Hello, and welcome to Parkers
We’re here to help you choose and purchase your next car, and make it as easy and enjoyable as possible in plain English. We review all of the current cars to buy now, and work with a number of partners to supply the best valuations, as well as access the best car buying and leasing services.
Choose your perfect car with the help of our industry-leading reviews, then visit our leasing pages for special offers, as well as visit the regularly-updated Deal watch page for the latest deals.
Hope you enjoy your stay with us, and to find out more about what it is that makes Parkers so special, please keep reading.
Here’s more about Parkers
Parkers was established in 1972 as a monthly car valuation ‘book’ to help car buyers get the best price for their trade-in – or help them find their next one by providing an industry-trusted valuation. It started out small, but today Parkers is one of the UK’s biggest car reviews and advice websites, according to independent website analyst organisation, IPSOS.
Parkers provides hundreds of thousands of valuations to the general public every month, but offers so much more – providing more than 1,500 car reviews, including the most comprehensive ones you’ll find for the 450-plus new-car model ranges on sale today. There are also tools to help buyers choose the best cars that are right for them for the best price possible.
Whether you’re researching new or used car reviews, want a valuation for your next one, or need help and advice buying, selling or running your next one, Parkers can help. You can even put a new car on your drive by picking one up via our leasing partner, Zen Auto.
Car valuations
Parkers has been valuing cars since 1972, and our team of independent experts visits hundreds of car dealers and auctions every month to come to its industry-trusted valuations for thousands of cars. In an average year, Parkers monitors around 1,500,000 used car sales — that’s around 4,100 used car sales every day.
>> Get your car valuation here
Car finance
Parkers Editor, Keith Adams, oversees our Deal Watch page, and is our market expert – borne from the experience of buying and selling cars for more than 30 years.
It’s our job to help you save you money by seeking out the best deals in both cash and monthly-payment terms. Deal Watch is updated on a weekly basis – and it’s packed with the best prices for all cars, from the cheapest city car to top-end luxury and performance cars.
>> Click here for car finance advice
>> Click here for car leasing advice
New and used cars: how we review them
We have a highly-experienced team of car reviewers who attend all new car launches, then test the cars in real-world situations with a view to how they will work for you.
Overall Parkers review star rating: what does it mean?
It’s a fundemental reason for reading a review: should you buy this car. Our overall star rating in conjunction with the review verdict should leave you in no doubt whether we recommend this car or not. We work on the principle that if a car is good without being excellent in any significant way, it gets three stars. If it’s very good, it gets four – and anything above that means it’s excellent and highly recommended.
We constantly review our star ratings, and they are a good way of comparing rivals – as well as seeing how highly we rate the car in question. Importantly, the overall star rating is not an average of the section ratings (below), but our view on how fit the car is for purpose in overall terms.
Parkers review verdict: should you buy this car?
This is a short summary telling you what’s hot or not about any given car, in context with its rivals and most importantly, whether we recommend it or not. It’s something we apply to all reviewing, be it an all-new supercar, a family SUV, a new city car, or an update to a review that’s been live for years.
We test cars where you’re likely to drive them. In the main it’s on public highways in the UK, but often we go further afield to attend international launch events to provide you with reviews that are timely as well as content-rich.
On top of that if it’s a car you may like to drive on a racetrack, or one that’s likely to be taken off-roading, we’ll do that too. We want Parkers to be your one-stop shop for anything you need to know about a new or used car. This is a verdict that you can trust.
The Parkers 10-point star ratings explained
Our team of expert reviewers has more than 100 years of car reviewing experience across many publications to call upon, and we make a concerted effort to ensure ratings we award are verdicts the entire team can get behind. We hold regular meetings to discuss the pros and cons of each car we rate to produce the most comprehensive, reliable car review available – and one that you can trust when entering the car buying process.
Each and every car review you read goes through the same rigorous editing process, not only in search of errors but also to fact check, hone, update and improve where necessary.
All car reviews are designed to test the cars in the following areas:
Practicality and safety
The most important areas covered include how much room there is for the driver, passengers and their oddments. Also, we show you how big the boot and internal storage areas are and car’s dimensions so you can see if it fits in your garage.
We also review the safety of the car, so show crash test results (where applicable). We also give an evaluation of the safety and driver-assistance systems, information on Isofix and I-Size child seat mounting points, and point out any other worthy systems which may affect the car’s ability to avoid accidents as well as how they handle crashes.
Interior and tech
We check the car’s comfort levels in terms of ride quality, noise, seat bolstering and adjustability of driving position, and then test them on a variety of journeys. The car is thoroughly reviewed from the driver’s perspective, so we look at its driving position, visibility and how the equipment works. The equipment on each trim level is assessed, plus a guide to the optional extras on offer and whether they offer value for money. Also, we take a close look at cabin finishing and materials, availability and performance of multimedia tech such as infotainment touchscreens.
MPG and running costs
We analyse the fuel economy and miles per pound that each major model delivers, private and company car tax, resale values, warranty and servicing packages. In addition, we look at the car’s emissions (if it’s not electric or fuel cell), and report how they fare for CO2 output, NOx and particulates.
If there are any known reliability issues or recalls or prevalent tales of woe from our contacts in the trade, we’ll share them here, as well as report on our findings from thousands of owners’ reviews.
Engines and how it drives
It’s here we talk about a car’s performance. It’s not just about how fast they are, but how we rate the engines and gearboxes available in the range and whether they are all fit for purpose. Points are scored not only for outright excitement, but for smoothness, ease-of-use and the breadth of the line-up.
Handling is also important, and fully explored here – not just how fast a car will go around corners, but whether it delivers a blend of cornering performance, low-speed manoeuvrability, braking and towing capacity where relevant.
>> View the Parkers car reviews here
Parkers New Car Awards
Every year, Parkers names its most recommended cars in a number of categories and market sectors that are tailored to reflect what real people actually want from their cars. We’ve been running our awards since 2017, and have already established a reputation for choosing cars based on the needs of buyers.
Electric and alternatively-fuelled cars
Over the past few years, the Parkers team has driven every EV on sale in the UK to form an expert opinion on all of your options. We also live with them long term, so can tell you all about charging and running costs.
>> Visit the Parkers electric cars section
Vans and pickups
As well as cars, Parkers has a very comprehensive vans and pickups section, which has a dedicated editor to bring you all the latest news, reviews and advice. We give all our commercial vehicle reviews the same level or rigour as the cars – and you can be confident that it’s good if we’re recommending it.
>> Visit the Parkers Vans and Pickups section
Used cars
As you’d expect with our heritage, we’re packed with great used car buying guides, reviews and advice curated by our dedicated full-time used car editor. From the newest approved used options to entry-level runabouts for a few hundred quid, we’ve got you covered with expert advice.
>> Visit the Parkers used cars section
New and used cars for sale
At Parkers you can browse more than 250,000 used cars for sale, and search for the best one based on where you live, what type of car type you want, and what your budget is. We have tools to help you decide what’s best for you based on how you use your car.
>> Browse new cars for sale
>> Browse used cars for sale
Do you make affiliate commission?
We work with a variety of affiliate partnerships and we may receive a commission for purchases made through our links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
How does this impact your editorial work?
Our affiliate partnerships do not impact on the product choices we make, or the reviews we write. There is no pressure on our editorial team to choose particular products or brands; we won’t recommend a product that we don’t believe in. The products will speak for themselves when you invest in them.