What do Autocar journalists drive? The cars we owned in 2023

I’d happily wager that shopping for a first car has never been so tough: as a 23-year-old in suburban London, I was quoted no less than £3600 for a year’s insurance on an 18-plate Ford Fiesta. 

That led me down some alternative avenues, including hotted-up Toyota Yarises, Mazda MX-5s and, eventually, this immaculate Fiat Panda 100HP.

I paid £3800 for the Panda, contravening years of anti-Italian bias resulting from a childhood sat in the back of a crusty Punto.

The measly (relatively speaking) £1800 insurance premium was what sealed the deal, significantly undercutting every other option I considered. Even a Seat Mii, with almost half the power, was well above £2000 for the year.

Never before had I made such a wise decision. You see, I never really understood the ‘character’ argument for Italian cars until I got to grips with the Panda.

Every time I go out in my ‘Mean Machine’ – ironically christened as such by my mum – it unveils a new foible to overcome. Binary brakes, Oompa Loompa-short gears, an invertebral disc-popping ride… The list goes on.

It should be deeply frustrating – but it isn’t, not in the slightest. I giggle every time the Panda does something strange; every time it hops over a speed bump or roars into action and gains a meagre 5mph.

I don’t think I could have found a more compromised first car, but neither could I have found anything as fun for the money. It’s a dopey four-wheeled Labrador. And I love it.

Kia Niro EV

Jack Warrick

Readers with a good memory might remember that my family took delivery of a Kia e-Niro a couple of years ago. Well, back in September, the time came to say goodbye. Clearly my mum was such a big fan that she swapped it out for… another electric Niro.

This time, though, it looks like a completely different car: thoroughly restyled to appear more boxy and eye-catching and now based on Kia’s K3 platform with minor powertrain changes that, thankfully, wouldn’t affect most drivers on a day-to-day basis.

Ultimately, the main difference to her was that this new one is grey and her previous Niro was blue. Her previous car wasn’t exactly run into the ground. It travelled around 8000 miles in three years but was an excellent workhorse.

With weekly overnight charging, it was cheap to run and had more than enough space for our four-strong family plus one furry friend in the boot.

Mum’s first Niro was almost £40k new, but the dealership offered just £20,000 for it. A bitter pill to swallow.

Kia Niro EV review

Honda X-ADV 750

Steve Cropley

First machine with either two or four wheels that I’ve ever re-bought, as it were. I had an early version of this ‘SUV of scooters’ then foolishly sold it for something bigger.

I soon realised I missed its torquey 750cc parallel twin and especially its six-speed, dual-clutch paddle-shift automatic ’box (rare in a maxi-scooter; most have soulless CVTs), so bought the latest version, which is torquier, lighter and has better graphics. This one’s a keeper.

2016 Yamaha XSR900 60TH Anniversary

Ben Summerell-Youde

After catching a brutal eye infection and going blind, I thought I would never ride again. I promised myself if I ever recovered, I’d get a bike immediately.

A few years later and here it is, a Yamaha XSR900, in classy 60th Anniversary Kenny Roberts livery. My heart wanted a Ducati or BSA, but my commute demanded it was made by the Japanese.

2006 Audi A4 Avant Special Edition

Ben Summerell-Youde

With a new sprog on the way and the Volkswagen Syncro compromised by rust, I hunted for an interesting, ULEZ-friendly estate.

A good E39 BMW 540i was out of reach and the petrol E90 BMW 3 Series looked too abused in basic trims. Enter a low-mileage, one-owner A4 Quattro, with the factory-chipped 220bhp 2.0 TFSI, a solid childproof interior and even more solid suspension.

Audi A4 review

Cars we sold

2001 Honda Insight

Richard Lane

I had big plans for the little Honda Insight, involving the modernising of the battery that powers its flywheel-style electric motor and the use of carbon-neutral fuel – a vat of Coryton in the garage, or something.

Combine all that with the super-slippery shape and circa-850kg kerb weight and you would have just about the cleanest, vaguely sensible two-seat transport going.

With a careful right foot, my calculations suggest you could clatter from London to Bucharest for about £80 in fuel.

But I don’t have the space to store the car now so sold it to someone who already has two. Was quite cut up about it, in truth.

1997 Innocenti Mini 90 SL

James Ruppert

Arrivederci, Innocenti; it has taken a while. This time last year I decided to have a clear-out, but I only succeeded in swapping a Porsche for a Lexus.

The Italian Job certainly attracted interest. There were potential takers who didn’t turn up, then another who risked divorce by taking on another old car – so we reversed out of the deal for the sake of his marriage.

Autocar reader Colin drove three hours but on the test drive the exhaust bracket broke and we mutually agreed that he didn’t need another Innocenti in his life.

It’s gone to a good home: an enthusiast trade specialist who is keeping the car as a project. He sold an 850 Innocenti to finance this one – surely the first time that’s ever happened in the UK.

2000 Fiat Coupe

Jack Harrison

Most people’s first-car buy is sensible, reliable and practical, but I threw all of that out of the window and bought a 140,000-mile Fiat Coupé VIS.

I love the Chris Bangle styling, fantastic throttle response and five-cylinder howl, but I wasn’t a massive fan of the crusty sills, the eye-watering insurance prices (for a 20-year-old) or its slightly confused nature: too stiff to be a cruiser, too soft to be a real sports car.

I didn’t have the time to sort it out and was about to lose my driveway parking, so while it was a good summer companion, it had to go. What next? Not sure, but I doubt it will be this cool.

2018 Volkswagen California

Steve Cropley

I bought a Volkswagen California Ocean camper late in 2018. My wife and I were motivated by a wanderlust and a plan to do something creative with the perceived “time on our hands”. Soon after purchase, three things happened.

First, we realised that any wanderlust was sated by the travelling we do for work. Second, we noticed we didn’t actually have any time on our hands. Third, when away in the Cali, we decided we’d rather be in a hotel. Better bathrooms for a start.

However, we enjoyed driving “the van”, a remarkably refined and soft-riding vehicle. Its one foible was the need to go on regular rattle-hunts, because there’s a lot of stuff in a Cali: on rough roads it can sound like a Salvation Army tambourine. Despite the weight, it was quick: we had the 201bhp diesel and seven-speed auto.

I loved the way, with the optional big tank filled, it would show a 600-mile cruising range.

In four and a half years we did 9000 miles. All the way, people kept telling us about the amazing residual values of VW campers, and so it proved. We paid £50k, and sold it into the trade for a remarkable £49,000.

This occurred six months ago, but we still haven’t decided how to spend the money. Everything has been considered, from Ford Ranger Raptor to BMW i3 S. In the meantime, it’s important this dosh is ring-fenced. I don’t want it wasted on frivolous stuff like new furniture or kitchen improvements.

Tried to sell: 1972 Volkswagen Beetle (1302 S)

Felix Page

Having languished in my grandparents’ lovely, dry garage for seven years, my Beetle was cruelly evicted earlier this year.

I made some ill-fated attempts to get it going but then cowed to the demands of my nearest and dearest and listed it for sale – to no avail, because any prospective buyer was soon put off by the slight inconvenience of it not running. Fine by me; I wanted to keep it.

Anyway, Volkswagen UK then asked if they could show my car at a 70th-anniversary gathering it was hosting in September, and when I at first declined reluctantly on the basis of the car’s road-unworthiness, VW kindly offered to rectify that if I provided the necessary parts. I agreed, not quite realising at that stage how much work was going to be needed…

Anyway, here we are a few months later: I’m penniless, my partner won’t speak to me and the neighbours make no secret of their distaste for the off-beat clatter of an air-cooled flat four.

But it’s all worth it for the grin it brings to everyone’s face when they see me drive past. I think.

2020 Ford Fiesta, 2015 Renault Twingo, 2023 Renault Clio

Mark Tisshaw

I bought a very nice 2020 Ford Fiesta at an excellent time, just before Covid when interest rates were cheap and you could still get a very good discount on a new car. Where I really lucked in, though, was with a low final balloon payment of just over £7000.

In the intervening years used car prices soared, so at the end the Fiesta had about £6k of additional value to take it to £13,000, way ahead of its original forecast. I thought about borrowing the money to buy the car outright but instead banked it and set the profit as a budget to buy a used car.