CT's Top 10 Uni Cars Under £2k

Now, before you head off to campus there are some things you need to know. First off, hall of residence “beds” are barely big enough for one person, let alone two (hold that thought, we can help you with this later…).

Secondly, you don’t have to worry about paying back your enorrrrmous university loans for many years, so do have that 18th beer. Every night. For the first three months of term.

And thirdly, having a smallish budget for wheels to take to uni doesn’t mean you have to put up with a rust-peppered 0.9-litre sh*tbox that will make you campus clown within five minutes.

For a budget of two grand you’ve got a lot of choice. And even insurance on our top 10 is (vaguely) sane…trust us, we spent days probing the very depths of that well-known insurance company GoComparetheConfused.comMoneySuperMarket on your behalf.

10: Land Rover Discovery 2.5 TDi

Off roaders may be an acquired taste, but if you're going to get one, get a proper one like the Discovery. The Disco’ may be crude, expensive to run and slow, but you’ll be able to stuff loads of mates in the back plus tons of luggage and keep going through winter snow while X5 drivers are calling the AA. For the third time.

9: Daihatsu Sirion Rally 4

Yes, this may be a Car Throttle own goal on the campus clown front, but read that name again – see that “Rally” bit? Oi, no sniggering at the back. This Syrian not only packs a four wheel drive system but a rev happy engine which spins up to over 7,500rpm and it scampers to 60mph in just eight seconds – faster than anything else in our top 10. The Sirloin is an agile little beast and even got a decent review from the supercar savvy snobs at Evo magazine. That makes it good enough for us.

8: Ford Puma 1.6

Ford Pumas are no stranger to Car Throttle since resident Puma buff Mr Kew bought himself a 1.7 Puma a few months ago. While the 1.7 may put a big dent in your uni beer fund, the folks at Ford also made a 1.6 version which will save you a grand on insurance but still plaster a huge smile across your face. You may have to search hard to find a rust free specimen but do that and you’ve got yourself a sassy, cheap to run motor which you can drive with pride. And your mates won’t know you haven’t got the 1.7 engine under the bonnet.

7: Volvo V70 2.5 10v

If you watched Top Gear TV’s feature on the best cars for 17 year olds you will have seen Mr Clarkson tooling around in a humongous Volvo 940 turbo estate and we think he might just have been on to something. Ok, we couldn’t find a turbo V70 that wouldn’t bankrupt you with bonkers insurance, but we may be able to help with your uni sleeping arrangements. As we mentioned earlier university hall “beds” are miniscule. The back of a V70 however is not. We’re sure you can work out where we’re going with this......

6: Subaru Forester 2.0 AWD

Yes, the Subaru we all want is an Impreza with a huge turbocharger bolted onto its loins but the Forester’s halfway there packing all wheel drive tech and enough power to outdrag most similarly priced hatches. And it’s a handy size having enough room for four mates and the full Glasto’ kit but being small enough to park easily in town and throw around corners without toppling over.

5: Ford Sportka

The name might be ambitious but this cat-chomping, pigeon-pinging midget looks pretty slick thanks to chunky bumpers and bling wheels. It also has a big appetite for corners and enough power from its 1.6-litre engine to deal with the straights too. The Sportka may not be not clever but it’s definitely big fun.

4: Volkswagen Bora 2.0

You might think that no sane 18 year old would drive a Bora but there are several good reasons not to write it off. The Bora is exactly the same as the early noughties VW Golf if you strip its clothes off, but it packs shedloads more kit, has a bigger boot and costs much less to buy and insure than a Golf with the same engine. It’s a no brainer. So much of a no brainer that this is what I was driving at the ripe old age of 17 as I couldn’t afford a Golf. And despite the 2.0 badge and decent performance, the Bora is cheaper to insure than any of our other top 10.

3: MINI One

It’s reality check time: You can’t pick up a decent Cooper S or even a vanilla Cooper for our £2k budget. But if you search hard enough you could find yourself a One. While it may be the baby of the MINI family, the One still knows how to tackle a corner and how to make you feel special with its quirky interior. And then of course there’s those retro looks.

2: Hyundai Coupe 1.6

“Hyundai” might not get your motoring juices flowing like some other brands, but the Coupe is a bit of a looker and pretty wallet friendly too. The 1.6 is definitely more of a cruiser than a bruiser though it’s a real rocketship compared with the 1.0-litre Corsa your parents want you to be driving.

1: Ford Focus 2.0 Zetec

This Ford comes with another 2.0-litre engine under the bonnet but also surprisingly cheap insurance and low running costs. It’s also famous for its agile handling. Unlike the Hyundai, the Focus has more than enough power to make its chassis really dance plus a whole lot more space inside too. Of our top 10 the Focus offers the most banger for your buck with only slightly high fuel consumption spoiling the picture.

So you’ve seen where our money would go for a first car to take to uni but what will you be driving to uni this year?