Best First Car 2021

Welcome to carsales’ 2021 Best First Car mega-test, for which we’ve short-listed a bunch of excellent candidates and assessed them in five key areas across more than 100 individual criteria to find a winner.

Of course, the type of new car you buy as your first can vary wildly according to your needs and funds.

But for many – whether you’re young or young at heart, or a first-time driver or recently-licenced with the opportunity to slip into a new car – it’s the micro or light categories that afford the most opportunity.

Here we find ‘city cars’ that cater to the needs of the first-time driver in the most practical and useful way.

Smaller, lighter and more efficient than equivalent SUVs, these cars are inherently economical, relatively cheap to run and, because they are compact and versatile, less intimidating to drive – especially in the urban jungle where most will live.

Above all, with their full five-star safety ratings and many of the latest driver assist features, they are among the safest of the smallest models on the market.

Being brand-new cars, they also bring the backing of an extensive factory-backed warranty and aftersales features such as capped-price servicing, so there are fewer worries about unexpected maintenance costs or breakdowns down the track.

The conditions for entry to this short-list were devised to be as simple and practical as the cars themselves.

To begin, all must be affordable new cars.

What ‘affordable’ means has changed drastically in the past few years, as prices are steadily climbing. There’s no such thing as a $12,990 drive-away new car any more.

So we have gone with the entry-level model of the range (or as close to it as possible), with a manufacturer’s list price of no more than $25,000.

The $25K limit we have set is a realistic figure that allows you to consider all key base models in this category. Bear in mind though that some of our contenders, with all options ticked and on-road costs paid, can easily spill into $30,000 territory.

Of primary importance was having as many safety features as feasible in a car at this end of the market.

To qualify for judging, that meant each contender must have a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating, a reversing camera and autonomous emergency braking (AEB).

Lastly, given that very few first-time new-car buyers opt for a manual transmission, the final prerequisite was an automatic transmission. We saw no advantage in judging cars that the majority of buyers won’t consider or, as with most new drivers now, be able to drive.

There were four eligible models that missed the cut for carsales’ Best First Car 2021.

The MG3 and Suzuki Baleno are unrated by ANCAP, so it’s impossible to accurately gauge their performance in the event of a crash.

The Kia Picanto has only a four-star rating, so it was left out, and while the ageing Fiat 500 does carry a five-star rating, it doesn’t have AEB.

The Fiat’s five-star rating is also more than a decade old, having been tested under a far more lenient set of requirements in 2007.

Of the seven cars that did make the grade, the oldest is the Mitsubishi Mirage LS, first arriving in 2014 and most recently updated with a facelift in 2020.

Importantly, however, the Mitsubishi Mirage does not meet the new vehicle side-impact safety regulations that have just been introduced in Australia, so it will become unavailable once current stocks eventually dry up during 2022.

The Mazda2, which first launched here in 2014, has had a minor update this month, bringing rear seat belt reminders and a new colour (Platinum Quartz Metallic) across the range, plus the introduction of a new Pure SP variant.

The Skoda Fabia, which arrived Down Under in 2015 and was facelifted in 2019, is in its twilight months ahead of a new-generation model arriving in 2022, based on the current Volkswagen Polo’s MQB-AO platform. The Fabia is already in run-out mode, so it’s no surprise that the variant judged here is the Run-Out Edition.

Similarly, the current-gen Volkswagen Polo was launched in 2018 and is due for a facelift in 2022, while the Toyota Yaris is the most up-to-date all-new model on test here, with the third generation landing just last year.

The Suzuki Swift was all-new back in 2017 and was facelifted last year, while the current-generation Kia Rio arrived in 2017 and was refreshed in 2018. The MY22 model you see here is fresh off the boat, proudly bearing Kia’s new logo on its front-end.

All seven models are five-door hatches, although the Fabia is also available as a five-door wagon and the Mazda2 as a sedan. All are the cheapest base grades available except where an upper-level model had to be chosen to include AEB, or where automatic transmission was an option.

It turns out only the Toyota Yaris Ascent Sport met this requirement as an off-the-shelf, base-model car. The Kia Rio S and Suzuki Swift GL Navigator do not have AEB, and bumping the Swift up to the next variant to get AEB also brings an automatic transmission as standard.

For the Kia Rio Sport, we have ticked the auto option over the standard manual. The Skoda Fabia in the cheaper 70TSI Run-Out Edition is manual-only, so we’ve gone with the DSG auto-only 81TSI Run-Out Edition. The entry-level Volkswagen Polo 70TSI Trendline on test covered all requirements except its DSG auto is an option, which we’ve included.

The one exception to the ‘cheapest possible model with auto and AEB’ rule was the only micro-class entrant – and the most dated model here – the Mitsubishi Mirage LS. At $17,490 plus on-road costs, this top-spec Mirage is only $1000 more than the Mirage ES auto and also significantly cheaper than anything else here.

As with all our mega-tests, to determine carsales’ Best First Car 2021 more than 100 key metrics were assessed for each car, categorised in five key areas: safety, technology, comfort and convenience, driving performance and ownership costs.

Statistics have for a long time shown that new drivers are among the most vulnerable to having a crash.

Therefore, if you are a new driver buying your first new car, you (and your loved ones) will no doubt want the safest possible vehicle.

Driver assist safety features relying on complex electronics are fast becoming expected in most new vehicles as a legal requirement, helped along by strong customer demand, and city-cars like these are no exception.

Safety innovation is clearly present in some of our contenders, while others are less abundant in their crash avoidance and protection features.

More on first car safety here

If you’re buying a factory-fresh first car, you don’t want to be denied some of the latest technology inside that makes driving more convenient and relaxing.

Even the cheapest of these cars provides the convenience of Bluetooth connectivity and both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.

Yet beyond these staples, infotainment and multimedia technology is sparse in this segment. Don’t expect to see native sat-nav or DAB+ digital radio – or even more than one USB port – in everything in this segment.

Having said that, there are some cars here that offer some high-end infotainment features that make other contenders seem quite basic.

More on first car technology here

The latest premium features are often reserved for high-spec model grades, but more buyers than ever expect their first new car to have more than a stripped-out ‘poverty-pack’ feel to it.

Even these entry-level cars have far more comfort and convenience features than bigger vehicles of 10 years ago.

While missing much of the newer equipment seen in some other categories, including small SUVs, these hatches all have the staples expected of any new car, such as remote central locking, air-conditioning and power-operated windows and mirrors.

Beyond these basics, almost every model on test offers at least one unique upscale feature the others don’t.

Ultimately, however, some of these hatches have more useful and significant comfort and convenience features than others.

More on first car comfort and convenience here

Just because you have bought one of the most affordable new cars going around doesn’t mean it won’t be fun to drive.

Being nimble, if not lightning quick, is the key attribute of all the micro and light hatches on test here.

Indeed, their lightness and compact nature help ensure they’re typically a pleasure to drive, in the city at least, compared with an SUV.

Beyond that, a balanced handling package, cruising refinement and ride plushness for all occupants – be it in town or on the freeway – revolves around the important development areas of engine and chassis engineering, as well as other key areas such as noise, vibration and harshness.

No-one expects any of these tiny hatches to handle like a Ferrari or cruise like a Rolls-Royce. Yet some manufacturers represented here have clearly spent their development budgets well, resulting in an excellent compromise between dynamic performance, ride comfort and refinement, while others are not as inspiring.

If your first new car has a smoother ride, safe and predictable handling and linear performance it will simply give you a safer, less-tiring drive experience.

And while none are what you’d call a hot or even warm hatch, it doesn’t mean there is no fun to be had when driving on your favourite stretch of road.

These cars are not peas in a pod. Although their basic concept and execution is common, they are not all the same to drive.

Some are simply delightful from behind the wheel, while others simply aren’t…

More on first car driving performance here

One of the main attractions of buying new instead of used for your first car, and in particular from our short-list here, is that it should be among the cheapest vehicles to keep on the road.

It will also offer far more cost certainty and aftersales support than a used car.

Unlike the unknowns of buying a used car out of factory warranty, when buying new you can predict most ownership costs before you buy. Factory warranties are only getting longer and most have at least one year of roadside assistance thrown in for free.

What an authorised dealer charged for servicing was almost a lottery in the old days. Now, you can have some price certainty for scheduled maintenance with capped-price servicing.

With online tyre pricing available, you can easily find what replacement tyres will cost before you buy a new car too.

Depreciation is the biggest cost of new-car ownership, and with RedBook.com.au you can more easily calculate what your first car will be worth when you are ready to trade up.

Some elements of ownership are more expensive than others among the cars on test here, in particular servicing and replacement tyre costs.

What a first car costs to service, how much it depreciates, what kind of warranty it comes with and what complimentary roadside assistance is included can make a big difference to the ownership cost and experience, and there are some crucial differences in this group.

More on first car ownership costs here

Now it’s time to dive into each main category and deliver our verdict on the Best First Car for 2021.

Best First Car 2021 contenders:
Kia Rio Sport
Mazda2 G15 Pure
Mitsubishi Mirage LS
Skoda Fabia 81TSI Run-Out Edition
Suzuki Swift GL Navigator Plus
Toyota Yaris Ascent Sport
Volkswagen Polo 70TSI Trendline