Volkswagen up! hatchback

The Volkswagen up! city car  is the smallest model in VW's range. It's based on the same platform at the Skoda Citigo and SEAT Mii and is designed to capture sales from stylish run-arounds like the Fiat 500 and Toyota Aygo. It offers excellent value for money and manages to maintain VW's renowned levels of quality, while its clean-cut design and efficient three-cylinder petrol engine mean it should prove a hit with a crop of young customers. With prices starting at around £8,000, it undercuts the VW Polo by some margin, and brings a lot of the big car-feel and high quality switchgear from its Golf and Passat siblings. There's enough room for four adults inside and it drives very well, feeling nippy in town and planted on the motorway. The impressive fuel economy and low running costs are simply the icing on the cake.