Best grey cars
Grey cars come in all shapes and sizes. Here are eight of the best, covering light and dark shades and sports cars, SUVs and electric cars
Don't fancy a bold colour like red, blue or yellow for your car but want something more distinctive than white, black or silver? Driving one of the best grey cars means you get a little of the style of more vibrant colours and the sophistication of black or silver without having anything too zany or difficult to keep clean. Silver is a better colour for minimising the visual impact of light scratches, stone chips and dirt - although it can lack the visual drama of a rich grey.
As grey paint can be a real statement colour, some car makers use it on their most expensive vehicles. Take Mercedes, which offers matte grey paint - which has something of a chalkboard-type finish - on some of its incredibly fast and incredibly pricey AMG models. Matte paint is a very rare sight in the UK with glossy metallic and flat (sometimes called ‘solid’) paints being more popular.
Part of the reason matte paint is more uncommon is because it is slightly more difficult to keep clean and it is more important to properly take care of it to prevent damage. Repairing imperfections is possible, but it is generally harder and more costly than with the other main paint types. Metallic and flat paint are the most common types of paint in the UK and can be cleaned with a bucket, sponge and some car soap.
Below are some of our favourite grey cars. They range in size and appeal - including a great light grey car for learner drivers to a darker grey two-seater convertible for summer fun. There are also larger, more practical options such as family-sized SUVs and a super-desirable electric model. Second-hand deals for the cars below typically range from £13,000 to £40,000 depending on age and specification. If you're looking to pay monthly with PCP finance, you can expect this to translate to around £225* to £575* per month.
1. BMW 2 Series
Best light grey car for performance
Used deals from £14,301
Monthly finance from £215.30*
Although there are other sports cars, the BMW 2 Series occupies something of a niche - being both stylish and fun to drive and usefully practical. It can be a blast to drive around corners on roads with higher speed limits. Additionally, the range of engines includes high-performance and efficiency options - with some mixing a bit of both - and on a practical note, there are two relatively large seats in the back.
‘Relatively’ is the keyword here as compared to cars like the Audi TT space is good, but compared to cars like the Vauxhall Astra or VW Golf space is quite restricted. Still, there is plenty of room in the front and the possibility of fitting adults in the rear seats for shorter journeys. Excluding the standalone ‘M2’ high-performance model, the fastest 2 Series is the M240i version (along with the closely related M235i older version). For lower running costs there are 218i petrol and 220d diesel models, with convertible versions for extra style.
2. Ford Puma
Best light grey car for small families
Used deals from £14,995
Monthly finance from £220.13*
With a name like ‘Grey Matter’ it would be fair to assume this paint would be the thinking person’s choice. For small families, it could well be, as the Puma promises all the benefits of a Ford Fiesta with an added dollop of practicality, thanks to a great boot design which includes something Ford calls ‘Megabox’. This is effectively a plastic compartment under the boot floor that can be washed and drained thanks to a removal bung in the bottom - perfect if you often end up with muddy football boots or walking boots to transport home.
Just like in the Ford Fiesta, there is an easy to use media system, frugal yet punchy petrol engines and well-engineered suspension that gives the driver the confidence to zip around bends on B-roads. Crash test experts at Euro NCAP gave the Puma a full five star rating when tested in 2019, awarding it 84% for child occupant protection. This put it 1% better than the Renault Captur, which is another impressive crossover and arch-rival for the Puma.
3. Honda Jazz
Best light grey car for older drivers
Used deals from £7,750
Monthly finance from £219.61*
A Honda Jazz shines for two main reasons. One, it is ludicrously practical for its size and two, it is very easy to drive. These both help make the Jazz very popular with drivers who value being able to get in and out of a car easily, rather than sporty looks or performance. On the subject of looks, the Jazz can appear quite boxy but this helps with usability as it is easy to get larger items such as golf clubs or even dogs in and out of the boot.
Honda includes plenty of standard equipment with the Jazz. A perfect example of this is an electronic handbrake, which has been standard on all models since the latest generation of Jazz launched in 2020. The handbrake can be controlled by a switch meaning there is no yanking of a handbrake potentially putting a strain on weary shoulders - it will automatically disengage when you set off, too.
4. Jaguar I-Pace
Best light grey car for super-quiet electric driving
Used deals from £26,490
Monthly finance from £405.58*
The Jaguar I-Pace is an upmarket electric car and has a maximum claimed range of 292 miles per charge. As with all electric cars, there is a caveat to this figure; in the real world, the range will likely be shorter, although if you mainly do town driving with a lot of stops and starts, it is sometimes possible to match or exceed the official range figures as electric cars can recuperate energy that would otherwise be wasted when braking.
The battery itself comes with an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty, which is much longer than the standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty many petrol or diesel engines are covered by. This means that you should be able to have confidence in the battery and electric motor to stand up to the test of time.
The I-Pace is not just a comfortable and luxurious machine. It comes with two electric motors that are quite powerful and as they can deploy all their power from a standstill - an advantage electric motors have over petrol or diesel engines - acceleration is rapid. What makes it surreal is that you can accelerate this quickly in a car with comfortable seats, space for five and a large boot. Whether you enjoy driving quickly or simply value being able to get up to speed effortlessly, the I-Pace can do it.
5. Mazda MX-5
Best light grey car for two-seater sports car fun
Used deals from £13,600
Monthly finance from £301.21*
At the time of writing, Mazda offers the MX-5 in two shades of grey. Depending on the specification of each model, there can also be grey alloy wheels and a grey roof - just in case you really love grey. The latter is only for ‘RF’ versions which have a folding metal roof, unlike regular MX5 models which have a folding fabric top.
Driving an MX-5 is a very enjoyable experience - not because it is overly comfortable, but because you sit quite low down so you feel like you are travelling much faster than you really are, with a slick gearchange, precise steering and great handling around corners. Plus, even the least powerful 1.5-litre petrol engine can make for brisk progress when you want to accelerate quickly.
On the practicality front, Mazda has shaped the modest boot so that it can store two average size carry-on suitcases, too. Smart. This may not be the most practical car, but few cars that offer this much fun offer any more practicality.
6. Mercedes GLC
Best light grey car for a premium look
Used deals from £21,870
Monthly finance from £356.52*
The Mercedes GLC is a great option for those looking for an upmarket SUV, whether that be for a family vehicle, company car or retirement treat. The great news is that ‘220d’ or ‘250d’ diesel models promise impressive fuel economy, so the GLC needn’t break the bank to run. 220d versions were introduced in 2019 at the same time that Mercedes introduced a number of other revisions to the GLC, including updating the styling and the media system.
Being a more upmarket car, the GLC is available with features that are typically only offered on expensive cars. These include tech such as a powered boot door, so there's no need to struggle opening the boot by hand, air suspension - which swaps steel springs for bags of air to improve comfort - and a Burmester sound system. These are not standard across the range so be sure to double-check the specification of the GLC you are looking at if any of them are must-haves for you.
7. Toyota RAV4
Best light grey car for company car drivers
Used deals from £13,995
Monthly finance from £303.10*
It would be fair to say that the Toyota RAV4 is one of the more imposing SUVs on the road thanks to its reasonably large proportions and sharp, angular styling. Grey models with black alloy wheels and a black roof can look especially menacing. Some might take styling like this to mean the RAV4 drives like a sports car but this is far from the truth, as the RAV4 is a very comfortable cruiser.
If you can charge your car regularly, the plug-in hybrid version is a great option, as it comes with a more substantial battery-powered range than many plug-in hybrids, meaning that you can travel up to 46 miles on a charge. If plugging in regularly is not an option, then the self-charging hybrid model will work better, as this is cheaper and less complex, while still proving decently economical.
You might wonder why these are good cars for company car drivers, but this is partly because of their low official CO2 emissions figures meaning lower benefit-in-kind tax for those with company cars. In addition, they come with a large engine that returns the fuel economy of a much smaller engine, so you could make a profit on your mileage claims if your company uses engine size to calculate cost per mile payments.
8. Vauxhall Corsa
Best light grey car for learner drivers
Used deals from £6,700
Monthly finance from £149.55*
Each year the Vauxhall Corsa and Ford Fiesta do battle to be the best-selling small car in the UK and in 2021 it was the Corsa that out-sold the Fiesta. This is partly thanks to the latest Vauxhall Corsa being far and away the best version yet. The older Corsa, meanwhile, is still a very competent car and is a great option for drivers on a tighter budget.
The latest Corsa, however, is comfortable, economical and as good as ever to drive. In addition, Vauxhall offers plenty of the latest equipment with the Corsa. This includes smartphone mirroring software, such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. As for engines, learner drivers may want to look at 1.2-litre petrol models that produce 75hp as these should help with lower insurance. More experienced drivers will be better suited by the 100hp 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine, which offers a broader spread of power.
*Representative PCP finance - Ford Fiesta:
48 monthly payments of £192
Deposit: £0
Mileage limit: 8,000 per year
Optional final payment to buy car: £2,923
Total amount payable to buy car: £11,926
Total cost of credit: £2,426
Amount borrowed: £9,500
APR: 9.9%
BuyaCar is a credit broker, not a lender. Our rates start from 6.9% APR. The rate you are offered will depend on your individual circumstances.