Used Car Hunter: small but spacious city cars for £8,000
Our Car hunter has £8,000 to buy a city car that has room for a weekly grocery shop
"Dear Auto Express, I want to downsize to a city car and my only requirement is it has space for my weekly shop. What does £8,000 get me?" Pauline Barker, E-mail
Gone are the days of city cars being cheap and not-very-cheerful economy boxes; today, even used models are refined and fun to drive. As such, it’s not only 17-year-olds who have just passed their driving test you see behind the wheel of them. City cars are a great proposition for any driver who doesn’t tend to carry lots of passengers or luggage, and simply needs a daily runabout that’s big on character and small on running costs. With the numbers of new city cars on sale dwindling, used models are looking even more attractive, too.
The Kia Picanto has been around for well over two decades, with the latest third generation version moving the game on immensely. The Fiat 500 may be inspired by its fifties namesake, but the Italian city car has substance to go with its stylish looks. Competing with these two is the Volkswagen up!, which was an instant hit when it was launched in 2011. But which model is best?
Here's our expert pick of the three best used city cars available for under £8,000, together with links to buy one through our Find a Car service...
Volkswagen up! - the refined choice
- For: Fun to drive, well made inside and out, comfortable
- Against: Unexciting to look at, rear seating is tight
The Volkswagen up! is excellent at nipping through tight city streets, and you’ll have fun while doing so. The car has a great chassis and loads of grip, making pretty much every drive a fun and enjoyable event.
Not only is the up! precise, it’s refined and extremely well put together, too. The car’s suspension is particularly impressive, dealing with bumps and road imperfections both at high and low speeds. We found a 17-plate up! 1.0 High (75bhp, 64.2mpg, 0-62mph in 13.2 seconds) with 40,000 miles on sale for £7,500.
The interior of the up! is another strong area; it’s simple but smart and, even more importantly, it’s well made. In terms of connectivity, there’s a small screen that displays the radio, clock and a few other functions; it’s not advanced, but looks clean. There’s also a smartphone/GPS holder, with drivers able to download a purpose-built app that operates as the sat-nav. Naturally, the up! isn’t best suited to carrying several passengers, but there are two rear seats that could be occupied for a short journey. There’s a reasonable 251 litres of boot space, which expands to 951 litres with the rear seats folded down.
See our used Volkswagen up! deals
Kia Picanto - the practical choice
- For: Largest boot of this trio, well laid-out cabin
- Against: Could be more composed, poor-quality plastics
The Kia Picanto has come-on a long way over the years and it’s noticeable how well made the third generation version is. That said, it’s not as fun to drive or refined as the Volkswagen up!. The Picanto rides well most of the time, but the rear suspension can feel very bouncy around town at times and the car can become unsettled as a result. Overall it’s not quite as composed as its rivals in this line-up, but it’s not bad. We spotted a 19-plate Picanto 1.0 2 (66bhp, 50.4mpg, 0-62mph in 13.8 seconds) that had 30,600 miles on the clock on sale for £7,800.
The Picanto’s cabin is quite smart, but some of the materials used inside could be better; the quality is noticeably lower compared with the up!. The mid-range 2 trim brings Bluetooth and air-conditioning, while you’ll need to go for a 3-spec car if you want better infotainment in the form of an eight-inch touchscreen. Otherwise you get a fairly budget-looking dot matrix unit, although it works well enough. Like the up!, the Picanto has two seats in the back that are spacious enough. The boot, meanwhile, is the best in this class: 255 litres with the back seats up and 1,010 litres with them down.
See our used Kia Picanto deals
Fiat 500 - the stylish choice
- For: Great to drive in cities, good handling, very stylish
- Against: By far the smallest boot here, ride is a bit firm
The Fiat 500 appeals because of its retro styling, but this talented city car certainly has more feathers to its cap than simply looking the part. The suspension generally copes well around town and doesn’t become too unsettled. The ride can be a little on the firm side for some drivers’ tastes, though. The City Steering function makes the 500 especially easy to manoeuvre in urban areas and improves the already impressive turning circle. We saw a 68-plate 500 1.2 Lounge (69bhp, 51.4mpg, 0-62mph in 13.8 seconds) with 31,000 miles on sale for £6,800.
The Fiat 500’s excellent styling continues inside, with its smart retro design. The layout is sensible and build quality is generally good, although the seating position isn’t ideal for taller drivers. Basic 500 models have a radio, but a touchscreen infotainment system is fitted to most trim levels, which is a big advantage over the other two cars here. Yet the Italian model loses out here for practicality; although the 500’s two rear seats are quite tight, boot space is the real issue. You only get a capacity of 185 litres in the Fiat, which rises to 550 litres if you fold the back seats down. It’s advisable to look at the boot carefully and think about what you may need to carry before buying a 500.
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