No matter where in the world you’ve driven before, driving in the UK can take some getting used to. The roundabout system. Driving on the left. Not to mention all the confusing UK road signs.

With this in mind, we’ve done a little digging into the best and worst places for newcomers to drive in the UK. Factoring in commute times, fuel costs, car expenses, EV chargers and car park availability – here are the easiest and most difficult places to drive in the UK right now.

The 3 easiest places to drive

3rd - Coventry

Coventry, in third place, leads with 499 EV chargers per 100,000 people, reflecting the city council's commitment to reducing carbon emissions. In other words, if you’ve got an electric car, this is a great place to be driving.

2nd  - Sheffield

Taking the silver for best place to drive is Sheffield, a city in South Yorkshire. The average commuting time is just 25 minutes and fuel costs are reasonable at £1.43 per litre. Cars are cheaper to buy here too, with the average cost coming out at £25,810. 

1st - Manchester 🥇

Finally Manchester, a city in the north of England, takes the driving top spot. First off, the city has the highest number of car parks run by operator National Car Parks (NCP). And it’s got the highest number of NCP parking spaces. So you’ll never be stuck for a spot in the city.

It’s also a good city for electric cars, with 63 EV chargers per 100,00 people. The downsides are the highest average car prices (£33,048) and a lengthy average commute time of 39 minutes.

The 3 most difficult places to drive

3rd - Swindon

To the west of London there’s Swindon, which comes in third place. The town has a commute time of 39 minutes and fuel costs of £1.51 per litre.

It’s not all bad though. Swindon boasts a reasonable average car price of £24,000 – plus it has 70.2 EV chargers per 100,000 people. However, it has only one NCP car park with a mere six parking spaces.

2nd - Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton, ranking second, has a commute time of 41 minutes and fuel costs of £1.53 per litre. Although it has one of the lowest average car prices at £23,000, it has only 30 EV chargers per 100,000 people and 509 parking spaces overall. 

1st - Bradford 🥇

Bradford, a city east of Leeds, came out on top as the most difficult place to drive. The city has a longer average commute time of 44 minutes and has more limited parking, with just one NCP car park and 432 spaces. 

Fuel costs are high too, averaging £1.51 per litre, the fourth-highest of all the cities and towns we looked at. And finally, Bradford also lacks EV infrastructure with just 39 chargers available.

‍

Want extra UK driving tips? Check out our mini driving guide for UK newcomers here. 

Wherever you drive in the UK, you’ll need car insurance – it’s a legal requirement. Luckily, we know just the place you can come.

At Marshmallow, we cover licences from all countries and take into account all your driving experience. No matter where you drove before. We can also give you discounts for proof of your claims-free driving experience. 

This way we save newcomers up to 45% on car insurance.*

Interested? Start your quote today. 

*In July 2023, our average quote for UK newcomers was more than 45% cheaper than the equivalent quote with zero years of driving and claim-free experience. At Marshmallow, we accept driving and claim-free history from all countries.

‍