The greatest small cars ever made

But it takes a lot more ingenuity to produce a brilliant tiddler. These are the greatest small cars ever made either because they were innovative, successful or dared to be different – and in some cases they were all three. Our story is told in chronological order:

While Henry Ford was putting Americans on wheels with his Model T, Herbert Austin was doing the same in England, with the Seven. The Seven was so good that BMW and French outfit Rosengart licensed the design, while Datsun just copied it.

Fiat's answer to the Austin Seven of the 1920s, the original 500 could seat just two and was powered  by a tiny side-valve engine that displaced just 569cc and output 13bhp. But it was still better than the alternative, which was probably your horse or your legs. It was also sold as a Simca in some markets. 

Ignoring its, er, controversial origins, there’s no denying “The People’s Car” laid the foundations for cheap motoring for the masses.  Economical, practical and with a distinct shape, the Beetle was the longest-running car ever, with production running all the way from 1938 to 2003 – with sales totalling 21 million. That air-cooled rear engine sure was noisy though.

Designed as a cheap people’s car for the French, the 4CV was nicknamed ‘the lump of butter’ due to its shape and the fact that many early models were painted with yellow German Afrika Korps paint left over from the Second World War.

The small car that announced Volvo to a larger stage.  American styling influenced the PV444, which was Volvo’s first unibody without a separate frame.  Early models had 44 and 51 hp engines, while US models – when exports to America began in 1955 - got an upgraded engine capable of 70 hp.  Nearly 200,000 were produced before being replaced by the PV544.

One of the most recognisable shapes ever, this was a true people's car that was stripped to the max to reduce costs – but it also incorporated a raft of ingenious design elements. Production lasted over 40 years, with around four million built, and there's still a massive following.

The Minor became truly iconic and ubiquitous on UK roads.  Produced for nearly 25 years, it was the first British car to sell over one million examples – 1.4 million to be precise.  Steering and handling were impressive for the time, though it was let down by sedate performance even by the standards of the time. The Minor later spawned van, wagon and convertible versions.

The “Baby Austin” was another car promising economical, cheap family motoring at a time when the UK was broke in the aftermath of the Second World War.  Launched at the 1951 Earls Court Motor Show in London, it developed a huge fan base, selling over 200,000 units.  With a newly-developed A-series engine, 42mpg could be achieved.  A 0-60 time of 42.3 seconds was the downside.

This Minx-based compact station wagon proved a huge hit for Hillman both in the UK and the US.  First coming to prominence at a show in New York, the Husky – known as the Wagon Wagon in America - was a major departure from sports cars for Rootes’ export division.  But American customers loved them, the utilitarian styling particularly popular with delivery drivers.

The Fiat 600-based Multipla was arguably the world's first MPV, and certainly one of the smallest. It may be less than 12 feet long, but you could still squeeze six into a Multipla – although they had to be very good friends. But with just a 767cc engine, you weren't going to get anywhere in a hurry...

Three Fiats in the first six cars proves that this Italian's company's forté is with the small stuff. We would get the Mini two years later, but this was the Italians' take on the economy car. The 500 featured a rear-mounted air-cooled 499cc two-cylinder engine, seating for four and all-round independent suspension. Truly a car that put Italy on wheels.

The Dutch attempt at changing the motoring landscape wasn't entirely successful, but it did leave its mark thanks to its innovative Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) auto gearbox, which is now coming back into fashion in a big way.

The 700 was the car that saved BMW, which struggled to make any money on its Isetta and 600 microcars. The 700 was great to drive and very appealing to new car buyers who needed a premium small car, and it looked good too thanks to the efforts of design genius Giovanni Michelotti.

Forget the IQ, ForTwo or any other city car; nothing will ever come close to the space efficiency and fun served up by the original Mini - and certainly not the BMW MINI. The original Mini was great fun to drive, but you wouldn't want to crash one...

The little car now famous for its appearance in the Harry Potter franchise was a smash hit.  Designed to conquer the cheap end of the market in the UK, nearly 1.6 million were produced at Ford's UK plants at Dagenham and, later, Hailwood; it established the bloodline that was to become the Escort.

One of the few cars that could give the Mini a run for its money dynamically, but the Imp was blighted by poor reliability in the early days. The problems got fixed, but the reputation stuck and the car is now unfairly remembered as a lemon.

Originally intended as a capable workhorse, the Kadett appealed to families in a range of shapes and sizes.  From a small 1.0-liter engine cruiser to a coupe (pictured) to a station wagon - some featuring wood-effect side panelling. Opel even trialled an all-electric version in 1968 – truly pioneering. It also beat the first Escort in the German cars and was generally seen as a better car. It even made it to America; sold in Buick dealers as part of GM’s wider late ‘60s subcompact push, a respectable 430,000 examples were shifted in the US market.

Autobianchi was a collaboration between Fiat, Pirelli, and bicycle manufacturer Bianchi. Founded in 1955, the company's biggest-selling model was the innovative and compact A112, which combined front-wheel drive with hatchback practicality. Production lasted right through to 1986, with 1.2 million A112s made across eight different series.

The design was either ugly or radical – or perhaps both. Richard Teague’s Gremlin – which he allegedly sketched on an air-sickness bag on an airliner- certainly split opinion.  But there’s no denying the Gremlin was cheap and robust.  And with power units that could outmuscle competing imports, it was popular with buyers too – a decent 671,000 examples were sold over eight years.  A V8 engine even appeared two years after first release.

It's easy to forget just what a trailblazer the Fiat 127 was. It was compact, incredibly space-efficient and packed front-wheel drive as well as rack-and-pinion steering, and it also offered hatchback practicality too, from 1972. As such the 127 pre-dated the Renault 5, Honda Civic, Ford Fiesta and Peugeot 104 – but not the Autobianchi A112…

After the Topolino and 500, Fiat scored a hat-trick with the 126. Another great small car, although it didn't capture the imagination like its predecessors, the 126 provided affordable transport for Eastern and Western Europe.

It started out as basic transport for the masses with an engine of just 1169cc, but the Civic has since become a luxurious and relatively costly small hatch. Now in 10th-generation form, more than 20 million Civics have been sold around the world and it’s consistently one of the best-selling cars in America.

Renault stylist Michel Boué came up with the design for the 5 as an extra-curricular activity; his bosses were so impressed that they put it into production virtually unchanged. The 5 was launched in December 1971, but Boué died of cancer just before, so he never got to see his masterpiece which went on to sell more than 5.5 million examples over two generations, with production running until 1996.

If you thought the A2 was Audi's first small car, it's not - this was. The 50 was a small hatch that was also sold as the Volkswagen Polo, which was cheaper. As a result the VW was more popular, so the Audi was canned.

Following on from the Passat, Golf and Scirocco, the Polo proved another hit for VW thanks to its strong build quality and unburstable engines. At first there was just one body style - a three-door hatch, with 0.9 or 1.1 liter engines. Still in production, so far there have been six generations of Polo.

As the name suggests, the Chevette was designed as a ‘baby Chevy’ in response to rising oil prices.  The Chevette was badged as a Pontiac in Canada and Vauxhall in the UK.  It became the US’s best-selling compact car in 1980, thanks to its economical engines and light steering.  Later models even offered an Isuzu-powered diesel engine. The model was based on GM’s T platform, which spawned a remarkable 37 different nameplates.

Hard to believe now, but this was Ford's first attempt at a car with a tranvserse engine and front-wheel drive. A funky design and clever packaging ensured it was a smash hit, especially when the sporty editions arrived later, such as the Supersport and the XR2. Still available and now in its seventh generation, the Fiesta was the UK's biggest-selling car for 11 years between 2009 and 2020, and help ensure Ford had UK market share leadership ever since the first Fiesta launched, until 2021, when microchip shortages greatly curtailed the firm's output and sales.

Introduced to replace the original Mini, the Metro was outlived by the Issigonis marvel. At first we got the classic A-Series effort shown here, then came the K-Series edition which was badge-engineered to become the Rover 100.

A true Franco-US collaboration produced a car designed to combat high fuel prices and give Renault’s AMC unit a subcompact on the cheap, derived as it was from the Renault 9.  The Alliance had exterior styling mainly from Renault coupled with interiors from Richard Teague, and it was built on AMC’s line at Kenosha, Wisconsin. The model even saw coupe and convertible versions (pictured), forms not seen in Europe. It doesn’t have a great rep today, but 623,000 examples were made and it even scooped the Motor Trend Car of the Year award for 1983.

The original Nissan Micra was on sale for a whopping nine years, with the same 1.0 and 1.3-liter engines on offer for the duration, so it was well overdue for replacement by 1992. But the driving schools still loved them thanks to their indestructability.

A driving school favourite, the front-drive Vauxhall Nova replaced the Opel Kadett in Europe, or Vauxhall Chevette in the UK. The first Novas were sold as Corsas in Europe; in other parts of the world the car carried Holden badges.

To many the Peugeot 205 was the most significant car of the eighties. It was made in huge numbers (5.3 million) over 15 years, the model range was enormous, and it was wide too, encompassing ultra-frugal diesels with high-performance models such as the GTi and Turbo 16 Group B rally car.

When Seat launched in the UK, it was with a sharp-looking Ibiza, among other models. With styling by Giugiaro and engines by Porsche there was much to crow about. Best not to mention the Fiat Strada-derived oily bits though...

We include this model because it was designed as a stylish way to drive to work - yet this two-seater coupé could reportedly hit 40 MPG. The Fiero was also the first mid-engine sports car ever developed in America and at the start only featured a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine good for 99 hp.  Fiero is Italian for ‘very proud’ – despite initial excitement, not enough owners were though and the Fiero was discontinued five years later, despite the addition of a 140 hp V6 option in 1985.

Lancia was years ahead of its time with this premium small car, but sadly there were very few takers for it. Back then, small cars were bought at the lowest possible price, so the 'white hen' faded into obscurity, a failure. It deserved so much more.

The Renault 5 had been a brilliant car but its replacement, the Clio, was on a whole new level. Much better to drive, more solidly built and with a far more modern interior, the Clio was a revelation. Then came the Clio Williams, which instantly became the hot hatch of choice.

Brilliantly designed inside and out, the first-generation Twingo was a true masterpiece; the name was a concoction of 'twist', 'swing' and 'tango', for the contortionists among us.

Citroën’s cheeky little urban runabout proved to be the saviour of many a student on a budget, as well as those who simply wanted a funky city car. Now a quarter of a century old, the Citroën Saxo still looks fresh, just like its Peugeot 106 cousin.

One of the few cars that looked more daring in production form than as a concept, the Ka survived for an incredible 13 years. Great to drive and to look at, it was mourned almost as soon as production ended, as its replacement was rather dull…

Another glorious failure, the A2 was truly cutting edge with its lightweight alloy construction and wind-cheating shape, plus a really space-efficient interior. But small car buyers expect small price tags, and the A2 didn't come with one as it was so costly to build.

Sold also as the Vitz and Echo, the Yaris replaced the Starlet - and it was well overdue. Far more modern, much better to drive and a lot safer too, the Yaris has been a great success for Toyota, all over the world.

The Octavia proved that Skoda could make world-class cars, and to prove that the Golf-based family car wasn't a fluke, the encore was this Polo-based supermini. While the first take was great, subsequent editions were even better. A new fourth-generation Fabia was unveiled in May 2021.

Was it worthy of the Mini tag when really it should have been called a Maxi? The BMW Mini may not have had the brilliant packaging of the original BMC Mini but it was far safer, featured hatchback practicality and it was far better built – and still a blast to drive.

The Jazz quickly gained a reputation for being the car of choice for pensioners everywhere, but you couldn't argue with its brilliant interior design. The cinema-style flip-up Magic Seats in the rear have still yet to be mirrored elsewhere, and despite its compact external dimensions the Jazz's interior is truly Tardis-like.

The focus with this feature has been family cars that have invariably been hatchbacks, but here's the exception to the rule: a mid-engined sportster that looked brilliant and was fun to drive, nasty transmission notwithstanding. Too costly when new, so it sold in small numbers, the Smart Roadster is now a modern classic bargain.

Considering the Swift has been around since the early 1980s, it took Suzuki an embarrassingly long time to come up with something truly competitive – but that's exactly what this all-new car of 2005 was. A cracker in fact, just like the two generations that followed.

Also sold as the Citroën C1 and Toyota Aygo, the 107 was one of those cars you couldn't help but love. Space-efficient, cheap to buy and run, a laugh to drive and good looking, this trio of city cars showed that the best things come in small packages.

Intended to take on the Smart ForTwo but with seating for up to four (at least two of whom had to be limbless children), Toyota pulled out all the stops to make the IQ one of the most brilliantly packaged cars ever made. The seats were slimmed down, the heater unit miniaturised, the suspension redesigned and much more. The result was a small car sold for a big price, so sales were hard to come by.

The Volkswagen Fox was a car that really wasn't worthy of the brand, so when its replacement was introduced it had to really raise the bar. That's just what the Up did, with its big-car feel and Volkswagen build quality, married to excellent practicality and impressive refinement. And then came the Up GTi, raising the bar significantly higher.

Produced under several brand names globally, the Sonic enjoyed success thanks to its 1.4 and 1.8 liter engines and spacious five-door shape.  The Sonic was also notably the only subcompact sold in the States that was built there too.  It finally came to the end in 2020, and inevitably wasn’t replaced as Chevrolet shifted its attention to small SUVs like the Trax. We reckon its sedan version (pictured) looks pretty cool in an impish way.

With all of the other cars here we introduced the first generation and didn't allow any repeats, but things are a bit different for the Smart ForTwo. The first model was a brilliant concept but its jerky automatic transmission really spoiled things. The same went for the Mk2, but Smart finally got the hint with the Mk3 which was a great car – albeit too costly to succeed.

It’s burdened by a tiny range – we saw just over 60 miles on a test E in winter - and high purchase price, but this pint-sized electric Honda also injects some fun into the small EV segment in a way that none of its rivals does. The Peugeot e-208 and MINI Electric make more sense, but for urban dwellers the Honda E is a compelling proposition. The size of the E and its range means the car won't be sold in the US.