Petrol is cheaper to buy, cheaper to insure, and still perfectly adequate for a first car. Hybrid costs more upfront and insures higher on average, but returns dramatically better fuel economy, roughly 80 mpg against 54 mpg. Whether that trade is worth it depends entirely on how many miles you'll actually drive.
The numbers
Petrol engine
Hybrid engine
Insurance group
Averages around group 13 across our full catalogue, though ordinary small-engine first cars sit much lower, group 2 to 10.
Averages around group 20 across our full catalogue, higher than the equivalent petrol version of the same badge.
Typical used price
£7,500 to £15,500 on the used market
£15,800 to £20,600 on the used market
Road tax
Around £199 a year on average
Around £193 a year on average, essentially the same as petrol
Fuel economy
54 mpg average combined
80 mpg average combined, and up to 113 mpg on the best examples
Euro NCAP rating
4.4 stars average (many individual models test at 5)
4.9 stars average
Why choose this one
Cheaper to buy and insure, mechanically simpler, and every garage can service one. For a first car doing modest mileage, there's rarely a good reason to pay the hybrid premium.
Dramatically better fuel economy, up to 113 mpg on the best examples, which adds up fast for anyone doing real mileage. Road tax and servicing cost about the same as petrol, so the fuel saving is close to free money on higher-mileage use.
Sources: First Car Scout vehicle listing and insurance-group data (July 2026).
The catch
The insurance gap is real but not fixed: it's largely because hybrid trims tend to be the newer, better-equipped end of a model range rather than something inherent to the hybrid system itself. The direct comparisons on this site show it both ways: the Yaris Hybrid only costs a little more to insure than the ordinary petrol (group 13 against group 7 to 10), while the Jazz's hybrid jumps further (group 20 to 22 against group 13). Road tax and servicing are essentially identical either way. The genuine deciding factor is mileage: at low annual mileage, the hybrid's higher purchase price may never be repaid in fuel savings; at higher mileage, it usually is within a couple of years.
