From small hatches and compact SUVs to medium SUVs and dual-cab utes, drivers shopping for a used car can find plenty of solid and impressive vehicles for less than $30,000.
Motoring
Australia’s best underrated and affordable used cars, SUVs and utes to buy
As new car prices and sales in Australia cool down, there is good news for used car buyers as well - there are great deals and bargains to be had for used cars, SUVs and utes.
The Australian car market in a post-COVID price decline for new cars. Supply is up, demand is down, and discounting is re-emerging. So if it’s cheaper to buy a new car, makes sense it’s cheaper to buy used as well.
“That especially applies if you’re willing to think outside the box,” says Ross Booth, the global leader of car valuation experts Redbook.
By that he means do you have to have a Toyota? Do you have to have an SUV?
There are other brands and segments that can deliver better value because their depreciation rate – the price differential from new to now – is larger.
“It doesn’t have to be a specialised niche brand to be a value buy,” cautions Booth. “It’s better if it’s one that sells in volume and a bonus if the vehicle is still in warranty.
With all that in mind we’ve tried to focus our search for used car value back no more than five or six years and – for the most part – stuck with volume brands. Delve back further and the rate of depreciation slows for used cars, and the amount of potential technical and reliability issues rises.
There’s better value for traditional passenger car segments. But even in popular SUV and utes, there are deals to be had. Some of the vehicles and brands that make for compelling value are no longer sold in Australia. In the case of Holden, it doesn’t exist at all.
But Australian law requires auto makers back their product even after they leave the market, so choosing a model that’s no longer on-sale isn’t a complete venture into the unknown.
Keep safety front of mind when buying a used car, and consider that older vehicles may not feature the latest car safety technology. Buyers can access comprehensive Used Car Safety Ratings information to find the safest used car in their budget.
The sizeable and rock-solid Subaru Liberty bowed out of the Australian market in 2020, with used models now starting at $20,000
Best affordable and underrated used cars, SUVs and utes in Australia
Affordable used small car
Honda Jazz
The Honda Jazz is a Japanese small car that has fallen victim to the rise of light and small compact SUVs .
The final generation of the Honda Jazz to grace Australian shores between 2014 and 2020 wasn’t the best example of the breed. Honda had rebodied the car, but not really updated it mechanically for a while.
But the Jazz is an underrated gem on the used car market, and one you can buy confidently.
That’s because the Honda Jazz is well-built, simple to own and drive, and has outstanding interior flexibility that remains class-leading today. Many small SUVs aren’t anywhere near as good as the Honda Jazz at transporting people and their contents.
The secret ingredient to the Jazz’s flexibility is what Honda calls Magic Seats that fold away to provide 1314 litres of luggage space. Keep the Magic Seats in-place and there is adult-friendly rear seating and a still impressive 354 litre boot.
The Honda Jazz backs that up with a competent road manners and a peppy 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine mated with a CVT auto that claims a frugal 6.1L/100km.
So as a versatile city and suburban runabout, the Honda Jazz really does a very good job.
If Apple CarPlay or Android Auto mirroring are something you regard as essential, note the Jazz picked up those features in only the last few months of sales run in Australia.
Pricing for a 2020 Honda Jazz dips as low as $14,000 for a base model VTi manual, but you could be up for as much as $21,000 further up the model range.
More: What to consider when downsizing your car
Affordable used medium sedan
Subaru Liberty
Once a stalwart of the medium segment, the Subaru Liberty was axed in Australia as medium SUVs like the Toyota RAV4, Mitsubishi Outlander and the like came to dominate the market.
In some ways, the Liberty lives on because the popular Subaru Outback is pretty much a Liberty wagon with some added ride height and bodywork cladding.
The final generation Subaru Liberty to go on-sale in Australia was the sixth, and it first appeared in late 2014. A sizable family sedan, the Liberty launched with added equipment and a cheaper price than its predecessor – rarity in today’s new car market.
As applies to almost all Subarus, the Liberty’s mechanical package is based around a horizontally opposed (or boxer) engine and all-wheel drive .
While characterful, the Liberty’s four- and six-cylinder engines are also generally thirstier than orthodox inline petrol engines, something the added weight of AWD doesn’t help with.
The end came for the Subaru Liberty in Australia in 2020 when the decision had to be made to transition to the seventh generation. The business case didn’t stack up and a nameplate familiar to Australians for 31 years bowed out.
But what the Liberty had then that makes it such an appealing buy now is rock-solid build quality. Japanese car brands build the best mainstream vehicles in the world and Subaru is among the very best.
Scour used car marketplaces and car yards, and you can get into a 2020 Subaru Liberty four-cylinder for about $20,000 and a six-cylinder for under $27,000.
More: The best used cars, SUVs, and utes under $30K
Infiniti has twice failed to thrive in the Australian car market, despite the Q50 representing good value for money in the luxury sedan segment
Affordable used luxury sedan
Infiniti Q50
Infiniti is the luxury brand of Nissan in the same way Lexus performs that role for Toyota and Genesis for Hyundai.
Unlike those brands however, Nissan was not able to make Infiniti in Australia stick despite two launch attempts 20 years apart in 1993 and 2012.
For the second launch, Infiniti arrived with a group of ageing models and had to wait for the Q50 sedan before it had a brand new-from-the-ground-up model to offer to premium and luxury buyers.
A direct rival for the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the Infiniti Q50 launched in February 2014 as a 2.1-litre turbo-diesel and petrol-electric V6 hybrid.
At the top of the range, the ‘S’ specification got the highest level of tech including claimed world first steer-by-wire and drive assist systems such reverse braking and blind spot warning that we now take for granted.
Priced keenly, there’s no doubt the Infiniti Q50 represented great bang for buck. But initial reviews were less enthusiastic when it came to the competent-but-digital driving experience.
Over the next few years a V6 biturbo 298kW ‘Red Sport’ flagship arrived, steer by wire was retuned, adaptive suspension introduced, and the diesel engine dropped. A coupe version called the Q60 launched in late 2016.
By the time Infiniti withdrew [again!] from Australia in late 2019, the Q50 was a decent and good value vehicle.
These days, as a brand and car no longer sold in Australia, it’s downright cheap. Shop around and you can get into a 2019 Red Sport for well under $40,000 and a base model Pure 2.0-litre turbo for less than $25,000.
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Affordable used medium SUV
Holden Equinox
When it launched in November 2017, the Holden Equinox five-seat medium SUV was going to be one of three pillars of the Holden brand along with the Colorado ute and the Astra small car.
Of course, such objectives were made redundant in 2020 when Holden was shut down by parent General Motors and ceased trading.
The replacement for the unloved Captiva, the Equinox was a rebadged Mexico-built Chevrolet that initially launched in a comprehensive line-up of turbo-petrol and diesel models and the choice of front- and all-wheel drive.
In early 2020, not long before the shock closure announcement, Holden had pared the range back from 10 to four variants by axing various equipment levels, most AWDs, and all diesels.
What the Holden Equinox builds its appeal upon is a lot of real estate for the price – it has a family friendly interior with a big boot.
The equipment levels are good for the money and when you first step in the materials quality presents well.
But delve a bit deeper and you’ll find a lot of hard and scratchy surfaces, while the locally-tuned driving experience is competent rather than involving.
It’s no surprise given Holden’s demise that used pricing is bargain basement. If you’re willing to take the punt you could get into a 2020 Holden Equinox for as little as $15,000, significantly cheaper than an equivalent Toyota RAV4.
The Mazda CX-8 might have been discontinued in favour of more luxurious SUVs, but it remains a solid and sensible SUV option within the used car market
Affordable used large SUV
Mazda CX-8
In this guide we’ve already covered off several examples of passenger vehicles falling out of the market because of the rise of small, medium and large SUVs.
Well, the Mazda CX-8 is an SUV that’s been cancelled because of the rise of the SUV. It’s a whole family of new Mazda SUVs that are designed to push the brand upmarket that signalled its demise. The Mazda CX-8 just doesn’t fit with these luxurious plans.
New car buyers’ loss is the used car buyers’ gain, because the Mazda CX-8 is a very solid and sensible seven-seat family wagon (actually six seats in some luxury versions).
Through the years since its 2018 launch to its 2024 demise, the Mazda CX-8 was made available in a variety of petrol and turbo-diesel engine choices as well as front- and all-wheel drive.
Car buyers are advised to stick with the front-wheel drive naturally-aspirated petrol mid-spec models. These Mazda CX-8s are cheaper to buy and run, and have less potential reliability issues than the turbo-diesels.
Essentially a long wheel base CX-5 medium SUV, the Mazda CX-8 is a well-balanced ride and drive, is nicely built and well-presented inside.
Mazda, as is its way, updated the CX-8 annually with new equipment. For instance, in 2019 Apple CarPlay and Android Auto became standard.
A Mazda CX-8 of that vintage will cost you from around $25,000 to $30,000 on the used car market, which makes it appealing family transport.
Affordable used luxury SUV
Jaguar F-Pace
The default luxury SUV choice is German and more often than not BMW or Mercedes-Benz. That means you won’t find a used car bargain shopping amongst those car brands too often.
But Jaguar, despite being a brand that has almost sunk out of view in Australia, has a great heritage and a really impressive luxury SUV in the form of the F-Pace.
Not to be confused with the small E-Pace or the electric I-Pace, the F-Pace is a direct rival for the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE.
First launched in Australia in 2016, the F-Pace has gone through a confusing series of model expansions, retractions and side steps.
There have been petrol and diesel variants, generational powertrain and infotainment overhauls, the bellowing SVR supercharged V8, entry-level rear-wheel drives, a plug-in hybrid and limited editions.
That means there’s a lot of choices, although more recently the range has been simplified.
But whatever you choose, you are getting one of the best-driving, best-looking mid-size five-seat luxury SUVs going around.
If you want to take the risk, early 2016 examples can be had for under $25,000. Younger 2020 options are quoted from under $50,000.
More: The best used cars and SUVs under $50K
You can enter the EV market for around $30,000 if you can find a second-hand 2019 Hyundai Ioniq
Affordable used 4x4 dual-Cab ute
Holden Colorado
The Holden Colorado died in 2020 along with the brand, but cars, utes and SUVs from around that timeframe still have a lot of mileage potentially left in them.
Thai-built, but with plenty of local development and tuning influence, the Holden Colorado is a strong and simple design with a gutsy 2.8-litre turbo-diesel powering the most popular 4x4 dual cab variants.
If you do go looking back through the timeline, be aware the Colorado was significantly improved in a 2017 with a comprehensive engineering update.
Therefore, buyers are advised to buy 2017 models onwards.
Importantly, Colorado includes 3500kg braked towing capacity for grey nomads and low range 4x4 for off-roaders.
The Colorado also spawned the wild SportsCat high-performance model from Walkinshaw Auto Group that tried to turn Colorado into a bit of sports car.
Ute buyers can comfortably find an upper-spec 2020 Holden Colorado 4x4 dual cab auto for under $30,000.
More: Best cars for towing in Australia
Affordable used electric car
Hyundai Ioniq EV
In an era where a new battery electric car is still going to cost you at last $35,000 , the Hyundai Ioniq offers a cheaper alternative.
No, we’re not talking about the Hyundai Ioniq 5 or the Hyundai Ioniq 6 , which are the Korean giant’s current offerings from its electric vehicle sub-brand.
When the five-door Ioniq launched in 2019 it was Hyundai’s first battery electric vehicle to go on-sale in Australia. Just to hedge its bets, Hyundai also launched a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid.
The Hyundai Ioniq EV survived until the arrival of the Ioniq 5 in 2022 and was then quietly ditched along with the hybrid and PHEV.
At launch the Ioniq EV was priced around $45,000, claimed a 230km range via a small 28.5kWh battery pack and a single 88kW e-motor.
It also came with a locally-tuned dynamic set-up that made it nice drive and – thanks to its e-motor – quiet and responsive.
In 2019 the battery pack was boosted to 38.3kWh and the range to 294km. This is the version you want to shop for.
Second hand prices start around $30,000 for a Hyundai Ioniq from this time.
More: What to know about buying a used electric car
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