Road trips can be one of the most exciting and memorable moments you can have with your car.

The open road, driving for miles and exploring parts of the world you may have not seen before, gives you a great sense of freedom.

But, in order to experience these moments, you must make sure you use the right wheels for the job, right?

Depending on your budget, there are a range of new and second-hand cars that will make a road trip just that little bit better, with all of the cars on this list representing excellent value for money, while being fun, exciting or just comfortable cruisers that can soak up lots of miles.

Here are some of the best cars for road trips, from all kinds of different budgets.

Suzuki Swift Sport 2006-2011 – £5,000

The Suzuki Swift Sport represents excellent value for money. With second-hand prices starting at under £5,000, you can pick up a tidy example that will give you many miles of fun motoring.

With its light body weight, sharp handling and peppy performance, this little Suzuki makes for a great companion on a road trip.

All cars come with climate control, keyless entry and a sports body kit. Also, there are mechanical upgrades over the standard car, including sports suspension, bucket seats and larger alloy wheels.

Powering the car is a 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine that develops 123bhp and 148Nm of torque.

Mazda MX-5 2005-2015 – £10,000

You can’t go wrong with a Mazda MX-5 as this is one of the most fun cars to drive, full stop.

For a budget of around £10,000, this will get you into a third-generation example – also known as the ‘NC’.

You can pick up a 2014 car with less than 30,000 miles on the clock, which features a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with 158bhp and rear-wheel-drive.

The MX-5 represents cheap to run drop-top motoring that also is fun and completely classless.

With its lightweight chassis, agile handling and tight and mechanical gearbox, the MX-5 is one of the best drivers cars around.

Skoda Superb Estate 2016-2024 – £20,000

If you’re planning on doing a road trip that will consist of you driving lots of miles, then Skoda’s Superb Estate could be the ideal car.

Its comfortable, refined and smooth driving experience means that it will just eat up the miles, and with a choice of frugal diesel engines, it should get you to your destination with no dramas at all.

Furthermore, the car’s interior cabin is full of handy storage areas, and its boot capacity of 660 litres means that all of your friends and family’s personal belongings can fit, too.

For around £20,000, this will get you a 2018 example with 40,000 miles on the clock and it will be fitted with a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel engine that is not only frugal, but delivers punchy performance.

Mercedes E-Class Coupe 2017-2023 – £25,000

If you’re going to be driving across the continent, then you’ll need something that is very comfortable.

So, how about the Mercedes E-Class Coupe? Not only does it look good, but its premium cabin makes the whole car ooze class and luxury.

For around £25,000, you can have an E220d in AMG Line Premium Plus trim. It gives you larger alloy wheels and sportier exterior and interior styling, while the 2.0-litre diesel engine produces 194bhp and can manage up to a claimed 45.6mpg.

It may not be the most practical car on this list, but if you are travelling light, then the E-Class Coupe will make an excellent long-distance road trip cruiser.

BMW 5 Series Touring 2017- – £40,000

One of the ultimate road trip family cars has to go to the BMW 5 Series Touring.

It looks good, comes with plenty of standard equipment and its sporty driving dynamics makes this an almost perfect package.

Under the bonnet, there is a choice of petrol, diesel and there is even a plug-in hybrid model, that is badged ‘530e’. This setup features a 2.0-litre petrol engine mated to an electric motor and 12kWh battery pack, which BMW claims can take the car up to 32 miles on electric power.

What’s more, the 5 Series packs a load space of 560 litres or 1,700 litres of boot capacity with the rear seats folded down, making it the ideal vehicle if you’re thinking of doing a long road trip.

Porsche Cayman 981 GT4 2015-2016 – £70,000

If you want to spend a bit more money on something that is fast and exciting, then the Porsche Cayman 981 GT4 may just be the solution.

It’s powered by a 3.8-litre flat-six engine that produces a total of 380bhp and 310Nm of torque. In terms of acceleration, 0-60mph takes four seconds and the car will run onto a top speed of 183mph.

Also, the 981 model, which ran from 2015 to 2016 came as standard with a six-speed manual gearbox, giving the driver even more involvement out on the road – which is why this is one of the ultimate road trip cars.

Plus, with its mid-engined layout, you get two boots, making it quite an easy and practical car to live with.