The latest Hyundai i10 is so good, we reckon it's one of the best city cars money can buy right now. It's actually quite large for a city car but it's got a smaller footprint than a Vauxhall Corsa, which warrants its inclusion here.

It's cheap to run, with a choice of 1.0- and 1.2-litre petrol engines, both capable of around 45mpg in the real world. Most Hyundai i10 models will have a five-speed manual gearbox but Hyundai also offers an automatic version. It's actually an automated manual gearbox, which isn't the slickest, but it does the job if you can't or won't change gears yourself.

It's an easy and comfortable car to drive, while the interior gets the basics spot-on. It feels surprisingly roomy for such a small car, with loads of elbow- and shoulder room in the front. The boot can swallow up to 252 litres of luggage, too.

The Volkswagen Up (as well as its rebadged relatives, the SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo) was sold for more than a decade before it was eventually withdrawn in 2023, yet even today, it's still one of the best city cars on sale. It truly rocked the city car market when it arrived in 2012: before the Up, city cars had been fairly miserable things that you only bought if you really couldn't afford anything better.

The Up is a genuinely brilliant small car, though. With wheel-at-each-corner packaging, you can actually squeeze four adults in the Up without too many complaints, and its mighty 1.0-litre engine ensures it won't come to a standstill as soon as you reach a steep hill.

It's both easy and fun to drive, and there's even an electric model. Capable of travelling up to 159 miles between charges, the Volkswagen e-Up's whizzy acceleration makes it ideal for driving around town.

Just like the Hyundai i10 and Volkswagen Up, the Kia Picanto is such a competent all-rounder that you'll think twice about spending more on a bigger car. It's a doddle to drive, while its tiny petrol engines punch well above their weight.

Okay, the cheapest models are fairly basic, but if you splash the cash on a Picanto GT-Line S you'll get things like heated seats, faux leather upholstery and a wireless phone charger. Combine this with a seven-year warranty that's transferable to subsequent owners, and the Kia Picanto is a very appealing little car.

The Picanto is one of the few cars on this list still available as a new car, but the smart money goes on a used model. A budget of just £8000 will get you a three-year-old mid-spec model. As most city car buyers tend not to cover a lot of miles, it'll feel a lot like a new car, too.

How do you make one of our favourite city cars even better? By replacing its old-fashioned petrol engine with a battery and an electric motor.

That's what Skoda did with the Citigo-e iV in 2020. The popular city car - which is essentially a rebadged Volkswagen Up or SEAT Mii - features a 36.8kWh battery pack, which provides a range of up to 161 miles. That's more than useable for scooting around town.

There is a caveat: you can no longer buy a new Skoda Citigo-e iV. Used ones are in high demand, too, which means you'll pay close to £20,000 for a late example. On the bright side, it shouldn't lose a lot of money during your ownership, and think of the cash you'll save in fuel. And a used Skoda Citigo-e iV is a much more useable electric car than a Citroen Ami.

We rate the old Toyota Aygo city car, but it's now been given a sprinkle of SUV flavour and been rebadged the Toyota Aygo X. It's bigger and more expensive than before but it retains a small footprint and low running costs, while we have little doubt it'll build on the brand's superb reliability record.

While the Aygo X is one of the more expensive city cars on paper, its standard equipment tally is really impressive. All versions get a touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus adaptive cruise control and a huge suite of safety assist functions that are often optional on other city cars. It really doesn't feel like you're slumming it: the top version even gets an electric canvas roof to make the most of sunny weather.

The Toyota Aygo X is powered by a little 1.0-litre engine that isn't remotely powerful, but it is willing and loves to rev, making the Aygo X quite fun if you're willing to keep it on the boil. You can choose from a manual or CVT automatic gearbox (the former is more fun on the open road, the latter excels on city streets). 

If you want to stand out from the crowd, the Suzuki Ignis is a quirky little faux-SUV with retro looks and low running costs. Its upright stance gives you an excellent view of the road ahead, yet its footprint is barely any bigger than that of a Volkswagen Up, so parking is a piece of cake.

The only engine option is a 1.2-litre petrol motor, but look for one with SHVS badging and it gets mild-hybrid technology. This utilises a small battery to store energy recuperated from the brakes that would otherwise be wasted under deceleration, and then uses it to power a small electric motor to provide a useful boost in performance while preseerving fuel economy 

Okay, the interior of the Ignis isn't as impressive as the latest Hyundai i10, but it's comfortable enough and you can even squeeze a pair of adults into the rear seats without too many complaints. Clever touches such as sliding rear seats also let you maximise the space on offer. 

The Fiat 500 is yet another city car that's transitioned seamlessly into an EV. And, yet again, we think the Fiat 500 Electric is far better than the petrol model it now sits beside.

One of the most impressive selling points of the new Fiat 500 Electric is how much it costs. Prices start from around £28,000, which means it undercuts rivals like the Renault Zoe and MINI Electric. It doesn't feel basic, either, with standard equipment including cruise control, 16-inch alloy wheels and a 10.25-inch navigation system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

You can save money by searching for a used Fiat 500 Electric on heycar, of course, with prices starting from around £14,000. Our money would go on a convertible version, meaning you can make the most of sunny days in the city.

The Mazda MX-30 is an ideal city car with compact dimensions and the added benefit of additional ride-height. It’s technically a small SUV, and with that comes an excellent driving position, which is not only comfortable, but also affords you a great view of the world around you.

There’s a funky cabin made of a bunch of sustainable materials, so it not only looks cool, but it’s kinder to the environment, too. The 366-litre boot is a decent size, making the MX-30 a perfect car to pop to the shops in. Rear space is tight, though, and the rear-hinged rear doors don't do much to help you get in and out.

The big plus here is that the Mazda MX-30 is easy to drive around town, plus there’s enough pep in its step to inject a touch of fun into the daily commute. And if you want to extend the range of the fully electric model, you can opt for the MX-30 R-EV, which also packs in a small petrol engine that generates electricity for the electric motor to keep you driving for longer.

There was much fanfare around the arrival of the Honda e back in 2020. Here was the Japanese firm's first all-electric car that was not only packed with technology, but also had the sort of retro-modern styling that made it look as though it had just landed from the moon.

The interior is just as dramatic, with several digital screens plastered across the full width of the dashboard, making the car feel super high-tech. Meanwhile, superb materials, flawless assembly and a tasteful mix of finishes also makes the interior feel really high in quality. The e is a cheerful little thing to drive, too.

There were a handful of problems with the e, though. It wasn't very practical, it could only go up to 136 miles on a charge, and it was ludicrously expensive compared with the competition (upwards of £37,000 for basic versions). All this meant that, although the car was super-desirable, not many people actually took the plunge and bought one, so it was quietly discontinued as a new car in 2023.

However, for the purposes of this list, the e fits right in. It's no less practical than the other cars here, you don't need much range if you're sticking to the city limits, and as you can no longer buy a brand new one, you'll be looking towards the used car market, where prices start at a much-more-palatable £15,000.

If you're happy to never leave the city limits, the Citroen Ami could be the ideal transport for you. It's a back-to-basics electric car with little in the way of frills. Or comfort, for that matter. It's not even a real car (it's officially classed as an electric quadricycle).

That being the case, there are a few key things you need to know if you're seriously considering a Citroen Ami. It has a maximum speed of just 28mph and can only travel up to 46 miles on a charge. But it'll cost pennies to run and is one of the cheapest new cars you can buy, with a retail price of less than £8000.

Measuring just 2410mm long and 1390mm wide, the Citroen Ami is an absolute joy to thread through narrow city streets or squeeze into parking spaces that most drivers wouldn't even consider to be spaces. One point of note is that the Citroen Ami is only available in left-hand drive, although it's so small (and you're unlikely to be doing much overtaking) that it's not really an issue. It also means you can exit the driver's seat on the pavement side when parked, too.