Though these cars might typically be considered on the lower end of the market, they bring a sense of luxury to the city driving experience. Nothing compares to being able to slip easily between traffic and park in tight spots.
With that said, there is still substantial variation in the quality of different small cars designed for the city. Here we collect the best of the best.
Skoda Citigo
As the name might imply, this car is designed for an urban landscape. The Citigo is an impressive car from Skoda. The carmaker has certainly shed its Soviet roots and has come a long way. The Citigo regularly tops lists of the best city car.
The car comes in a range of trims and specs. In the top of the range model you get alloy wheels, tinted glass windows and bluetooth connectivity.
There are two engine sizes to choose from. There’s the 59 bhp version as well as the 74bhp version. Both have a 1.0-liter engine.
Speed is not fantastic, but efficiency is excellent. Skoda claims that the car will do 62.8 mpg.
Toyota Aygo
It seems as if Toyota have gotten a little tired of making the same car over and over again. With the new Aygo, they’ve taken as different design language. The unusual front end of the car is allegedly based on manga comic books. It has a strange cross pattern that runs from the hood down to the wheel arches.
What makes the car great isn’t the new looks. It’s the impressive architecture under the all the body work. The car now feels a lot more supple than the older versions. And it makes a good amount of noise in the corners. The steering isn’t bad either and is by most accounts light and airy. That certainly helps when it comes to parking. You should be able to pick up a new Aygo from a reputable Toyota dealer.
Hyundai i10
Hyundai set out to prove that you could have a genuinely enjoyable driving experience in a city car. And they weren’t mistaken. They took what was otherwise an unpleasant buzz box and transformed it into a car with all the life and quality of a top of the range supermini.
Hyundai’s design philosophy for this car is practicality. Unlike the Skoda, it only comes in a 5-door version. And the build quality is very high. It’s more akin to what you would expect from a new Golf than a new Hyundai.
Of course, Hyundai is a relatively small player in a vast market. So they’ve got a lot to prove.
Vauxhall Viva
The Vauxhall has a lot to commend it, not least the extraordinarily low price. The original Viva proved popular in Europe when it was first launched. And the new model builds on this success.
The car is far better equipped than most of its rivals. It has electric windows, cruise control and even electric mirrors as standard. Air conditioning is a slightly pricey add-on. But not significant when you consider the car as a whole package.