10 Great Cars for City Drivers

With endless junctions, hazards, lanes and traffic lights to contend with, driving in a busy city is enough to drive some motorists to breaking point. Choose the right car, however, and you can reduce your stress and save money.

If you live in town and are in the market for a new runabout, here are 10 of the best cars for city drivers.

 

Renault Twingo

Renault Twingo
 

If you’re looking for a car that’s equal parts stylish and practical, the Renault Twingo ticks all the right boxes. Thanks to its revolutionary, Porsche-like rear-mounted engine, the Twingo has a turning circle to rival that of a black cab — making it perfect for navigating those narrow city streets.

 

Volkswagen UP!

 Volkswagen Up

Since it was first launched in 2011, the Volkswagen UP! has been named the UK’s best city car more times than we care to remember. With its boxy shape and brilliant, carefully considered features, the UP! has become the go-to option for those in need of a practical yet subtly-stylish run-around.

 

Hyundai i10

Hyundai i10 

Sure it’s not the most stylish car out there, but what the Hyundai i10 lacks in good looks it makes up for in build quality, performance and a generous amount of equipment as standard. Ask any car expert what small, city car you should buy, and they’d tell you to ??

 

Fiat 500

 Fiat 500

On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you value style at the expense of practicality, the Fiat 500 is the city car for you. Favoured by young trendy types, the Fiat 500 blends modern features with retro styling to create a car that’s fun, good looking and incredibly easy to drive around the city.

 

Toyota Aygo

Toyota Aygo 

Every new version of the Aygo, has been specifically designed and built for inner city driving — making it one of best loved small cars on the market for over a decade. From its small dimensions to its nippy performance, the Aygo is fun and nimble, and has excellent fuel emissions. 

 

Citroen C1

 Citroen C1

Offering an affordable alternative to the Fiat 500, Citroen’s latest C1 has bags of character, and its small footprint makes it a dream to drive around town. After a recent facelift, the C1 looks better than ever, and benefits from an optional panoramic sliding roof.

 

Fiat Panda

 Fiat Panda

Bridging the gap between the 4×4 and the city car, the Fiat Panda is a rugged little car that feels at home in town and country. With loads of space for passengers and their luggage, not to mention five doors as standard, the Panda is arguably the most practical car on this shortlist.

 

Kia Picanto


 Kia Picanto

Motoring purists may mock the badge, but in terms of out-and-out drivability, the Kia Picanto is a great little city car fully deserving of its place on this list. Thanks to its responsive steering and small proportions, the Picanto is nimble enough to navigate even the tightest city streets — and we think it looks pretty cool, too.

 

Smart ForFour

Smart ForFour

Sharing the same design elements as the Renault Twingo, Smart’s new ForFour features a rear-mounted engine, giving it an amazingly small turning circle. Smart cars are famed for their energy efficient engines, so unlike a couple of other cars on this shortlist, the ForFour is exempt from road tax.

 

Peugeot 108

Peugeot 108

Thanks to Peugeot’s eye for design, their new 108 is a notable improvement on the 107, which was generally lacking in the style department. Like the Citroen C1 — which it looks strangely similar to — the 108 has plenty of optional extras, allowing you to completely customise the car to your choosing. It also has an optional sliding roof .

 

Choose to buy one of the city cars above, and you’ll achieve more miles per gallon by adding a shot of Redex fuel system cleaner each time you top up the tank. To find out more about our pioneering fuel additives, visit the Redex website.

Images Sourced Via Flickr Creative Commons. Credit: Buzz Paradise, Dave Humphreys, loubeat, David Villarreal Fernández, Toyota Motor Europe, Andrea Vail, Robert Basic.