In less than a decade Chinese cars have gone from automotive obscurities to class contenders. The speed of progress from the country’s car brands has been head-spinning, as they seek to conquer new markets with a range of models that often undercut established mainstream contenders on price and tech.

It’s a far cry from the early Nougties, when Chinese brands were often the butt of motor show jokes as they filled their stands with visual rip-offs of well-known European machines. When they did finally start designing and building their own models, they were bargain basement offerings that were dynamically way off the pace. However, that’s all changed.

There are now a number of ambitious Chinese brands to choose from, each offering a wide range of cars – from superminis to SUVs and everything in between. What’s more, in terms of design, driving dynamics and desirable tech they are often more than a match for European and Japanese rivals. This is especially true of EV models, which tend to serve-up impressive performance, range and charging capability.  

Yet one aspect of the Chinese car hasn’t changed: the price. In almost every case, the models in our list of the best Chinese cars undercut their nearest on-paper rival by thousands. Despite often offering more kit and a longer warranty (and being subject to trade tariffs in some countries), many of these models will leave more cash in your wallet when it comes to buying.

Best Chinese cars to buy now

So which are the best Chinese cars? To find out, we’ve run the rule over all the cars we’ve tested, sifting out the top 10 candidates from various different sectors. However, we’ve thrown our net not just over China’s domestic brands, but also cars that are built in the country by foreign manufacturers. So read on to find out what’s made our final rundown…

1. MG3 Hybrid+

MG pulled out all the stops for its second generation supermini, which went straight to the top of the small car sector when it arrived in 2024. While its predecessor was cheap, and felt it, the latest version combines the old car’s great value with a cutting edge hybrid drivetrain and  class-leading driving dynamics. With 193bhp on tap the petrol-electric MG3 leaves rivals standing when it comes to straigtline pace, yet it also claims a frugal 64.2mpg at the pumps – a figure our testers closely matched in real world use.