"Bag a Vantage or an M-threeee" - the best used cars for Christmas

For the car enthusiast, Christmas is a time of giving to oneself. And what better gift than a quality used car? To kick off, we've suggested five dream motors with which to indulge yourself, but so friends and family can't accuse you of unseasonal selfishness, we've selected a further 20 cars, arranged across four categories, that should cast you in a more charitable light. Best dream cars What the heart wants for Christmas Aston Martin V12 Vantage S 2013-2018 Price range: £100,000 - £175,000 No doubt this Christmas you will observe, on your TV, an Aston Martin being driven unfeasibly quickly by a chap in black tie. It could be a DB5, a DBS, a Volante... But it won't be a V12 Vantage S, because James Bond never drove one. He should have, though, if only to savour its wondrous engine before Mercedes-AMG V8 power was shoehorned in. Full service history essential. BMW M3 CSL 2003-2004 Price range: £80,000 - £100,000 One for the heart but one for the head, too, because as a rare but sought-after modern classic the CSL's value is only going one way, as our find proves. What do you get for your money? A car as happy on the track as it is on its way to the shops. Be sure the rear subframe isn't cracked. Audi R8 GT 2022-2023 Price range: £110,000 - £190,000 Another film likely to inspire feverish searches of the classifieds this Christmas is I, Robot (2004), in which Will Smith, driving Audi's RSQ concept car, evades a swarm of deadly robots. Three years after its release the R8 arrived, first in V8 and then V10 forms, both four-wheel drive. However, the one dreams are made of is the rear-drive V10 GT of 2022. Porsche 911 Dakar 2023- Price range: £190,000 - £250,000 The things that make the Dakar an off-road 911-long-travel suspension and less grip than other versions - are also what make it a comfortable and surprisingly entertaining sports car. True, it's noisy and the handling is a little blunted, but as a means of escaping the Dancing on Ice Christmas Special, little comes close. Ford Mustang Bullitt 2019-2020 Price range: £35,000 - £45,000 Hollywood is ripe for car-buying inspiration, and having watched Frank Bullitt give chase through San Francisco, who hasn't lusted after a '68 Mustang GT Fastback? You'll pay around £60,000 for one today. Take the plunge but save it for fun runs, then for your daily driver blow £40k on its modern equivalent, the sixth-gen 5.0 Bullitt special. Beware worn front suspension. Best MPVs Something to carry the relatives Dacia Jogger 2021- Price range: £10,000 - £15,000 Passengers adopting the crash position will point out that this value-for-money MPV was awarded a measly one-star safety rating by Euro NCAP. They're right, but it was because it lacks some electronic safety systems, including a seatbelt reminder for the third row of seats. Otherwise, it scored four stars for adult occupant and three for child occupant protection-two areas that actually are crash tested. Check interior trim is holding up. Kia EV9 2023- Price range: £45,000 - £75,000 Capable of seating seven comfortably and with an electric range of up to 350 miles, an EV9 is just the thing for collecting and returning far-flung family. Close your ears to criticisms of its bumpy ride - your passengers should be grateful you're running around after them. Beware damaged extremities (the Kia, not your passengers). Citroen C4 Grand Spacetourer 2018-2022 Price range: £10,000 - £17,500 Most MPVs are utilitarian things: boxy but boring. Not so the Spacetourer. It's efficient and practical right enough, but it's nicely sculpted and packed with thoughtful details. One in Flair trim, finished in black with silver pillars, dark alloys and a panoramic sunroof, should set the rellies' tongues wagging. Even from 2014, the 2.0 HDi engine was Euro 6-compliant. Check for emissions system issues. Seat Alhambra 2010-2020 Price range: £12,000 - £16,000 It's time to show your selfless side with a seven-seat MPV that can collect extended family from the train station on Christmas Eve and return them before the King's Speech on Christmas Day. With its sliding doors - handy for those folk presenting a range of infirmities - multiple seat configurations and the option of a swift but economical diesel engine, the Alhambra ticks all the boxes. Check the interior for damage. Fiat Multipla 1998-2010 Price range: £500 - £1500 Forget The Ghost of Christmas Past-one look at the pre-facelift Multipla is enough to turn your hair white. However, your passengers will soon be won over by this remarkable MPV's impressive load-carrying potential and two rows of three seats that make every trip an adventure. Rare, and a future classic. Best performance cars Something for that last minute Christmas Eve present sprint Volkswagen Golf R Estate 2015-2020 Price range: £12,000 - £30,000 With much more load space than the hatchback, as well as a longer floor, the Golf R estate is perfect for present buyers in a generous mood but with little time before the shops shut. It's very quick, but the R estate flies even further under the radar than the hatch. Full history and a quality warranty are essential. Audi RS4 2012-2015 Price range: £20,000 - £30,000 The RS4 easily satisfies the twin challenges of generosity and limited time. Its additional mechanicals come at no cost to load space compared with regular Avants, while its performance and handling are on another level. The larger RS6 of the same era is tempting but more expensive and not as accomplished. Beware a jerky transmission and suspension and intake issues. Tesla Model 3 Performance 2018- Price range: £14,000 - £25,000 The 3 Performance is both quick (0-62mph in 3.3sec) and a tidy handler, and a frunk plus boot, with a huge underfloor well, make it practical. Range is almost 330 miles, so a dash across the country and back in time to put mince pies out for Santa is doable. Check battery health, brakes and trim. Toyota GR Yaris 2020- Price range: £25,000 - £40,000 If your route to the shops is via something like the A701 Moffat to Edinburgh road, for much of its length one of the finest driver's roads in the land, and time is short, you'll need a GR Yaris. Born of rally stock and in Circuit trim with stiffer springs and anti-roll bars, it will make easy work of the twists and turns - but pack delicate gifts securely. Beware track-day refugees. Range Rover Sport SVR 2015-2022 Price range: £12,000 - £60,000 At its launch in 2015 and with 542bhp from its supercharged 5.0-litre V8 engine, the Sport SVR was the most powerful Land Rover in the company's history. With all seats folded there are 1671 litres of gift space to draw on, and with the ability to cross fields you'll not be held up by the Christmas Eve queues. Slap a quality warranty on it. Best load carriers Something to carry the Christmas tree Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate 2016-2023 Price range: £13,000 - £35,000 Not as big a boot as the Superb's (1660 litres with seats down, compared with the Superb's 1950 litres), but the E-Class is the better car in terms of its range of abilities. With a heavy tree in the back, an example fitted with the optional air suspension will sit better and ride more comfortably. Check the electrics are fine and, if it's a diesel, that there are no diesel particulate filter issues. Skoda Superb Estate 2015-2022 Price range: £5000 - £30,000 The Superb wagon is so big that with a bit of judicious pruning you might even be able to sneak Trafalgar Square's giant Norwegian spruce into the back of it. Cars in SE Technology trim with the 1.5 petrol engine are good value. Check for damage in the load bay. Ford Ranger Raptor 2023- Price range: £35,000 - £50,000 When the Christmas tree is at the back of the nursery and still in the ground, this will be the perfect device to get to it. Then, when you've dug it out, toss it in the load bay and, with the Raptor's adaptive dampers smoothing out the rough stuff, make a sharp exit thanks to its 288bhp and 316lb ft. Expect wear and tear, but check for body and interior marks. Volkswagen Passat Estate 2015-2024 Price range: £10,000 - £25,000 Another estate with almost as much load space as the Skoda Superb. For effortless hauling, the powerful 2.0-litre diesels are just the job, but the 1.5 petrol is better value and pulls reasonably well. Beware warning lights and loose trim. Fiat 500C 2009- Price range: £2000 - £15,000 An alternative to carrying a Christmas tree lengthwise is to stow it vertically, but which cars have the roof space to permit that? The 500C is one. At the press of a button, its canvas roof peels back to offer sky's-the-limit room for even the tallest spruce. Should it topple, the car's roof sides will catch it. Check the roof is watertight. Best sensible A to B cars What the head wants for Christmas Skoda Octavia 2013-2020 Price range: £2000 - £20,000 For A to B motoring you can't go wrong with a reliable, practical and comfortable Octavia. The 2017 facelift gave it sharper looks, but its key attractions - acres of boot space and a roomy rear cabin - remained unchanged. The earlier 1.4 petrol engine is a good all-rounder, but its successor, the 1.5, is more economical. Check interior trim and that the infotainment system is glitch-free. Lexus NX 2014-2021 Price range: £8500 - £30,000 It won't set your Christmas puddings ablaze, but in all other respects the NX is a faithful and well-appointed companion with a decent image. Hybrid petrol motors are your only option, and we would go for the lustier 2.5 in the 300h. The CVT gearbox is sluggish and noisy, but it and the rest of the car are reliable. Check for body and interior damage. Toyota Corolla 2019- Price range: £9000 - £30,000 Here's your opportunity to put others first this Christmas with cars they can rely on, starting with the Toyota Corolla. Reliable, efficient, comfortable, nice to drive and good looking, it just gets on with the business of carrying people and things quietly and unobtrusively. Be sure recalls have been actioned. LEVC TX 2018- Price range: £30,000 - £90,000 The definitive A to B car. Unlike its predecessor, the LTI TX4, the LEVC TX is a modern, refined, comfortable and efficient taxi that, with its carriage licence cancelled, will make an excellent Christmas runabout. Wheelchair access means older relatives can be accommodated with ease. Nissan Leaf 2018-2024 Price range: £6000 - £16,000 Not the most exciting electric car, but that's the point. Instead, the Leaf is a tried and trusted EV that is widely available at good prices. There's a supportive community of owners, too, and some excellent specialist garages that know how to fix faults quickly and inexpensively. Get a battery health report.

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"Bag a Vantage or an M-threeee" - the best used cars for Christmas

It's the perfect time of year to treat yourself...or a loved one...to a used car

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"Bag a Vantage or an M-threeee" - the best used cars for Christmas

It's the perfect time of year to treat yourself...or a loved one...to a used car

More from Autocar

Top 10s

Latest car reviews

Top manufacturers

Quick search

We recommend

Legal bits

About Autocar