You might have noticed a few unfamiliar faces in your neighbourhood lately. I’m not talking about people, I’m talking about cars. Models you don’t recognise; badges you’ve never seen before.
If you’ve spotted something unusual gliding by and wondered what on earth it is, chances are you’ve just spotted one of the new wave of Chinese cars that have started coming to the UK en masse in the last couple of years.
Names like Changan, Skywell and Xpeng might not be well known here yet, but all of them are trying to carve out a slice of the British car market, and take sales away from more familiar brands.
But with so many new names, it can be hard to work out which is which, or indeed, which is worth your time.
So here’s my guide to the best Chinese cars that I rate – some of which you can already buy for bargain prices on CarGurus – and a couple that I really don’t.
The heroes...
We’ll start with a car that bucks the trend somewhat. The vast majority of Chinese arrivals in the UK in recent times are SUVs, but the BYD Seal is a svelte four-door saloon, intended to go up against the Tesla Model 3, BMW i4 and Volkswagen ID.7. And it does so with some talent.
The big, rotating touchscreen feels a bit gimmicky, and it’s a shame so many of the car’s functions have been piled into it – a common trait with Chinese cars – but the interior feels classy, and the Seal is an easy car to drive, and deals with long motorway journeys smoothly.
Best of all, a top-spec Excellence with rocketship performance (it’ll do 0-62mph in just 4.5 seconds) can be yours for just £36,995 on CarGurus, which is £2,170 less than its CarGurus Instant Market Value (IMV).
Too pricey? Well, at the other end of BYD’s range sits the natty little Dolphin Surf, a city car for the young and the young-at-heart that can be had in a rather striking shade of day-glo yellow.
But its beauty is more than skin deep; this little electric car rides with class, ironing out town bumps better than some of its petrol-powered rivals. Inside, meanwhile, it offers a decent amount of room, and it’s well put-together.
You’ll want a Boost or Comfort model; they’re the ones with a bigger battery. The former can hit 200 miles of range (officially; in the real world that’s likely to be closer to 150-odd), while the latter sacrifices around seven miles of range for extra performance and equipment.
Despite the fact that this model was launched only this year, you can still find some great-value used examples on CarGurus. How about a 2025 Comfort with just 1,700 miles on the clock for £18,790? That’s a £1,477 saving on its market value, and a cracking car for the cash.
But not all Chinese motors are obvious. You might think of Smart as being owned by Mercedes-Benz, for example, and you’d be partially right. But in fact, these days it’s a joint venture with Chinese carmaker Geely, and its modern models are built in the Chinese city of Xi’an. Which makes the Smart #3 one of the most competent and well-rounded Chinese electric cars on sale in the UK.
It’s also one of the most fashionable; where most other Chinese SUVs are discounted, budget offerings, the #3 features premium materials and upmarket design cues. It happens to drive rather well, too, which is why £29,297 for a 2025 example with just 1,800 miles on the clock – £1,272 below its IMV – feels like a great deal.
Likewise, MG might be a name synonymous with tweedy old British sports cars, but it’s been Chinese-owned for years now, which means the company has a head start over its rivals in the UK.
And it shows. The latest MG HS has been a huge hit, mainly because it’s a great package, with plenty of equipment, lots of room, and a comfortable ride.
It’s also priced extremely competitively, and buying one nearly-new just makes a good deal even better. I found a 2024 example with the petrol engine and an automatic gearbox, with just 11,000 miles on the clock, on for £19,995.
That’s a family-sized SUV with six years of warranty remaining on it for less than twenty grand! You don’t need the CarGurus IMV to tell you that’s a good deal, although it agrees, given this car is actually worth £1,766 more.
Mind you, the HS isn’t the only MG that you’ll find a tempting deal on. The company’s mid-range electric hatchback, the MG 4, is a rival to the Volkswagen ID.3, and is stealing sales from its German rival all the time. No wonder, given how much it offers for the price.
Once again, though, the best savings are to be had by buying used. How about a two-year-old MG 4 SE Long Range with 11,000 miles on it, going for just £13,999? A whopping £1,266 discount over its market value surely isn’t to be sniffed at.
The zeroes...
Many Chinese models won’t thrill you particularly, but that isn’t reason enough to call them bad cars. Yes, they’re bland, but they’re mostly inoffensive, and when they’re priced so keenly, you can forgive a lot. But there are a couple of models that are truly awful, and well worth avoiding.
One of those is the GWM Haval Jolion Pro. Behind its long-winded name, this Nissan Qashqai-sized SUV looks like terrific value, costing no more than many cars from the size category below. But in reality, its awkward looks, terrible control layout, labyrinthine infotainment system, comically small boot, noisy petrol hybrid engine, and bouncy suspension all make it a car that’s best avoided.
Unlike the Haval Jolion Pro, the Skywell BE11 is an all-electric SUV, and given that’s what the Chinese tend to do best, you might have more hope for it. But it’s hopeless to drive, fiddly to use, flimsy inside, slow to charge, and lacks certain safety kit you might take for granted. Don’t be tempted by the low prices on these two models: sometimes, a cheap car is just that.