A £10,000 budget gives you plenty of choice when it comes to small automatic cars for city driving but you have to be careful with the type of automatic gearbox you choose. Many small cars use an automated manual gearbox, which can feel very jerky and hesitant at. For pure city driving, you ideally want a traditional torque-converter or a full hybrid system for smooth stop-start traffic.

The Hyundai i10 from 2017 to 2020 is ideal for city driving thanks to a tiny footprint making it incredibly easy to park while the alongside the design provides great visibility and a surprisingly spacious cabin. If you look for the 1.2-litre petrol version from this era, it features a traditional 4-speed torque-converter automatic transmission. While this gearbox is not the most modern or fuel-efficient on the motorway, it is incredibly smooth and reliable in heavy stop-start city gridlock. You should generally avoid the post-2020 i10 automatic models if you dislike jerky shifts, as they switched to a less refined automated manual system. For your £10,000 budget, you can easily find a well-maintained model with between 20,000 and 40,000 miles on the clock.

Another option we'd recommend is the Toyota Yaris Hybrid from 2016 to 2019, which works just like a normal petrol automatic but uses an electric motor to drive the car at low city speeds. This hybrid system means you will save on fuel if you are frequently stuck in traffic and it regularly returns over 60mpg in urban use. It uses an e-CVT automatic transmission that does not have traditional gears, resulting in smooth acceleration. It is fully ULEZ compliant and has a well deserved reputation for mechanical reliability. Because they hold their value very well, a £10,000 budget will typically buy you a pristine example with around 45,000 to 65,000 miles.