7:42 am, December 16, 2025
The most in-demand used cars of 2025 have been revealed – and there’s no surprises what’s at the top of the list.
Auto Trader – the UK’s biggest used car advertising platform – has analysed the millions of leads it sent car dealers in 2025 to work out which models generated the most attention.
In doing so, it is confident these are the most popular used cars in the country this year. You can watch out video run down of the top 10 above.
At number one – sweeping up some 3.4% of all leads sent to car dealers this year – was the Volkswagen Golf.
Auto Trader said the reliable hatchback was by far and away the most popular car on its platform, attracting nearly 1% more leads than its next placed rival.
The ad platform sends more than 15m leads to car dealers every year – meaning the Golf generated, on average, some 544,000 leads in 2025.
The second most in demand car of the year was the BMW 3 Series, accounting for 2.6% of leads, while the now-defunct Ford Focus was in third, accounting for 2.4% of enquiries.
The Ford Fiesta – another now discontinued model – was fourth, with 2.3% of enquiries this year.
Fifth place went to the BMW 1 Series which swept up 2.1% of leads from the used car marketplace.
Top 10 Most In-Demand Used Cars of 2025
Source: Auto Trader 2025 data, percentage of enquiries sent to dealers
- Volkswagen Golf – 3.4%
- BMW 3 Series – 2.6%
- Ford Focus – 2.4%
- Ford Fiesta – 2.3%
- BMW 1 Series – 2.1%
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 2.0%
- Mercedes-Benz A-Class – 2.0%
- Vauxhall Corsa – 1.9%
- Volkswagen Polo – 1.9%
- Nissan Qashqai – 1.6%
Marc Palmer, Auto Trader’s head of strategy and insights, said: ‘The respective share of enquiries may feel relatively small, but with around 15m sent through our platform every year, these models are generating significant volumes of enquiries for retailers.
‘Although the order at the top of the list shifts slightly, it’s typically the industry stalwarts that take the title as the most in-demand used car on Auto Trader.’
Palmer said of those cars in the list, the most popular ages was typically between five to 10-years-old.
‘This age group represents the largest pool of stock currently in the market, so naturally, it drives the highest volume of leads,’ he explained.
‘However, the picture is set to change in 2026 as the supply squeeze we’ve seen in younger cars flows up through the parc.
‘Next year, the “missing” cars from the pandemic era will hit this core age bracket, and we expect to see 17% fewer 5-7-year-old models compared to 2019. This shortfall will intensify competition among all segments.’
