obvious Skoda Octavia Combi instead. Smooth, turbocharged drivetrains were fitted to the Leon ST, as it was known in shorthand, and there were even high-power diesel and petrol derivatives, the latter wearing Cupra badging. Those wanting a more rugged look could search out the Leon X-Perience, a short-lived off-road-themed version of the ST that had lots of black plastic body cladding, a raised ride height and 4Drive all-wheel drive.