1. Hyundai i10
For some manufacturers, a city car should be a cheap machine, engineered down to a very low price. However, with the Hyundai i10 you get the sense that the brand has applied the same high standards as they would to a Santa Fe, just on a smaller scale.
As a result, this third-generation runaround has a sheen of sophistication that makes it feel far more expensive than the £15,000 price of entry would have you believe.
Interior quality and general desirability have increased significantly, as has practicality (this is now one of the most accommodating cars in its class, rivalling models from the class above) while its sharp exterior has plenty of chic visual appeal.
It’s well-equipped too, with even the entry-level SE Connect offering air-con, electric windows, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, reversing camera and Bluetooth connectivity. Really, what more do you need?
Yet this is mere showroom tinsel – it’s the grown-up way the i10 drives that’s the true indicator of class-leading excellence. It rides absorbently, if a little noisily and firmly on range-topping 16in wheels, but is refined and relaxed on a run, while the compact dimensions and light controls make it a doddle around town.
It handles crisply with a decent dose of agility, while the ability to drive to its limit of grip at sensible speeds is a revelation in this day and age, where even a compact hatch clings on harder than a Nineties supercar.
Then there is its 82bhp atmospheric four-cylinder engine (now something of a rarity in cars of this size), which offers decent drivability and useful real-world performance. Less potent but more characterful is the thrummy 1.0-litre three-cylinder.
Whichever you choose you’ll get one of the best manual gearboxes in the business (really), it’s light and precise shift allowing satisfying, wrist-flick changes.
It might not have the star appeal of the Volkswagen Up GTI models behind it, but as a well-rounded, sensible, well-equipped city car, it takes pride of place at the top of the class.
