The best city cars – driven, rated and ranked

For some manufacturers, a city car is regarded as a cheap machine, engineered down to a very low price.

But with the Hyundai i10, you get the sense that the brand has applied the same high standards as it would to a Santa Fe, just on a smaller scale. 

Improved lateral body control and cornering stability certainly make it a shade more serious-feeling, as well as more stable, when driven quickly.

Richard Lane, Deputy road test editor

Interior quality and general desirability have increased significantly with this latest version, as has practicality. This is now one of the most accommodating city cars, rivalling models from the class above. 

The grown-up way the i10 drives is a true indicator of its excellence. It rides absorbently, if a little noisily and firmly on range-topping 16in wheels, and is refined and relaxed on a run, while the compact dimensions and light controls make it a doddle around town.

Overall, the i10 is a pleasingly rounded, sensible, well-equipped city car that nudges close to the top spot in its class.

The new Citroën C3 and electric ë-C3 are very different propositions from the models they replace, majoring on comfort and taking on the brand's new design language. 

Priced from £18,805 for the hybrid and £22,095 for the EV, the C3 is a competitive small car that particularly excels in the city. 

The ë-C3 is quite a spacious-feeling supermini, one with particularly abundant head room in the front row and enough space in the second row for most adults to be fairly comfortable.

Matt Saunders, Road test editor

The range starts with a 98bhp 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. You can also opt for a three-cylinder mild hybrid with the same power output, which integrates a six-speed dual-clutch automatic, a 48V battery and a 28bhp electric motor. 

Meanwhile, the electric ë-C3 offers 111bhp and 92lb ft of torque, plus 199 miles of range on a charge. Whichever model you choose, the car offers a pleasing ride quality and a comfortable cabin.

Add to that a reasonably practical 310-litre boot and a generous specification with lots of technology, and you've got yourself a great, affordable city car.

Unfortunately, the petrol Fiat 500 isn't currently available (a new hybrid version will arrive later this year), but the electric Fiat 500e is a fine alternative that carries the model's famous, retro-inspired styling into the new era. 

Electric power suits the 500 beautifully, and this bubble-bodied EV is pleasing both to drive and to own.

Fiat has joined the ranks of those showing that small electric cars can be viable, and also fun – to look at, to sit in, and to drive.

Illya Verpraet, Road Tester

There are EVs with more power and more range, but the 500 isn't entirely left behind on that score, provided you opt for the more powerful 117bhp model with its claimed 199 mile range. The 94bhp version, with its 24kWh battery, delivers just 118 miles between charges. Thanks to its tiny dimensions and tight turning circle, too, the 500e fulfils its primary purpose as a city car.

For those wanting to go faster, there’s the Abarth 500e, which turns the electrical wick up to 152bhp but drops the range to 164 miles.

It also features a novel sound generator that reproduces the distinctive snap, crackle and pop of the old ICE car’s Monza exhaust. It’s fun for a while, but soon becomes wearing, and overall the standard Fiat version is better suited to the zero-emissions city car brief.

Now in its fourth generation, the Suzuki Swift is still a solid city car option and certainly one of the most fun on this list to drive. 

The Japanese supermini is available with just one engine – a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol with mild-hybrid assistance. It produces just 84bhp and 83lb ft, but it'll hit 0-62mph in 12.5sec with a manual gearbox, or 11.9sec with a CVT automatic. 

When you drive it and get used to its small proportions, tactile steering and, if you choose it, commendable manual gearbox, you won't feel short-changed

Jonathan Bryce, Social Media Executive

In the corners, the Swift is nicely weighted and keen to turn. It weighs less than a tonne, so it feels light on its wheels, and that manual gearbox adds an improved sense of engagement over other models in the class. 

There's also the four-wheel-drive AWD Allgrip model, which is great fun on open roads, if not entirely necessary for most buyers. 

The Dacia Spring is the UK's cheapest full-size electric car and ideal for a city environment, given its compact footprint. 

Powered by a tiny 44bhp electric motor as standard, the Spring is also the slowest EV on sale in the UK over the 0-62mph benchmark, at a leisurely 19.1sec. 

The Spring is very well packaged with reasonable space up front for the driver and front passenger.

Matt Prior, Editor-at-large

The one you're more likely to want is the slightly pricier 64bhp variant. It reduces the 0-62mph time to a more competitive 13.7sec - about the same as the now-defunct Volkswagen Up. 

All Springs get the same 26.8kWh battery, which, Dacia claims, is capable of 137 miles on a charge, but you can potentially squeeze 186 miles out of it in the slower-moving traffic of city environments. 

MG's good-value model line-up continues with the 3, its recently overhauled supermini, which brings hybrid power at an affordable price. 

It starts from £18,495, making it the cheapest hybrid on sale in the UK.

The new MG 3 is strong enough in most of the key areas, with no deal-breaking vices, to be well worth considering

Matt Saunders, Road test editor

It's no slouch: the MG 3 will hit 0-62mph in a claimed 8.0sec, which is faster than a Renault Clio (9.0sec) and a Toyota Yaris (9.7sec). We even beat that time when we tested it, covering 0-62mph in 7.1sec. 

While it's quick, it's not exactly involving to drive, but it does ride nicely and soaks up most city bumps with ease. 

All in all, the 3 is an appealing car, offering lower hybrid running costs in addition to decent all-round comfort and even a hint of sportiness.

Just like its Hyundai i10 cousin, the Kia Picanto has grown up significantly since it first appeared on our roads.

The latest car is certainly better looking than its predecessors and it is also finished better inside and gains a decent level of standard equipment.

Even the top-rung GT-Line S still comes in at less than £18,500, if you stick with the manual gearbox, as you should.

Richard Lane, Deputy road test editor

It even scores fairly well on the ride and handling front, dealing with scarred British roads better than some.

Admittedly, its 66bhp 1.0-litre engine does feel a bit weedy at times, but at the top of the engine range is the punchy 1.0-litre turbocharged three-pot unit - a trump card that not even the related Hyundai can play.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that Toyota’s tiniest offering was reborn as a crossover when the third-generation version hit showrooms in 2022.

Yet while the raised ride height and tough body cladding are predictable attributes these days, X still marks the spot when it comes to delivering a surprisingly characterful city car.

For a small car, the Aygo X has impressively grown-up road behaviour. One area where you do notice its budget-oriented make-up is on uneven roads.

Illya Verpraet, Road Tester

Unlike its predecessors, which were developed in partnership with Citroën and Peugeot, the latest Aygo is a solo effort for the Japanese brand.

The funky design inside and out gives it some decent kerb appeal, while the mature driving dynamics combine biddable handling with a controlled ride and long-legged refinement. There are cars in the class above that don't feel as grown-up as the Toyota.

While the interior looks good, feels robustly built and is well equipped, it lacks the space of, say, the Hyundai i10, and there’s no escaping the fact that the plusher versions are priced the wrong side of £20,000.