Smallest cars on sale in the UK
These are the most compact cars you can buy right now
There’s been plenty of complaints about modern cars getting bigger and bigger, but the smallest cars on sale in the UK are far more compact than you may have first thought. There’s a bit of variety to be found at this end of the scale, too. While the majority of compact cars on our roads are city cars and superminis, there’s a hot hatch to be found in our list as well.
More often than not, the smallest cars also make for some of the cheapest cars to buy, and they can be among the easiest and most fun cars to drive. Their small dimensions make them naturally nimble, and you don’t need an overly powerful engine to coax good acceleration and speed from them either.
Whatever your reason for buying a small car, it’s helpful to know exactly how small you can go in the current market. We’ve compiled a list of the smallest cars on sale in the UK today, measured by length, to help you make an informed choice about exactly what it is you need from your motor.
1. Leapmotor T03
- Prices from £16,000
- Length: 3,620mm
- Width: 1,652mm
- Height: 1,577mm
The Leapmotor brand may be a new arrival on the UK market, but the T03 is already leading the way as the smallest car on sale. This fully-electric city car has a temptingly tiny price, too, starting from under £16,000. It may be budget-focused, but the Leapmotor T03 comes with a reasonable helping of standard kit and even a four-year warranty.
Another aspect of the Leapmotor T03 that’s somewhat compact is the battery, but this 37.3kWh unit can still return 165 miles on the WLTP combined cycle. This means that the occasional motorway run won’t be out of the question, and we found the single motor’s 95bhp/158Nm were just enough to keep us up with traffic and attempt a few overtakes.
2. Abarth 500e
- Prices from £30,000
- Length: 3,632mm
- Width: 1,683mm
- Height: 1,527mm
The electric hot hatchback market is starting to gain momentum, so it came as no surprise that Fiat’s performance sub-brand wanted a piece of the action. The Abarth 500e is the spiced-up version of the Fiat 500e city car, but this added sportiness does mean paying out thousands of pounds more compared to the regular model.
For your money you’ll get a beefed-up 150bhp single electric motor that’s good for a leisurely 0-62mph time of seven seconds. While this acceleration isn’t exactly blistering, the Abarth’s bespoke chassis tuning, (optional) bright colours and fake engine sounds do make the whole experience a rather entertaining one. That being said, we soon found the continuous drone of the external speaker rather tiresome during testing.
3. Fiat 500e
- Prices from £25,000
- Length: 3,632mm
- Width: 1,900mm
- Height: 1,527mm
If you’re not too fussed about performance, the regular Fiat 500e has a lower starting price than its Abarth twin, but still retains plenty of the charm. With up to 199 miles of range on the WLTP combined cycle, it’s the city streets where the little Fiat is at its best, and the 500e’s small stature makes it a dream to manoeuvre and park.
The downside is that rear passenger space is limited, but no matter how many people you’re carrying, you’ll feel at ease thanks to the Fiat’s excellent amount of safety kit including lane-keeping assist, attention assist, road sign recognition and autonomous emergency braking
4. Hyundai i10
- Prices from £16,400
- Length: 3,670mm
- Width: 1,680mm
- Height: 1,480mm
Unlike many of its rivals, the Hyundai i10 has yet to move towards hybrid or electric power, with three petrol engines offered as part of its line-up. The most powerful is the 1.0-litre T-GDi which comes with a five-speed manual gearbox. The less powerful variants can be twinned with an automatic transmission if desired, but we found this to be rather sluggish during testing.
Inside, the little i10 is a sophisticated place to be with plenty of kit that would be at home in a much bigger car. An eight-inch infotainment touchscreen is fitted as standard to all new models, along with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There’s a generous helping of driver assistance and safety tech, too. The cabin itself is roomy and 252 litres of boot space almost puts the i10 in hatchback territory.
5. Kia Picanto
- Prices from £15,900
- Length: 3,670mm
- Width: 1,625mm
- Height: 1,500mm
The Kia Picanto follows the classic city car layout, with appealing styling to help it stand out on the road. Meanwhile, the interior is well-equipped for the money and the cabin is very well trimmed, too.
As standard the Picanto comes with rather upmarket touches like automatic headlights and alloy wheels, while upgrading from the base-spec ‘2’ to ‘3’ trim adds better connectivity and infotainment. Kia’s confidence in its engineering is high as it offers a seven-year/100,000-mile warranty on all of its cars. This means the little Picanto will suit drivers who tend to keep their vehicles for a long time rather than chop and change every couple of years.
6. Toyota Aygo X
- Prices from £16,500
- Length: 3,700mm
- Width: 1,740mm
- Height: 1,525mm
The outgoing Toyota Aygo was 3,465mm long, so while its Aygo X replacement had a serious growth spurt, it still makes it into this top 10. After all, 3,700mm is still handily small when compared to the four-metre length of most superminis.
This extra size has been put to use, and the Aygo X feels more comfortable and mature to drive as a result, because it now shares its platform with the bigger Yaris. It also has a larger, 231-litre boot, which is 60 litres bigger than before. Sadly, rear passenger space is pretty much unchanged, but there is more space up front, and the driver now sits 55mm higher for a more SUV-like experience.
7. Dacia Spring
- Prices from £15,000
- Length: 3,701mm
- Width: 1,583mm
- Height: 1,485mm
The market is awash with electric SUVs of varying sizes and complexity, but if you’re someone who prefers a straightforward car that’s small in size with an equally tiny price, the Dacia Spring could be the EV for you.
As with its petrol models, Dacia has opted for a no-nonsense budget-focused approach with its first electric offering on the UK market. It comes with all the essential kit, 137 miles of claimed battery range and a reasonable amount of space inside. There aren’t any frills, but this approach results in a starting price of around £15,000, making the Dacia Spring the UK’s cheapest fully-sized electric car.
8. Hyundai Inster
- Prices from £23,500
- Length: 3,825mm
- Width: 1,610mm
- Height: 1,610mm
If you love the idea of owning an SUV, but prefer driving a smaller car, the Hyundai Inster could be the perfect solution. This baby EV has plenty of big-car styling cues, and some clever design trickery means there’s genuinely enough space inside for tall passengers in both the front and back seats, making it capable of taking on family car duties.
The Hyundai Inster also offers some WLTP combined range figures that wouldn’t be out of place in a bigger car, and even the smaller 42kWh battery claims over 200 miles on a single charge. We just wish that it was a bit cheaper to buy, with prices starting at more than £23,000.
9. MINI Cooper
- Prices from £23,300
- Length: 3,858mm
- Width: 1,928mm
- Height: 1,460mm
We are all well aware of the MINI Cooper’s increasing bulk over the years, but the fact is it remains one of the smallest cars on the nation’s roads. The latest model may be slightly less easy to park than the iconic original, but it’s still a dream to drive around city streets.
Petrol power is available, but opting for the fully-electric MINI Cooper means you’ll enjoy miniature running costs, too. There are two batteries to choose from, and the larger 49.2kWh unit claims over 240 miles of range.
10. Suzuki Swift
- Prices from £19,200
- Length: 3,860mm
- Width: 1,735mm
- Height: 1,495mm
The traditional supermini market is a dwindling one, but the Suzuki Swift is soldiering on for the time being. The latest generation of Swift is still powered by petrol, but here the 1.2-litre engine is accompanied by mild-hybrid tech. This results in some pleasingly high fuel economy figures that reach over 60mpg on paper.
As you might expect from a small, lightweight car, we found the Suzuki Swift to be rather fun to drive down twisting roads. However, its budget-focused design means it’s a bit lacking in refinement.
The smallest cars on sale: specs and prices table
| Smallest cars ranking | Model | Prices from | Rating for efficiency & running costs (out of 5) | Overall Auto Express star rating (out of 5) |
| 1 | Leapmotor T03 | £16,000 | 4 | 4 |
| 2 | Abarth 500e | £30,000 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| 3 | Fiat 500e | £25,000 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | Hyundai i10 | £16,400 | 4.2 | 4 |
| 5 | Kia Picanto | £15,900 | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | Toyota Aygo X | £16,500 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| 7 | Dacia Spring | £15,000 | 5 | 4.5 |
| 8 | Hyundai Inster | £23,500 | 4 | 4 |
| 9 | MINI Cooper | £23,300 | 3.5 | 4 |
| 10 | Suzuki Swift | £19,200 | 4 | 3.5 |
Honourable mention: quadricycles
Legally speaking, these models aren’t classified as cars but if you want a four-wheeled vehicle that’s even smaller than those listed above, you’ll need a quadricycle. These tiny electric machines are designed with short-distance urban journeys in mind, which means they have a limited top speed of 28mph, restricted battery range and aren’t really what you’d call spacious.
However, for a quick run to the nearby shops or a short commute, a quadricycle could be ideal. You can also legally drive them in the UK from the age of 16, provided you hold a valid provisional driving licence and have passed a Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) test.
Here are some of the quadricycles that you can buy right now.
Citroen Ami
- Length: 2,410mm
- Width: 1,390mm
- Height: 1,525mm
The Citroen Ami is several centimetres shorter than a typical city car, making it the ultimate urban runabout for those with limited space. The Ami also has a supremely tight 7.2-metre turning circle and great visibility thanks to its high seating position and large windows.
Despite its small size, its airy cabin can seat two adults, and the Ami’s compact electric motor and 5.5kWh battery mean it claims up to 46 miles of range between charges. That might not sound far, but it should be plenty for a day of driving in city traffic.
Ark Zero
- Length: 2,500mm
- Width: 1,202mm
- Height: 1,625mm
Seeing as it’s the narrowest vehicle on this list, there aren’t many streets that would be deemed as too tight for the Ark Zero, not to mention parking spaces.
Look carefully and you’ll see that there’s room for two people inside. DoGood Motors, the maker of the Ark Zero, has also made sure there’s room for your dog, and with an official 50-mile range, there’ll be plenty of locations that you can drive to for walkies.
Microlino
- Length: 2,519mm
- Width: 1,473mm
- Height: 1,501mm
The bubble car has officially returned to the market, only this time it’s fully-electric. With heavy design inspiration from the BMW Isetta, the Microlino is arguably the most distinctive car on this list and yes, it does have four wheels.
Unlike most current quadricycles, the Microlino has a selection of batteries to choose from, and the biggest 15.0kWh unit has a claimed maximum range of 142 miles. This certainly seems a strong number, but we doubt you’ll be in a hurry to drive that kind of distance in the Microlino anyway.
The smallest car ever made
Peel P50
- Length: 1,370mm
- Width: 1,040mm
- Height: 1,200mm
Now this one really stretches the boundaries of ‘car’, but as a Guinness World Record holder it deserves a mention. Originally made in tiny numbers on the Isle of Man, the Peel P50 has been given a new lease of life by a company building reproductions.
Supplied in either kit form or fully assembled, it comes with the choice of an electric motor or a 50cc moped engine, and is sure to turn heads wherever you go. And forget parking – with the neat grab handle on the rear, once you get home, you can simply take your P50 inside with you…
Now read our list of the best city cars to buy...
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