New cars as small as these are rare in showrooms these days.There’s plenty of choice if you go used, though, as these two little wonders attest
Price today
£7500*
Kia Picanto 1.25 3 List price when new £12,650 Available from 2017-present At launch in 2017, the Picanto was one of the most sophisticated city cars you could buy
Volkswagen Up 1.0 TSI 90 Beats List price when new £11,905 Available from 2012-present This version of VW’s funky Up has more a powerful engine and a nifty sound system
Price today
£7500*
ONCE UPON A time, things were simple. If you wanted a car that was cheap to buy and run, easy to drive and a cinch to park, you bought a city car. Unfortunately, these cars, though always popular among first-time buyers and those looking to downsize, were never as profitable for their manufacturers as you might imagine. Added to that, the recent toughening of emissions legislations and the charge towards electrification have led to a great many disappearing from new car price lists.
Never fear, though, because there are still plenty of them to buy used. Here, we’ve lined up two of our all-time favourites: the Kia Picanto and Volkswagen Up. Both are six years old and, at this age, will cost you buttons. Which one should you choose? Let’s see which small package contains the most good things.
DRIVING
Performance, ride, handling, refinement
Back in the day, the Up in this trim could easily outsprint any of its peers – including the Picanto. That’s because its tiny 1.0-litre petrol engine is turbocharged, and it means you don’t even need to rev it hard to keep pace with some of the bigger boys.
Swift progress in the Picanto isn’t so effortless. Venture into the outside lane of the motorway or encounter a moderate incline on a faster A-road and you’ll find yourself changing down a gear or two and pressing your foot harder to the floor. Do that, though, and the Picanto isn’t actually that much slower than the Up.
Because you need to work the Picanto’s non-turbocharged 1.2-litre engine hard to get the best from it, it can be quite vocal. However, the fact that it has one more cylinder than its rival (four versus three) means it’s actually smoother; you’ll feel fewer vibrations filtering up through the pedals and steering wheel. In fact, the Picanto is the quieter companion at a steady 70mph, although chatting with passengers will still require raising your voice.
You won’t grumble about heavy steering or wide turning circles in
