What's the best affordable city car?
QUESTION
Kia Picanto is probably the smallest brand new car worthy of your consideration
Before I begin let me just say how much I enjoy your channel and your objective approach to issues based on facts. Although I bought a new 2019 Impreza last year on your recommendation, I still continue to absorb your reviews.
My girlfriend is currently in the market for a late model used car. She currently has a 2012 Corolla which has been solid and reliable however she now wants something with a bit more character.
I suggested that the Kia Picanto may be a good option, given that all of her driving takes place in and around the city and 'burbs, and she doesn't carry much with her so the requirement of a large boot isn't really critical. Most of her driving will also just be with her in the car, so passenger comfort isn't a heavily weighted factor either.
I was hoping you could shed some light on the 'micro car' category in Australia. I see that you have listed such cars on your 'Lemons' list, however, based on the purposes which my girlfriend needs a car for ie. to get from A to B it seems that a car from this category is perfect. Moreover, the cars within this class (in particular the Picanto) seem to have come a long way in terms of styling and quality.
Any advice you have on this class of cars is greatly appreciated (whether it be which cars within the class are better than the others, or whether we should avoid the 'micro car' class altogether).
If you've gotten this far, thanks for suffering through my storytelling. I look forward to hearing back from you.
Thanks, Tom
ANSWER
Thanks for the very kind words, Tom. I appreciate your interest in my reports. (Imagine ‘facts’ and ‘reason’ being a means to separate oneself from other commentators…
Now, as to your girlfriend’s problem: I don’t think you should avoid the micro car class - it’s perfect for the use/application you describe. These cars are affordable and versatile in that ‘city use’ context - and because they’re not a major investment (in the manner of a $50k SUV) you can write off the cost over a few years and far more easily afford to go again with an updated model.
I think you and she need to visit two dealerships and check out these three cars:
If history repeats, your girlfriend will likely make a call on which one she wants based purely on subjective criteria (ie - what she likes, probably for largely intangible reasons). And that’s OK in this case, because they’re all quite good (being the boxed set of my preferred cars in this micro-ish class).
The way I see this breaking down is that the Mazda2 is slightly more polished, but Kia is a better company in terms of ethics and support. And Kia gives you two more years of warranty, which might be a good thing in terms of resale value. (If you sell a Mazda2 at 5yo it has no warranty remaining, whereas either Kia will still be under warranty for two more years at this point, and some buyers will see this as an advantage.)
Picanto is the smallest of the three, and Mazda2/Rio are about the same size. I really like the Picanto GT, which you can drive away (if you bargain properly) for about $20k. It’s nice and zippy, and it looks kinda cool, and you can park it on a postage stamp.
All three have been recently updated. Here’s what the respective companies said about the upgrades (download the press releases).
I guess the only other bridge to cross here is whether you might not get more value out of a late model (less than 3yo) small car (such as an i30, Mazda3 or Cerato) for about the same price. Because these cars are more versatile and substantial if you ever want to go on a long trip on the freeway, etc. To me, that’s the most fundamental issue about micro cars. You need to answer the question about whether or not you’d be better off in a more substantial late model used car.
I guess it comes down to this: With a new car there’s the intangible pleasure/gratification of ‘brand new’ - plus the tangible benefits of the full warranty, plus that of knowing the car has not previously been crashed or thrashed. With a used car, there’s the potential to get more (space and performance, refinement, features, etc) for the same spend.
If you decide you want one of these three, sing out - we can get you a discount … although to be perfectly candid, the dollar amount of discounting here in the cheap seats of the micro car class are not as substantial as elsewhere in the market.
Take a better look at the three below (click individual thumbnails to expand).
Hope this helps.
Latest Kia Picanto images
Latest Kia Rio images
Latest Mazda2 images
More reports
The all-new Kia Tasman 4X4 dual-cab ute is finally coming to Australia in mid-2025. The covers are off, too. Here’s everything we know so far