Best silver cars
Silver may be the prize you get for coming second but silver cars are far more popular than gold ones; check out some of the best here
Silver is a flexible hue as it works well by itself and it compliments other colours on a car - such as a contrasting red roof or dark alloy wheels - so it can really bring a car to life. Silver paint can also be found on all sorts of cars, SUVs and vans, so whatever you're after, you should be able to find a silver example.
From cheap runabouts that rarely exceed 40mph to hypercars that can travel well in excess of 200mph, silver is common to all. Here we focus on the middle ground, from family-sized SUVs to electric hatchbacks and convertibles. Cars that are readily available for delivery to your door for less than you might think.
Depending on their exact age and specification the cars below typically range from £10,000 (or around £175* per month on PCP finance) to £40,000 (or £575* per month), so whatever your budget, you should be able to find a car to suit.
There are a variety of shades of silver - some light, some dark. If you are open to some leftfield options, you could also consider silvery-gold, light beige and light grey models. There are two main types of paint for cars - solid (sometimes called ‘flat’) and metallic. Metallic paint tends to sparkle more while solid paint can really shine when clean. Both are as easy as each other to keep clean but flat colours can be cheaper to repair in the event of a bump.
1. BMW X3
Best silver car for upmarket family transport
Used deals from £16,300
Monthly finance from £319.48*
The BMW X3 sits at the very top of the mid-size SUV tree. Cars of these proportions are the middle ground between mammoth SUVs such as the Land Rover Discovery and more modest options like the Seat Arona, which are easier to drive around town. A large part of why the X3 is such an impressive car is that it does everything rather well.
It looks good - with enough contours to look slick in silver, unlike some more slab-sided SUVs - it drives well, being comfortable both in town and on the motorway, it is practical for families (although those in need of seven seats should look to the X5) and it is relatively good value for this type of car. Yes, this BMW is more expensive than less premium SUVs such as the Kia Sportage, but when you consider the space, equipment and drive offered by the X3, there is a strong argument for it being worth every penny.
2. Vauxhall Astra
Best silver car for low purchase prices
Used deals from £5,995
Monthly finance from £163.23*
You may think the Vauxhall Astra is bland and not worth considering, but because this isn't the most exciting car, it is excellent value as a second-hand purchase. This is good news for you, because the Astra is actually a very good car, being affordable, comfortable, practical and enjoyable to drive. In fact, Vauxhall offers one of the most subtle fast hatchbacks available in the form of the Astra with a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine producing 200hp, which makes this a speedy and low-key machine.
If you are more concerned with high fuel economy than high speed, then the diesel models are well worth investigating. In particular those with the 1.5-litre diesel engine, as this balances performance and economy very well. If, however, you don't cover many miles and simply want an easy-to-drive, nippy but relatively frugal engine, then one of the small petrol engines should work well for you - with the 1.4-litre engines offering a particularly good blend of punch and low fuel costs.
3. Jaguar E-Pace
Best silver car for older drivers
Used deals from £19,000
Monthly finance from £250.22*
For drivers wanting a small upmarket SUV in silver, the Jaguar E-Pace offers a couple of shades - and a handful of grey hues, too. A lighter option is Hakuba Silver, which looks particularly sharp with contrasting black 19-inch alloy wheels. Another silver option is Silicon Silver, which is much darker and is more expensive if ordering an E-Pace new from Jaguar.
Regardless of colour, one of the Jaguar’s best features is its exterior styling - which is both sporty and elegant. The interior isn’t quite at the same level, but the E-Pace is relatively comfortable and easy to drive. Visibility is generally good, with a reversing camera available to help with parking manoeuvres. Plus, there is plenty of adjustment for the driver’s seat and steering wheel so whatever size you are, you should be able to get comfortable.
4. Ford Fiesta
Best silver car for affordable fun
Used deals from £7,495
Monthly finance from £154.26*
You could spend 10 times the price of a Ford Fiesta ST and buy a supercar but we’d wager you’d have no more fun in that than you would in the Fiesta ST. The Fiesta offers a powerful engine that emits a sporty thrum when you work it hard, along with a similarly sporty exhaust note and provides surprisingly fast acceleration plus well set up suspension that enables you to zip around corners with the car feeling stuck to the road.
Plus, unlike a six-figure supercar, the Ford Fiesta is perfectly sized for UK roads. You can nip to the shops, fit friends in the back and leave it at the airport when you go on holiday without fretting that someone will cause thousands of pounds' worth of damage by scratching the paint or scuffing some trim. There is a cherry on top of the cake, too, as the Fiesta can get close to 40mpg fuel economy in real-world driving.
5. Honda CR-V
Best silver car for a low-emission SUV
Used deals from £13,950
Monthly finance from £262.30*
Honda launched the latest version of the CR-V in 2018 with the option of petrol and hybrid models - though petrol power was removed as an option in the latter parts of 2020. Interestingly, the previous-generation CR-V looks remarkably similar to the newest CR-V from the outside, so older versions are quite the bargain in that respect. The interior is less modern, but if that doesn't bother you, going for an older version could be a smart way to save money.
Hybrid versions are classed as self-charging hybrids, which means that they don’t need plugging in, though the reason for that is that the battery pack is very small and only offers a small electric boost, though this still reduces your fuel consumption - especially around town. Honda makes both five and seven-seater CR-Vs but the former is far and away the most common. In models with the third row of seats, the extra pews are best suited to kids, as space is limited for fully grown adults.
6. Mercedes C-Class Cabriolet
Best silver car for open-top driving
Used deals Limited stock
There is something about driving a convertible that makes complete sense, if you love the idea of having the wind in your hair as you drive. It shouldn’t, as it is often cold and wet in the UK. Then again, the C-Class Cabriolet is well equipped to keep front passengers warm - regardless of the weather. One of the best features for warmth is called ‘Airscarf’, which is a system that can blow hot air on the neck of the driver and front passengers. This means that you can enjoy having the roof down, without worrying about feeling cold.
Depending on the engine you choose, the C-Class Cabriolet can vary from a surprisingly economical and comfortable cruiser to a raucous high-performance machine. People shopping for a relatively nippy but economical convertible that won’t break the bank to run might be interested in a ‘C220d’ or ‘C300d’, which both feature small diesel engines that offer plenty of punch. As for colours, Mercedes not only offers a choice of paint colours for the body but a choice of roof colours, too - including black, blue and red.
7. Land Rover Discovery
Best silver car for seven seats
Used deals from £26,998
Monthly finance from £532.12*
Bonus points if you noticed that the Land Rover Discovery is painted in the same colour silver as the Jaguar E-Pace above. This is because Jaguar and Land Rover are part of the same company - so sharing paint pots makes sense from a manufacturing point of view. The Discovery is considerably bigger than the E-Pace. So big in fact, that the sixth and seventh seats are spacious enough for adults to use. In a lot of seven-seater SUVs, the rearmost seats are best suited to kids, but not here.
There's a risk with such a large car that the Discovery would look like a big old slab of car in a flat colour like white, but in silver with black accents - such as the grille and trim around the bottom of the bodywork - this Land Rover looks rather sleek. Not that we imagine it would stay as clean and shiny as the car above for long, because the Discovery is a great motorway cruiser and a great off-roader. Neither of which are good for keeping paint clean.
8. Nissan Leaf
Best silver car for zero tailpipe emissions
Used deals Limited stock
The Leaf is an electric hatchback and one of the most impressive electric cars on account of it being relatively affordable and remarkably simple to drive. Being electric, the Leaf has zero tailpipe emissions - as there is no exhaust pipe. For the cleanest driving, it's worth trying to use electricity generated from renewable resources, such as wind and to drive smoothly, to make sure you don't waste energy by driving around at full speed and slamming on the brakes every time you come up to a junction or obstacle.
The Nissan Leaf is in its second-generation and is available in two main versions; standard and ‘e+’. Standard models are best suited to people who typically do shorter journeys or mainly drive in town, as the official range is up to 168 miles per charge. e+ versions surpass this and can travel more than 200 miles from a full charge.
These numbers are best considered as guides rather than set amounts, as how close you will get depends on factors such as how cold it is (batteries are normally less efficient when it's cold) and how fast you're going (the faster you travel, the more energy is normally needed to keep you going).
*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.