The best small cars you can buy in 2025
You might be old enough to remember when "small car" was essentially a euphemism for "not very good car." But today, small cars really are some of the best cars you can buy, full stop. Cheap to run, comfortable and packed with the sort of kit you'd associate with a larger car, downsizing doesn't mean having to downgrade.
And while SUVs may dominate the market, that's not to say small cars have had their day. True we have seen the sad demise of the Ford Fiesta, previously our favourite small hatchback, but there are still plenty of quality small cars on the market.
The best are packed with the latest tech, refined on the move and fun to drive. And yet they’re cost-effective to buy and run. Here’s our rundown of the best small cars you can buy new today, including some fully electric cars. Small is, after all, beautiful.
Best small cars to buy in 2025 |
Toyota Yaris
What sets the Toyota Yaris apart from its rivals is that it's hybrid only. Combining a 1.5-litre petrol engine with Toyota's well-proven self-charging hybrid technology means it's smooth to drive and economical too. And of course being a Toyota, it will be super reliable too. So while it's a sensible choice, it's also an excellent choice.
It's a class leader in pretty much every respect but what may surprise you is just how enjoyable to drive it is - not something that can be said of all Toyota models. It's not cheap as a new buy with prices starting at £23,445 but when it comes to value for money, we can't think of much better.
Skoda Fabia
The Skoda Fabia may seem about as exciting as having Dairylea on crackers for dinner, but it's one of the best all-rounders you can buy. The latest Skoda Fabia is bigger than ever, meaning it has one of the most spacious cabins of any small hatchback. Rear space is especially good for a car this size and the boot is a massive 380 litres – as big as the Volkswagen Golf.
Yet the Skoda Fabia still feels car-park-friendly to drive. It has a load of Skoda ‘Simply Clever’ design innovations - including an ice scraper inside the fuel filler flap plus it's very refined for a small car. A five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP shows that it's safe while prices start at £21,000 for the Skoda Fabia SE Edition.
Renault 5
One of the most hotly anticipated cars of recent years, Renault has really caught the public's imagination with the new Renault 5. The looks may be retro inspired but under the skin, the Renault 5 is a cutting edge EV that's well set up for comfort - not a common trait on electric cars, especially small ones.
The entry-level model is the 120PS Urban Range battery which has a 40kWh capacity sufficient for claimed range of 192 miles which starts at £21,495 including the Government Electric Car Grant. There are also some good leasing and PCP deals around. We think it's one of the best cars on sale full stop.
Fiat 500 Electric
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The modern petrol Fiat 500 immediately went into the same 'future classic' pantheon as the first BMW-era MINI, so spot-on was its styling. Want proof? It came out in 2007 and it's STILL going strong, on sale alongside the new fully electric version.
The Fiat 500 electric however is the MUCH better car. By tidying up the interior styling, giving it a driving position fit for humans over 5ft tall, powering it with silent electric power and offering two battery options, this Fiat 500 is appealing for more than just its looks. It's great.
Dacia Sandero
The Dacia Sandero has long held the title of Britain’s cheapest new car, albeit it no longer looks like the eye-widening bargain it once was. The first Dacia Sandero came to the UK in 2012, priced from £5995. Hard to imagine these days with prices starting at £15,715 but it still represents exceptional value for money.
Today's Dacia Sandero is considerably more sophisticated than the original. Honed and improved in every way, it now has vastly better refinement, a sturdier feel through corners and excellent performance from its tiny turbocharged engine. The only stumbling block is a poor two-star safety rating from Euro NCAP, albeit that's largely owing to a lack of active safety systems. Its actual crash protection rating (70-72%) is okay.
Hyundai i10
The Hyundai i10 is a great all-round hatchback, with sharp looks, room for four adults and class-leading boot space. It even features luxuries like cruise control, a heated steering wheel and wireless smartphone mirroring AND charging - although that does depend on what trim you choose.
It's refined enough (as in, it's quiet at town speed but a bit noisy and uncouth at motorway speed), but the real fun of the Hyundai i10 comes from its driving charm. Get a manual one with a basic 63PS 1.0-litre petrol engine and you are quite literally laughing. The thin tyres and generally unassisted feel of everything make it good fun to drive.
MINI Cooper
BMW’s curation of the MINI brand couldn’t have gone any better. For more than two decades now, a MINI has been the default high-quality small car, yet somehow every single MINI feels like an individual choice... that sounded snarky, but it's a genuinely impressive trick to pull off.
The latest MINI Cooper can be yours with either petrol or electric power. The electric version probably edges it for us. Mainly because it takes all the MINI qualities - driving fun, high quality, that ostensible sense of individuality - and makes it even quieter and more responsive to drive. More… apologies in advance… ‘go kart’. Sigh.
Citroen C3
If you want a small car whose main quality is squidgy ride comfort, look no further. On top of that, the Citroen C3 is an interesting-looking and spacious small hatchback whose cabin quality is miles ahead of the small Citroens of yore.
The touchscreen is still a bit sketchy though. It costs from £22,000 for an electric version which we’d recommend you go for if you can. It’s a great value way to go electric and will cost pennies to take to work and back.
Hyundai Inster
One of the great things about Hyundai these days is that it's not making cookie-cutter cars. Walk into a Hyundai showroom and you'll find a Hyundai Ioniq 6 alongside a Hyundai i10, parked next to a Hyundai Inster - a diverse selection of cars but from one brand.
A fantastically flexible small EV, the Hyundai Inster blends dinky, manoeuvrable proportions with loads of interior space. The clever seating system means the front seats can fold fully forward, making a totally flat loading area. And the boot is impressively large for such a small car. It looks great too.
Peugeot 208
The Peugeot 208 is getting on a little now, released alllllllll the way back in 2019. But the sharp exterior styling still looks fresh and the interior is among the most distinctive and delightful in the sector. The Peugeot ‘i-Cockpit’ layout takes a bit of getting used to, but once you’re familiar with the teensy steering wheel (and assuming you're not too tall for the whole thing, which is a possibility), you'll love it.
Neat handling and sweet engines mean the Peugeot 208 is fun to drive and cheap to run. As per the Fiat 500 and the Citroen C3, the electric version is best, albeit Peugeot's pricing structure means it's expensive. Daft expensive, actually, at more £30,000. Ouch.
How safe are the best small cars?
Euro NCAP safety tests are tough enough to ensure car manufacturers don't cut corners. Even the smallest cars are thoroughly crash-tested and most buyers expect a four- or five-star score from the European safety agency. All but one of the small cars here performs well, bolstering their credentials as safe small cars. The Dacia Sandero is the standout exception, scoring just two stars out of five. That's more to do with equipment choices than a fundamental lack of crash protection. In fact, if you've ever driven a car with over-enthusiastic driver monitoring, you might be grateful for a lack of it.
Which small car is the best value for money?
The default answer on this question was always the Dacia Sandero but that's no longer the case. Enter... Citroen, technically. The Citroen Ami is the cheapest 'car' in the UK, but actually it's neither a car (it's an electric quadricycle) nor great value for money (it's tighter than Robert Plant's trousers and has a smaller battery than a Casio watch). So, we're back to the Sandero, which around £16,000 remains the cheapest new car on sale in the UK.
Value is actually a slightly different thing, of course and there are plenty of cars that hover around that price that you might feel, all things considered, will offer you better value. The Leapmotor T03, for instance, costs about the same but is electric, so it will cost far less to run. But as an unknown, it's unlikely to hold its value as well.
Are small cars cheap to insure?
Small cars tend to be cheap to insure because they’re offered with low-power engines, are cost-effective to repair and generally don’t attract car thieves in the same way sportier and more luxurious cars do. Insurance costs will rise as you move up the range into more powerful models, though, so keep things sensible if you want to find a small car that’s cheap to insure. It explains why such cars are so popular among younger and newly-qualified drivers, who are most sensitive to car insurance prices.
