Citroen Ami hatchback review
The smallest cars to buy in 2024
Not everyone wants a big SUV – these are the smallest new cars you can buy in 2024
If you live in a city, have limited space to park, or often drive along narrow country lanes, a small car could make driving that little bit easier for you. While hatchbacks like the Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf look small compared to today’s crop of SUVs, they’re far from the tiniest cars on sale. If saving space is your top priority, read on below for the 10 smallest cars on sale in 2024.
Despite their diminutive size, most of today’s city cars feature all the creature comforts you’d find in a larger car and many feel just as stable and sturdy to drive on the motorway. Prices of small electric cars are coming down, too, with some on this list undercutting their petrol-powered rivals. There are even a couple of superminis with faux-SUV looks on this list – who said small cars had to be boring?
Despite a recent general upward trend in the size of cars, all the cars on this list are less than 4,000mm long and 1,800mm wide, meaning you’ll have no trouble slotting them into the average UK parking space, at 4,800mm by 2,400mm. As an added benefit, smaller cars tend to be the cheapest and most fuel-efficient on the market, saving you both space and cash.
The smallest cars on sale 2024
Read on for our list of the 10 smallest cars currently on sale in the UK.
- Length: 2,410mm
- Priced from £8,000
If small size is truly your only priority and you’re not concerned about speed, range or carrying any luggage, the Citroen Ami could be just the car you’re looking for. At just 2,410mm long, it’s comfortably the smallest car you can buy in the UK – although calling it a ‘car’ at all is slightly cheating.
The Citroen Ami is technically not a car, but a quadricycle. This means that drivers as young as 16 can pilot it around city streets, as long as they hold a motorcycle licence. With a tight 7.2-metre turning circle and compact dimensions, it’s incredibly easy to manoeuvre. Don’t expect to go too far or fast though, because the Ami’s 46-mile range and 28mph top speed match its puny size.
Despite its small size, the Ami offers reasonable practicality with a compact interior, which can seat two people thanks to its boxy shape. There are also plenty of cubby-holes scattered around to store any items you may pick up on a day out. If you don’t fancy carrying a friend, you can opt for the ‘cargo kit’ which swaps the passenger seat for a larger storage area.
- Length: 3,571mm
- Priced from £17,000
It may be over 16 years old now, but few cars today offer the retro-chic that oozes from the Fiat 500. Measuring 3,571mm from end to end means it provides the compact dimensions vital for parking in Milan or Manchester. Inside, it’s surprisingly roomy with (just) enough space for four adults, although the lack of a five-door model hampers practicality. Boot space isn’t amazing but its 185 litres of space grows to 550 litres when you fold the back seats – just enough for a city break.
With the wheels pushed right out into the corners of the car, and great visibility, it’s an easy car to park. And a ‘city’ mode makes the steering really light so that driving into tight spaces is a cinch. The little 500 is powered by a 1.0-litre mild-hybrid petrol engine that produces 68bhp and can deliver around 60mpg, but a separate electric model is also sold alongside it for drivers after the lowest possible running costs.
- Length: 3,605mm
- Priced from £16,000
The Kia Picanto was first launched in 2004 when the South Korean car maker was yet to reach the popularity it has today. Twenty years later, in its latest generation, the Picanto continues to offer everything that small-car buyers need at an affordable price in what’s become a fiercely contested market.
The Picanto gets a high-quality cabin and is well equipped as standard, with Bluetooth, electric windows and 14-inch alloy wheels. For drivers who want to stay connected, it’s worth stepping up from the base model ‘2’ to the ‘3’, which adds a better infotainment system. As with all other Kias in the range, the Picanto also comes with a seven-year warranty. The new facelifted Picanto is now available to order, bringing the brand’s latest design language to the popular city car.
- Length: 3,670mm
- Priced from £16,000
The smallest car in Hyundai’s range is also one of the smallest on sale in the UK, at 3,670mm long and 1,680mm wide. Inside and out, the latest i10 is the most stylish yet and is finished to a remarkably high standard despite its low price. There’s also plenty of space for five people, plus 252 litres of boot space. Buyers have a choice between 1.0 or 1.2-litre petrol engines, both of which work well around town, while the latter is our pick for anyone who regularly drives in the countryside or on the motorway.
The i10 might be one of the smallest cars you can buy, but it has more technology and interior space than ever before. Combine those qualities with improved driving dynamics and Hyundai’s five-year/unlimited-mileage warranty, and you have a car that’s well worthy of consideration.
- Length: 3,686mm
- Priced from £15,000
Among all of the entrants on our list, the long-running Fiat Panda is only rivalled for longevity by its Fiat 500 sibling. Four decades since the original Panda entered the small-car scene, the latest iteration remains one of the most popular models in its class. It’s not difficult to see why either, as at 3,686mm long and 1,672mm wide, the Panda’s small size and light steering makes it fun to drive and easy to navigate in narrow cities.
Fiat offers a regular front-wheel-drive model and a Panda ‘Cross’ 4x4 variant, which both deliver respectable performance from a 69bhp mild-hybrid engine while returning more than 45mpg. It’s also practical for a small car, with plenty of headroom and an array of storage compartments dotted around the cabin. The rear seats also slide forwards and backwards, allowing you to expand the boot capacity to 260 litres.
Despite these positives, there’s no escaping the Panda’s age and how little has changed since this generation first went on sale in 2012. With an outdated interior, a zero-star NCAP safety rating, and an all-new electric Panda on the way, it’s hard to recommend in 2024.
- Length: 3,700mm
- Priced from £18,000
While it’s certainly city-car sized, the Suzuki Ignis looks like an SUV that’s shrunk in the wash. That chunky styling brings a handy raised ride height, a tall, boxy cabin and even the option of four-wheel-drive, meaning it can cope with much more than just congested city streets. Thanks to its box-like shape, the Ignis can easily carry four adult passengers and their luggage too.
All models come with a 1.2-litre mild-hybrid engine with enough grunt for nipping through traffic in town. Take the Ignis onto the motorway and it’s not as quiet or comfortable as some of the other cars in this list, but front-wheel drive models return decent fuel economy.
If a small SUV like the Renault Captur isn’t quite within your budget or you’re looking for something even tinier, the Ignis is your best – and probably cheapest – alternative.
- Length: 3,700mm
- Priced from £16,000
The original Aygo was a small affordable city car favourite for quite some time, but Toyota has since replaced it with the slightly larger Aygo X. This takes the old recipe and adds a touch of SUV styling and a higher ride height to match. It’s still Toyota’s smallest car and one of the smallest cars on the market, but feels a little more contemporary than the Aygo it replaces.
Higher entry-level pricing for the Aygo X means it’s no longer such an enticing prospect for first-car buyers, but its raised ride height makes it better suited to absorb the impact from pothole-filled UK roads – a trait many buyers will be willing to pay for. The Aygo X is only available with one 1.0-litre petrol engine, though, which may not appeal if you’re looking for an electric or hybrid option.
- Length: 3,701mm
- Priced from £15,000
If it’s a tiny electric car you’re after, and the Citroen Ami is just too primitive, the Dacia Spring could be the car for you. While not festooned with luxury features, the Spring has a few key things that the Ami doesn’t – notably, space for four, a decent boot, and a 140-mile range. It’ll even do 78mph, allowing it to keep up with traffic on fast roads should you venture outside of the city. Despite costing twice as much as the Ami, the Dacia Spring is hardly expensive, and it really feels like twice the car.
Dacia has kept the price of the Spring low by fitting a relatively small 27kWh battery – that’s not much bigger than the batteries fitted to some modern plug-in hybrids. As a result, it only takes around five hours to top up the battery via a home charger – the main method that Dacia expects customers to charge the Spring. Even the interior is surprisingly nice for a car of this price point, with top-spec models getting a crisp 10-inch infotainment touchscreen.
- Length: 3,858mm
- Priced from £23,000
If the Dacia Spring trades on value-for-money, then the new MINI Cooper is all about style. Reinvented for the electric age, MINI’s latest supermini packs fresh EV tech into a compact three-door body that’s no bigger than the old car. It wears a cleaner, simpler design for this generation, along with a totally revamped interior with an eye-catching circular infotainment screen. Getting into the rear pair of seats is a bit tricky, but once you’re in, there’s an impressive level of space. Thankfully, MINI has fitted a pair of ISOFIX points to the front passenger seat to make fitting a child car seat a bit easier.
Electric not your thing? MINI offers the Cooper with a petrol engine, although it’s technically similar to the old MINI Hatch under the skin. You get the same snazzy exterior and interior styling as the EV, but with a choice of 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre petrol engines. No matter which version of Cooper you pick, it’s a hoot to drive and makes for an excellent urban runaround.
- Length: 3,860mm
- Priced from £19,000
The latest Suzuki Swift might not look too different from the old car, but it’s been thoroughly upgraded in the areas that matter. The engine is now mild hybrid only, boosting fuel economy to a combined 64mpg, while delivering 82bhp. Sure, the latter is unlikely to set any hearts racing, but the Swift is surprisingly fun to drive, with a comfortable ride in town and on faster roads. You even have the option of four-wheel drive, giving the Swift impressive all-weather credentials for a car of this size.
Compared to the latest crop of city cars and superminis, the Suzuki Swift’s interior feels a bit lacklustre; there are scratchy plastics dotted around the cabin, and the infotainment system feels a bit last-generation. That being said, standard equipment levels are good, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, LED headlights, heated seats and a reversing camera fitted to all cars. However, stack the Swift up against the new MG3, and it’s hard to recommend – the latter has more than twice the power, features a full hybrid system and isn’t any more expensive.
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