The Coronavirus pandemic continued to affect the operation of the Motability Scheme in October, November and December 2020, with new lockdowns and regular changes to the tier systems affecting the number Motability-accredited car dealerships that were able to open across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In areas that couldn't open many car dealers could operate via 'click-and-collect', subject to local restrictions and the ability of the Motability Specialists to operate safely within local restrictions.
New cars added to the Motability Scheme at the start of quarter 4 2020 included long-awaited new Mercedes-Benz GLA SUV, priced from £2899 Motability Advance Payment. MG also introduced their second EV, the new MG5 EV estate, priced from £699 Advance Payment.
During the quarter other new models that were added to the scheme included the Audi A3 (Sportback and Saloon), the Audi Q3 SUV, the new Citroen C4, the new Vauxhall Mokka (including the Mokka-e) and facelifted versions of the Peugeot 3008 and the seven-seat 5008.
ABARTH – The Abarth 695 70th Anniversary Edition returned this quarter, priced at £0 Motability Advance Payment.
ALFA ROMEO – There’s was no Alfa Romeo Giulia again this quarter, but Alfa did add more versions of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta 5 door hatch, which was available to order from £595 Advance Payment. For that you could get the Sprint trim, which was pretty sporty. It came with 18 inch diamond cut alloy wheels and red brake calipers, leather and alcantara sports seats, carbon style pack, a touchscreen infotainment system with navigation and DAB radio plus front and rear parking sensors. As an additional bonus, it could also be driven by under 25's.
AUDI – At the start of quarter 4 2020, if you wanted an Audi there were only two models to choose from on Motability Scheme. The Audi A1 was available from £0 Advance Payment, with the ‘beefed’ up A1 Citycarver version £399 (up from £299). Audi Q2 prices dropped a little, with the Q2 TFSi Technik down in price from £549 to £449. The Sport trim was £599, while the S Line trim started at £749 (also down £100). The Audi Q2 TSFi Black Edition also dropped £100, stating at £899.
Part way through the quarter Audi launched the facelift version of the Q2, the Q3 and the A3 Saloon and 5 door Sportback.
BMW - The BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe started at £1249, up from £749 the previous quarter (that was for the 218i Sport trim). BMW removed the SE versions of the 3 Series this quarter, which meant that the starting price for the BMW 3 Series was £3499 (for the better Sport trim). That price applied to both the saloon and estate versions of the 3 Series. The German carmaker also increased the price of many of their X1 SUV models. The X1 started at £2099, with the X2 up to £1849. The BMW 1 Series range started at £1349 Advance Payment, while the electric BMW i3S was £1499 (the standard i3 model was no longer available).
CITROEN - Motability Advance Payment prices for the popular C5 Aircross SUV started at £395 (for the C5 Puretech Feel), but it was £1645 for the cheapest automatic model. The Plug-In hybrid version of the C5 Aircross was back after being removed the previous quarter, priced at £3749 Advance Payment. The seven seat Citroen Grand C4 Spacetourer went up again, with the range starting at £1995. The larger 8 seat Space Tourer was priced from £4695 (up from £3995). Prices for the 5 and 7 seat Berlingo range also increased. The Citroen C3 Aircross range began at £0 Advance Payment, and there was a new special ‘Rip Curl’ edition of the small SUV released that we thought looked great value at just £395 Advance Payment.
DACIA - The cheapest Motability car on the scheme yet again was the Dacia Sandero 1.0 SCE Access 5 door, which could be ordered in quarter 4 2020 with £0 Advance Payment and £48.25 weekly rental. Customers who chose this model you would get around £14 of their Mobility Allowance back every week.
DS AUTOMOBILES - The DS3 Crossback started at £799 Advance Payment for the 1.2 PureTech Performance Line, up from £0 the previous quarter. Most of the other DS3 Crossback models went up in price, while the larger DS7 was dropped from the scheme. The DS3 Crossback E-TENSE electric was priced at £1999.
FIAT – Fiat prices stayed pretty competitive, with versions of the updated 500 and 500c plus the larger 500L and the rugged 500X all available to order with £0 Motability Advance Payment. The Fiat 500X Sport was good value again at £0 Advance Payment, or £495 if you wanted an automatic version. The Fiat Tipo Station Wagon started at £295 Advance Payment (up from £0) and prices for many of the Fiat Panda models were up, but you could still order the special edition Panda Waze with £0 to pay upfront.
FORD – At the start of this quarter around 16% of all the Motability vehicles available to order were Ford cars. The new Ford Puma range started at £495 Advance Payment, up from £245 the previous quarter. Top-spec Vignale models were added for the first time. Advance Payment prices for the all-new Ford Kuga SUV still started at £1295 for the Zetec diesel, but most other models came down in price a little. The popular Ford Focus range still started at £45 Advance Payment, with estate versions available from £195. Focus ‘Editions’ trims were released, which got more spec as standard.
HONDA - The Honda Jazz SE automatic trim was £199 Advance Payment this quarter. The better SR version was up though, from £299 to £599. The more rugged Crosstar variant was £999 in quarter 3, but that model increased in quarter 4 to £1799. Honda’s sports coupe-inspired SUV, the HR-V, could still be ordered for £499, and a new trim level – the HR-V Sport – was added to the range.
Prices for the new electric Honda E were unchanged at £1845 for the standard model (or£3099 for the Advance trim.)
HYUNDAI – The Hyundai i20 was no longer available to order this quarter. Prices dropped on a few Hyundai IONIQ Motability models. The price of the Hyundai IONIQ Hybrid dropped, down from £1099 to £0 Motability Advance Payment (a price point many dealers were offering as a special offer the previous quarter). The full electric version of the IONIQ was still £1499. The Hyundai Kona Hybrid started at £999 Advance Payment, up from £299 in quarter 3 (for 1.6 GDi Hybrid SE), and the 100% electric version of the Kona was added, priced from £2249. The standard Kona could still be ordered with £0 Advance Payment, but the larger Hyundai Tucson SUV started at £899 (up from £0 last quarter).
JEEP - The Jeep Renegade Night Eagle special edition was great value again this quarter, with the Advance Payment dropping from £99 to £0. The automatic version went up in price though (by £100), as did other Jeep Renegade models. The price of the Jeep Compass Night Eagle special edition trim also rose, up from £695 to £1295 for Night Eagle MultiAir 140 2WD manual version. Other models also increased by a similar amount.
KIA - The Kia Sportage SUV ‘2’ was £399 in October, up by £100, with the all-wheel-drive version up £50 to £849. There were a number of new Sportage trims added, many of which could be ordered with the new, more efficient 48v mild hybrid engine. The popular Kia Niro self-charging hybrid was £199 Advance Payment (up from £0), and the Niro PHEV plug-in hybrid was priced at £2699 (up from £2349).
MG MOTORS - The new MG HS Crossover was once again one of our best buys of the quarter, with the HS Excite trim at £0 Advance Payment great value for money. The automatic version increased slightly in quarter 4 to £399. The price of the MG ZS EV Excite electric dropped again this quarter, down from £499 Advance Payment to £0, making it another one of our best buys of quarter 4. The plusher Exclusive trim was priced at £299 (down from £999). The other big news from MG was the introduction of the new MG5 EV electric estate, priced at £699.
MAZDA - The price of most Mazda CX-30 trim levels increased in quarter 4 2020, with the exception of the entry SE-L trim which stayed at £799 Advance Payment. Prices for the Mazda3 hatchback were very similar.
MERCEDES BENZ - The starting price for the Mercedes Benz A-Class hatch was £1199 in October (for the A200 Sport manual), up from £799. Other models in range increased as well. The A-Class Saloon range started at £1399 for the A200 Sport (up from £1099). Prices for CLA Coupe have also increased in quarter 4. The much-anticipated new Mercedes-Benz GLA was added at the start of quarter 4, with Advance Payment prices starting from £2899 for the GLA 180 Sport automatic trim.
MINI – The Mini 3 door and 5 door were both available £0 Advance Payment in quarter 2020 in the Cooper Classic trim. It was £250 if you wanted an automatic version of either vehicle. The larger Mini Clubman ‘estate’ was £499 Advance Payment, while the pricing for the updated Mini Countryman SUV was the same as the previous quarter. The Mini Countyman Cooper Classic started at £499 Advance Payment, or it was £749 for the automatic version (and £999 for the automatic ALL4 trim).
MITSUBISHI - The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Plug In hybrid still wasn't available in Q4, while conventionally powered Outlanders could still be ordered, but the price went up by about £500. The Mitsubishi ASX Dynamic (which was £0 Advance Payment) was no longer available in October. The starting price for the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross range did come down in price though, following the introduction of the Design SE trim. It could be ordered with £0 Advance Payment (or £499 for the automatic version).
PEUGEOT - Prices were very similar for the new Peugeot 208 range, but they did increase the starting price of the electric e-208, up from £899 to £1299 for the Allure trim. The Peugeot 2008 SUV range increased by around £300 from quarter 3 to quarter 4, while the electric e-2008 version also went up by a similar amount. There were only a handful of the old-shape Peugeot 3008 SUV models available at the start of the quarter but a new facelifted version came out in December. In October we were also waiting for updated versions of the 308 and the 7 Seat Peugeot 5008, and these were eventually added to the scheme in November and December.
NISSAN – Nissan’s two 100% electric models - the Leaf and the E-NV200 Combi MPV - were both still available to order. A new Leaf trim level, the Acenta, was added part way through the quarter, priced at a very competitive £299 Advance Payment. The Nissan Qashqai was one the best value SUV’s available. The Qashqai Acenta Premium 1.3 DIG-T 160 was £0 Advance Payment with automatic version just £299. Pricing for the popular Nissan Juke was very similar to the previous quarter, with the range starting at £0 Advance Payment. The 7 seat Nissan X-Trail Acenta Premium automatic was priced £2199.
RENAULT - The 100% electric Renault Zoe was down in price again. You could order the Zoe in the Iconic trim with £0 Motability Advance Payment. The Renault Clio 5 door was well priced again this quarter, with 5 models at £0 Advance Payment. We thought that the RS Line E-TECH Hybrid automatic at £295 was a good buy this month. The Renault Captur was another good option this quarter. There were 5 Captur models available with £0 Motability Advance Payment, but the Captur Iconic automatic at £195 Advance Payment stood out for us. The price of Renault Kadjar models increased quite a bit. For example, it was £1045 if you wanted a Kadjar S Edition TCE 140, up from £295 the previous month. The larger Koleos was no longer available.
SEAT – Pricing for the SEAT Leon hatchback dropped a little in quarter 4, plus they also added more vehicles to the range (which started at £0 Advance Payment). The Leon 1.5 TSI EVO FR was great value at £0 (down from £199), as was the FR Sport at £249. The 1.5 eTSi FR automatic was £699, down from £999 the previous month. There’s were also more Leon estate models to choose from, with prices starting at £149. SEAT Tarraco models also came down in price a little in this quarter. For example, the SE trim of the 7 seat Tarraco was £1399 (down from £1749 Advance Payment). The facelifted SEAT Ateca SUV was released towards the back end of the previous quarter, and more models were added in quarter 4. The range started with the SE Technology at £249, with the popular Ateca EVO FR Sport DSG automatic at £1099. If you wanted something a bit smaller, the SEAT Arona FR Sport TSi 115 DSG automatic could still be picked up with £0 Advance Payment.
SKODA - Pricing for the Skoda KAROQ SUV was a bit higher than the previous quarter, but the entry model was still £0 Advance Payment. The Skoda KAROQ SE Technology 1.5 TSI DSG automatic was £895 Advance Payment. Pricing for the smaller Skoda KAMIQ looked pretty-much the same, with the KAMIQ SE TSi 115 DSG automatic still £0 Advance Payment. The updated Skoda Octavia range was a good option this month, but only if you were happy to drive a manual (the best value automatic model was £2195!).
SMART - All smart electric models could be driven away with £0 Motability Advanced Payment. The two-seat smart FORTWO was £0 Advance Payment and £56 weekly rental (making it the cheapest electric car available) while the larger four seat FORFOUR was £0 Advance Payment and £60.25 weekly rental.
SUZUKI – Some Suzuki Vitara SUV prices improved in quarter 4. The Vitara SZ4 and SZ-T Boosterjet 48v hybrid trims were both competitively priced at £0 Advance Payment. The updated Suzuki Swift Hybrid SZ-5 automatic was great value during this quarter, priced at £199 Advance Payment.
TOYOTA - The Toyota C-HR Hybrid ICON could still be ordered with £495 Advance Payment in this quarter. The better C-HR Design was £500 more. The new Yaris Hybrid 5 door was available to order for the first time, starting at £0 Motability Advance Payment. Toyota Corolla prices also improved a little, bringing down the price of the hatchback, saloon and touring sports versions. The seven seat Toyota Prius+ was no longer available to order.
VAUXHALL - In October the electric Vauxhall Corsa-e could be ordered through the Motability Scheme with £549 Advance Payment (down from £799 for the SE). By December they'd released a new version that you could order with nothing to pay upfront. The prices for the Vauxhall Grandland X range started at £299 Advance Payment for the SRi NAV trim. Vauxhall Astra prices went up, with the range starting at £499 for both the hatchback and estate versions. The 9 seat Vauxhall Vivaro Life could be ordered with £1249 Motability Advance Payment. Great value.
VOLKSWAGEN – The eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf started at £0 Advance Payment (for the newly-introduced 1.0 TSi Life with 108 BHP). Prices were pretty similar for petrol models, but diesel variants of the new Golf did go up. The new eTSi petrol hybrid automatic models started from £599. The T-Roc range was much more affordable in quarter 4, starting at £0 Advance Payment for the SE. We liked the look of the T-Roc 1.5 TSi EVO SEL automatic at £499 (down from £1799) and the T-Roc R Line at £999. The seven seat Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace could be ordered with £1949 Advance Payment. Prices for the updated Tiguan SUV were released towards the back end of October.
VOLVO – There were more Volvo XC40 models back on the scheme this quarter after Volvo removed many of the more affordable models in quarter 3. The Volvo XC40 T3 R-Design returned at £1399, while the T3 Inscription was £1499. It was £100 extra if you wanted the automatic version of either model.
Here you'll find a selection of the printable Motability price guides that vehicle manufacturers published back in quarter 4 2020.