The best cars under £1,000 with cheap insurance

You might be young, you might live in a high insurance area or you might just want to pay as little as possible for your motoring.  Sometimes you just need a cheap car with cheap insurance.

Here are my top five dirt cheap motors that you don't have to waste too much of your hard earned cash on.

Skoda Fabia 1.4

Not sexy.  Not fast.  But cheap to buy and run.  You can pick up a 70,000 mile 2002 Fabia for £1,000. It is insurance group 2E and will return 40mpg.  The Fabia is a Polo in a slightly less fashionable dress but the interior is arguably funkier than the doom and gloom of the Polo and the dynamics exactly the same.  The 1.4 engine has 65bhp, is old school and will run for miles and miles and miles.

Ford Focus 1.4

The Focus has been around for a while now and you can pick up a first generation 2001 model for £1,000.  The insurance group is 4E and it'll return 42mpg.  The Zetec engine is reliable and produces 75bhp.  It's got just enough poke to take advantage of the Focus' sweet chassis.  Watch out for tatty cars and make sure the servicing is up to date.  

Vauxhall Corsa 1.2i

Lots of people will disagree but I've got a soft spot for small Vauxhalls - possibly because I ran a Nova SR in my teens.  £1,000 buys a 2nd generation Corsa from 2002.  The engine is small but it's still got 75bhp and returns 46mpg.  Go for an SXi and the handling will be pretty good and the insurance is 3E.  The interior is like any Vauxhall - plastic-not-so-fantastic but the stereo should be OK.  As with the Focus make sure its been serviced and looked after

Toyota Yaris 1.0 VVTi

Probably the most boring car here but certainly the most reliable and therefore cheap to run.  The engine is good, it has 68bhp, it'll do 50mpg and it's as quick as the others due to its diminutive size and weight.  Not glamorous but you can get a 2003 and and the insurance is a puny 2E.  It'll go on and on and on and on - until you can afford something faster.

Mercedes-Benz 190E 1.8

And now for something completely different.  Why on earth is a 190E here?  OK, it's insurance group 12 but they're 20 years old now and some insurers will classify it as a classic and give you a decent price.  It's certainly worth a punt on on an insurance comparison site.  The 190E is one of the most solidly built and reliable cars Mercedes has ever made.  Economy won't be as good as the hatches above but it'll still return 35mpg.