Smart ForTwo

It may be flawed but there's still plenty of appeal in Smart's ForTwo. It looks as distinctive as ever, is full of character thanks to a rorty three-cylinder turbocharged engine and, perhaps most important of all for town dwellers, can be parked anywhere. 

Shell out just £6,912 and you can bag yourself a 61bhp Pure model with Smart's Micro Hybrid Drive (MHD) stop-start system, which means that while 0-60mph takes 16 seconds, you'll hardly ever visit the pumps thanks 66mpg combined with a yearly road tax bill of just £35 thanks to 103g/km of CO2.

Kit levels are mean, though. Electric windows are an extra £166 while alloys cost another £343. As for air-con, forget it – it's not even an option. Other downsides include heavy steering, a harsh ride and a jerky semi-automatic gearbox. But for all its flaws, the ForTwo still appeals to the heart – and makes sense to the head too.