Best cars for UK country roads
From compact hatchbacks to practical family SUVs, here are some cars that are great picks for driving on country roads
Unless you tend to overwhelmingly stick to city centres and major roads like motorways, you will likely at some point need to drive down one of the UK’s myriad country roads. This will especially be the case if you drive in a more rural part of the country, where wide and open stretches of road tend to be few and far between.
As such, if you do a lot of driving on country roads, having a car that’s up to the job is very useful indeed. Finding a car that fits the bill can be a bit trickier than it was in years gone by, though: with cars typically getting bigger, wider and heavier with each generation, the largest latest models can find narrower roads to be a bit of a squeeze.
Putting those behemoths to one side, there are still plenty of great choices out there for country road cars, covering a variety of different sizes and car types. For tight and twisty routes, small hatchbacks make a great deal of sense, and more open and faster stretches will be where family cars will start to shine. If the country roads you’ll be driving on tend to be flooded during the wetter times of the year, it’s also worth considering cars with higher ground clearances such as SUVs and 4x4s.
With lots of great options out there, we’ve picked out some of the many car models you’ll find listed for sale on BuyaCar that’ll be great for driving on the UK’s country roads.
1. Citroen C3
Our pick Citroen C3 1.2 PureTech 110 Shine
Used deals from £8,627
Monthly finance from £153.97*
If you do lots of driving on country roads, a supermini makes a good amount of sense. These cars are quite compact, which makes them easier to drive on narrower sections of road, and many newer superminis are also noticeably more refined and sophisticated than their predecessors, so can be quite composed on faster roads that let you stretch the car’s legs a bit.
You’ll find plenty of superminis listed for sale on BuyaCar, though one we reckon makes a good choice for a country road car is the Citroen C3. This is because the Citroen has a very comfort-oriented suspension setup, so the C3 does a great job at soaking up the lumps and bumps in the road. If outright comfort is a priority for you, it’ll be worth going for a model that benefits from the changes made in the 2020 facelift: these models feature a bit more refinement and seats that have been redesigned to be more cushioned and supportive compared with the pre-facelift Citroen C3.
2. Ford Focus
Our pick Ford Focus 2.3 EcoBoost ST
Used deals Limited stock
A long-running trait of the Ford Focus is that it’s a great-handling and fun-to-drive family car. While this will appeal to buyers who want something that feels a bit sporty, it also gives the Ford Focus good country road credentials. The direct steering and good cornering grip help make the Ford easy to place on the road, and the car’s well-judged suspension setup means the Focus feels nicely composed on choppier stretches of road as well as more open and flowing sections.
While the Ford Focus ST hot hatch model will be the one to go for if you want some peppy performance to go with the engaging handling, even the regular petrol and diesel versions of the Ford Focus still feel at home on a twisty country road. If you’ll be driving on more rutted surfaces, the more rugged-looking Ford Focus Active variant could be worth considering: it’s slightly taller than the standard car, which will help prevent you from scraping the underside of your car when going over choppy back roads or uneven ground, and it also deals with sharp jolts a bit better than the regular Focus, too.
3. Jaguar I-Pace
Our pick Jaguar I-Pace EV400 HSE
Used deals from £17,990
Monthly finance from £274.25*
On paper, electric cars promise to be nicely suited to driving on country roads. While their big battery packs make electric cars much heavier than their combustion-engined equivalents, a lot of that extra weight is located low down in the car, which lowers the car’s centre of gravity and makes it more stable over rough and twisty roads. Electric cars tend to also have long wheelbases (the distance between the front and rear wheels), which helps them ride more smoothly over big bumps.
As a result, the Jaguar I-Pace makes a good choice if you’re after an upmarket electric SUV for country road driving. Navigating tighter sections can at times be tricky (the I-Pace is more than two metres wide, after all), though that wide track means there’s good cornering grip and the Jaguar feels nicely at home on more flowing sections. While a bit on the firm side at lower speeds, the Jaguar I-Pace does ride nicely, too, with adaptive suspension-equipped models keeping things calm when the suspension’s put in its most comfort-oriented setting.
4. Kia Picanto
Our pick Kia Picanto 1.0 T-GDi GT-Line S
Used deals Limited stock
As their name implies, city cars such as the Kia Picanto are designed primarily with urban driving in mind, though those same qualities do lend themselves nicely to country roads. The small size of cars such as the Kia Picanto makes them easier to place on the road than much larger and wider vehicles, especially if you’re driving down an especially narrow country lane.
Depending on the engine that’s under bonnet, you may not have to work the Picanto hard in order to get up hills. While the standard 1.0-litre engine does need a bit of momentum in order to maintain speed up steeper inclines, the extra power and torque from the brawnier 1.0-litre turbocharged engine means you won’t need to wring it out as much. If you’ll be driving down especially bumpy country roads, it may be worth considering the x-Line models: due to the car’s raised ride height over the regular Kia Picanto, there’s a little bit more suspension travel, which means the ride over rougher surfaces is ever-so-slightly smoother.
5. Mazda MX-5
Our pick Mazda MX-5 2.0 Sport Nav
Used deals from £11,800
Monthly finance from £241.49*
Since UK country roads tend to feature lots of twists, turns and undulations, you can have good fun driving down them in a car with sporty handling, lots of grip and good body control. Handily, there are quite a few cars available for sale on BuyaCar that fit that bill, and one we reckon is worth considering if you have a two-seater sports car in mind is the Mazda MX-5.
Models with the brawnier 2.0-litre engine may be more ideal if you’ll have lots of hills or inclines to deal with, though even the 1.5-litre cars have enough oomph to have fun on a twisty back road. The MX-5’s compact dimensions means doesn’t feel unwieldy down narrow lanes, and by sports car standards the suspension isn’t too firm, either, so it’s relatively comfortable on rougher roads.
6. Mini Countryman
Our pick Mini Countryman Cooper S Sport automatic
Used deals Limited stock
The Mini Countryman may be a larger and taller car than many of Mini’s other offerings, but in many ways the Countryman is quite similar to its smaller siblings. With quick steering, good cornering composure and decent amounts of grip, even this big Mini can feel quite sporty to drive for what is ostensibly a family car.
With its firm-by-class-standard ride and sizeable breadth (including the wing mirrors, the car is 2 metres wide), the Mini Countryman may not feel especially at home on very thin and choppy country roads. However, on broader and smoother roads, the Mini does come more into its own, and the car’s raised ride height helps give you a good view out, too. Opt for one of the four-wheel-drive models, and the Countryman also gets a little bit more traction in slippery conditions over the front-wheel drive versions.
MINI COUNTRYMAN BUYERS' GUIDE
MINI COUNTRYMAN PHEV BUYERS' GUIDE
7. Toyota Land Cruiser
Our pick Toyota Land Cruiser 2.8 D-4D Invincible
Used deals Limited stock
A 4x4 may not be the most obvious candidate for a car to drive down narrow lanes in, though the Toyota Land Cruiser does bring to the table a few handy perks and plus points. For starters, it’s quite a tall vehicle, which gives you a raised driving position over a regular car and therefore a better vantage point of the road ahead. The Land Cruiser also isn’t as large as you may expect: opt for the shorter three-door model, and you’ll have a Land Cruiser that’s on par length and width-wise with family hatchbacks such as the Ford Focus.
Perhaps the most useful card in the Toyota’s deck is its off-roading ability. Even for owners who won’t be taking their Land Cruiser off the beaten path, the car’s four-wheel-drive system does provide a bit of security when the roads are slippery. With a wading depth of up to 700mm, the Toyota Land Cruiser also shouldn’t be flustered when encountering flooded roads.
8. Volvo XC90
Our pick Volvo XC90 D5 R-Design
Used deals Limited stock
As a comfortable and relaxing seven-seater SUV, the Volvo XC90 makes a strong case for itself. The roomy and well-built interior means the XC90 is a pleasant place to spend long journeys in, and the Volvo’s impressive comfort and nose insulation further boost the car’s credentials as a long-distance cruiser.
Unsurprisingly, this makes the Volvo XC90 a relaxing car to drive on the open road, though that doesn’t mean it can’t perform well in the tighter confines of more rural roads. Admittedly, the XC90 doesn’t have the same handling precision as sportier big SUVs such as the BMW X5 or Porsche Cayenne, though it handles neatly and doesn’t suffer from too much body lean in the bends. Most versions should be able to tackle flooded roads, since the petrol and diesel versions of the Volvo XC90 have a wading depth of up to 450mm – though do bear in mind this is only up to 223mm on the plug-in hybrid model.
*Representative PCP finance - Ford Fiesta:
48 monthly payments of £192
Deposit: £0
Mileage limit: 8,000 per year
Optional final payment to buy car: £2,923
Total amount payable to buy car: £11,926
Total cost of credit: £2,426
Amount borrowed: £9,500
APR: 9.9%
BuyaCar is a credit broker, not a lender. Our rates start from 6.9% APR. The rate you are offered will depend on your individual circumstances.