cars of the month
January 2012
Volkswagen Up! 1.0 (60PS)
Very conventional production car (front-engined, front wheel drive) followed unconventional concept car ( rear-engined, rear wheel drive) but it's no worse for it. 3-cylinder petrol engines are ava...
December 2011
Audi A1 1.2
This is Audi's take on the 'small premium' market that the MINI and more recently the Fiat 500 have had to themselves. It's a small but premium 3-door hatch that's a VW Polo underneath
November 2011
Kia Rio 1.4
Ok so it's another mid-sized hatch but what a difference from the dull model it replaces ! Ultra economical EcoDynamics diesel has the lowest CO2 output of any non-electric vehicle on sale in the U...
October 2011
Fiat Panda 0.8
Utility car from the 1980's. Designed to be cheap to make and run - even the glass is flat.
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September 2011
Toyota Yaris 1.0
Like many models following a sales success, this one is a bit bigger than the first-generation model but otherwise quite similar. 1.3 litre petrol engine gets 'Stop & Start' technology for 2010 to ...
August 2011
Ford Fiesta 1.25 (60PS)
"This is Now!" Ford want you to know. The new Fiesta is a huge style change over all previous 'good but dull to look at' Fiestas - people might now buy one on style alone, which is to overlook all ...
June 2011
Kia Picanto 1.0
A tougher looking front (with a high bonnet to help with pedestrian safety) is only the start of a much improved entry car from Kia. 1.0 3-cylinder and 1.25 4-cylinder petrol engines are probably a...
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June 2011
Peugeot 107 1.0
Combined Citroen/Peugeot/Toyota design, all built in the same factory, that tries to combine the best bits of each brand and pretty much succeeds at it. 'Urban Lite' derivative introduced in November ...
May 2011
SEAT Ibiza 1.2
New from mid-2008 - it's a little bit bigger than the old Ibiza and comes in stylish 5 door- and sporty looking 3 door bodystyles. The new 3 door SC 'SportCoupe' is now on sale if you're looking fo...
April 2011
Hyundai i10 1.1
At long last the Amica is gone ! The new i10 is so much better. Well equipped in Classic trim and very well equipped in Style and Comfort trim, making it outstanding value for money. This littl...
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March 2011
Skoda Fabia 1.2 (64PS)
One of the first Skodas to be based on a VW platform - this one's from the Polo. It shows as this is a great little car. Hatch arrived first followed by estates and saloons.
February 2011
Citroen DS3 1.4
The DS3 is Citroen's first attempt to spin-off a more desireable product from a bread-and-butter one, in this case the OK but dull new C3. They're after a slice of MINI-action ! This overtly sporty...
January 2011
Ford Ka 1.2
After 12 years Ford have got 'round to replacing the original Ka - that's about the time most models have been replaced once or twice. To keep development costs down, Ford have taken the Fiat Panda...
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December 2010
Rover Mini 1.3
Designed to counter the Suez crisis in the late 1950's and brought new levels of packaging to small cars, being just over 10 ft long. Cute, classless but unfortunately now outclassed. Just remem...
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November 2010
SEAT Arosa 1.4
Swapped with the VW Polo at birth ? The VW is more fun even though they are really the same underneath
October 2010
Renault Twingo 1.2
The Twingo fits under the new Clio as Renault's small car as the Clio is now one of the largest 'superminis'. It's based on the previous generation Clio floorpan but gets the new 1.2litre 16 valve ...
September 2010
Hyundai i20 1.2
Hyundai's Getz replacement fit's right in between the small i20 and the larger i30 - just like the Fiesta sits between the Ka and the Focus in Ford's range. Only a 1.2 litre petrol engine is availa...
August 2010
Volkswagen Polo 1.2 (70PS)
New Polo takes new Golf styling just in a smaller package. Was voted European Car of the Year 2010, rather surprisingly. Now available as both a 3- and 5-door. Quality and refinement are what ...
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July 2010
Honda Jazz 1.4
Decidedly good small car from a company that knows how to do it properly. Buy one and instantly lower the average age of Jazz drivers! The very clever rear seat folding action means you can get a l...
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April 2010
Smart ForTwo 0.7
New version of Smart's purpose-built city car uses much of the same engineering as the first one and so looks remarkably similar. Interior has had a quality-hike over the old car. The even-more-...
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March 2010
Fiat Panda 1.1
Fiat do their own thing with the looks of this car but not as extreme as some others (Multipla, Doblo anybody?). It's a good little car, good enough to be the basis for both the Fiat 500 and the ne...
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February 2010
Ford Ka 1.3
Introduced in 1996 as a 3 door, 4 seat hatchback. Visually and mechanically altered very little during life means they all look similar. Kas in insurance group 10 have dark grey bumpers which are chea...
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January 2010
Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 (75PS)
Latest generation Corsa has got interesting all of a sudden. Vauxhall seem to have found out that customers like cars that are enjoyable to drive. Vauxhall have also tried to give the two bodystyles d...
