How To Be A Luxo-Barge Boss On A £7,000 Budget

The new Dacia Sandero is going to be the cheapest car you can buy in the UK with prices starting from only £5,995! For just under £7k, however, you get the mid-spec Ambiance trim, which features 15" alloys, electric front windows, Bluetooth and a USB port as standard. Wow.

If you're not a fan of new 'cheap and cheerful' city runarounds, however, take a dive into the used car classifieds, for a budget luxo-barge that'll make you look like a boss.

1. Lexus LS430 (3rd Generation)

Instead of the tiny 1.2-litre engine in the Dacia, £7000 could buy and insure this V8 powered Lexus which pumps out 278bhp! As well as being an effortless wafter that's longer than a student bedsit, it's loaded with kit. Highlights include heated leather seats, ten airbags, keyless entry and start, touch screen sat-nav, a reversing camera and even sunshades for the rear windows that go up at a touch of a button.

While fuel economy can't touch that of the Sandero's - it's good for only 25mpg - for this kind of car, that ain't too bad.

Best Price: £3,800Average Insurance: £3,200Insurance group (1-20): 17

2. BMW 7-series (E65/E66)

If you want driver-orientated luxury, the 7-series is a good shout. Find a Sport version or one fitted with the Adaptive Ride wizardry option and this near two-tonne gadget-filled barge should be a belter on the B-roads as much as the Porsche Cayman R. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration.

There are other hitches, as you can see it's quite fugly plus all of them have the early iDrive system, which is as easy to use as fumbling your touch-screen phone with thick gloves on. The 730d is the best of the range as it is the cheapest to insure, has 218bhp, a 0-62mph time of 8 seconds yet can return up to 33mpg.

Best Price: £3,500Average insurance (730d): £3,500Insurance group (730d): 17

3. Volkswagen Phaeton

The Phaeton has to be one of the steepest depreciating cars ever. If you bought one new in 2008 at £60k it will have lost £43k after just one year. Ouch! Bad news for the idiot CEOs that bought them, but fantastic news for us used car buyers!

When this car was built, VW's boss insisted the car must be capable of doing 155mph all day, without the bonnet even vibrating in the slightest. He also wanted the windows never to steam up, no matter what one gets up to! But let's not go there, eh?!

Anyway, the costs; us yoofs in our early 20s can forget about the W12 or V10 engines, so either the 3.2-litre V6 petrol or, if you can find one this cheap, the 3.0-litre TDI will do nicely.

Best Price: £4,500Average Insurance (3.2-litre V6 petrol): £2,500Insurance group: 16

4. Jaguar XJ (X350)

Like the big bimmer, the XJ is one for the keen drivers. The all-aluminium body makes it light and nimble and there's even a sports button to control the Jag's air suspension. The dumpling Dacia doesn't have anything like that... it also doesn't have the British charm and warmth the XJ gives you.

XJ6s are the best for our amount of buck, with a 3.2-litre petrol or a 2.7-litre diesel which produce 200-240bhp.

Best Price: £4,400Average Insurance (3.0-litre V6 petrol): £2,000Insurance Group: 15

5. Audi A8 (D3)

Unlike the big Jaaaag, the Audi A8 looks like it left the showroom yesterday, even though this generation has been with us for nearly 10 years. The years have been so kind to it, it must rub the car equivalent of Nivea on its face every morning.

The Transporter star is modern inside too. A sat-nav screen that flips out of the dashboard like a gun popping out of James Bond's glovebox is standard, as are the usual features like parking sensors, leather seats, keyless go and, in the case of the diesels, Quattro all-wheel drive. Why buy an old Range Rover?

A8s are quite sparse in the used market compared to the others and finding one to fit our budget is going to be very tricky for us under 25s. The 3.0-litre TDI is the one to aim for and the big tank capacity plus up to 33mpg means it's possible to drive one up to Scotland and back without visiting a petrol station, if you're very careful ...and brave.

Best Price: £5,000Average Insurance (3.0-litre petrol): £2,500Insurance group: 17

6. Mercedes S Class (W220)

But the best all-rounder in this collection of bargain barges is the car of choice for Charlie Sheen and Peter Griffin; the big Benz S-class.

Like the rest of 'em on this luxo-list, the S is quieter than a closed library and will be kitted out with loads of stuff like a television (hopefully digital!), DVD players in the back, sat-nav, massaging seats and even cool wee corded phones in the front and back. Ask your mates if their rudeboi-mobiles have a fridge (that's right, a freaking fridge) between the rear seats!

Fuel economy is a bearable 35mpg in the S320 CDI, and it's the cheapest to tax, too. It's also good for a 0-62mph time in just over 8 seconds. Focus on the air-con when checking one out as that's the most common issue and if you hear strange tinkling noises from the engine it means the catalytic converter is going to brake. And that's bloody expensive!

Best Price: £3,000Average Insurance (S320 CDI): £3,000Insurance group: 16

As with all our bargain buckets (coupes, convertibles, hot hatches, you name it):

a) Don't view a car alone, view it with a mechanically sound boffin ideally b) Test drive it thoroughly, for goodness sake c) Check everything (engine, electrics, even all the phones and the fridge) work d) If it looks too good to be true, it probably is!

Own or have owned any of the above? Tell us how brilliant they were or if they are your worst nightmare in the comments!

Disclaimer: insurance costs will vary between age, location, usage and driver experience. Quoted figures reflect fully comprehensive estimate on the cheapest versions of the cars for an early 20s male driver with no-claims bonus and for social, domestic and pleasure usage.