It is now led by Kent Larson, Director of the Changing Places Research Group at the Media Lab. Mitchell and his Smart Cities Research Group. The Cit圜ar or MIT Cit圜ar is an urban all-electric concept car designed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab. There’s only one version of the electric model but it features air-conditioning, a digital radio, lane-departure warning and an app that lets you set the cabin temperature before you get in the car.Sketch of the Cit圜ar, the ultra-small vehicle developed by MIT Media Lab. You’ll also need to remember that the Mii, Citigo and up! are four-seaters only, but there’s a dizzying array of stylish trim levels to choose from, so there’s bound to be a model that appeals to your taste as well as your wallet. Build quality is still very good and the square-bodied practicality is unaffected.Ī battery and electric motor provide the power, and it’s worth noting that none of these electric cars will hit the maximum quoted range in cold conditions. Different styling doesn’t mean any of the Citigo’s virtues are lost, though. Much of the information about the Citigo and up! also applies to the SEAT Mii, but this member of the VW Group city car trio trades the earnest, reliable image of the Skoda for a slightly sportier demeanour. Like the Citigo, you can now only buy a new SEAT Mii as an electric car, but the standard Mii is still available as a used car. There’s also a range of trim levels, including a new R-Line model with sporty looks, or the up! Beats, which includes a seven-speaker 300-watt Beats stereo. The range extends from simply equipped to bells-and-whistles, depending on how much you want to spend and how you’ll use the car, but every up! is a good-looking, useful city car.
If you’re after a petrol car, there’s a choice of 64bhp and 113bhp 1.0-litre engines (the latter reserved for the up! GTI mini hot hatch). You’ll find the e-up! is a little more expensive than the Citigo e iV and Mii electric that’s because it’s touted as the ‘premium’ member of the trio, and backs this up with a tastefully classy variation on the same body as the others, with attractive colours and fabrics on the inside. The Volkswagen up! is mechanically identical to the SEAT Mii (and the now-discontinued Skoda Citigo) but while the Mii is now only available as an electric car, the VW offers a choice of petrol or electric.
CITY CAR AUTO FULL
And if you feel you need a car with a little more space, you’ll find something to suit in our top 10 run-downs of the best superminis, best small SUVs and best family hatchbacks.Ĥ.2 out of 5 Read full review Watch video The best city cars are well built, well equipped, well priced and a pleasure to drive. They may not be as luxurious, fast or spacious as a larger car, but a good city car can still make a willing steed for any journey you ask of it. It seems a shame to keep them cooped up in the city.įortunately, the very best are able to spend the morning making your life easy as you nip through city traffic, before being loaded with luggage and escaping to the country in the afternoon. With limited power from their small engines, city cars may not be fast, but their light weight and uncomplicated nature can make them a hoot to drive on twisty roads.
CITY CAR AUTO DRIVERS
Ever since the launch of the original Mini in 1959, tiny cars with ‘a wheel in each corner’ have been dear to the hearts of keen drivers everywhere. There’s another great city-car virtue that everybody can enjoy, and that’s the way they drive. It’s not uncommon to find city cars in the current crop that have Bluetooth, sat nav and air-conditioning - some even have features you’d normally associate with much more expensive cars, like cruise control, heated seats and reversing cameras. Not only that, they tend to be cheap to buy, economical and surprisingly well-equipped. All city cars tend to return excellent fuel economy because they aren’t very heavy and use small, modern engines.Ĭity cars are great for drivers who don’t need a lot of interior space and because of their low running costs, they make great first cars for new drivers, as well as for those who are downsizing from larger cars. This is to ensure they are ideally suited to city streets and are able to slot in the smallest of spaces. If you were to park a Kia Picanto and a Toyota Aygo next to each other, you would struggle to decide which was the biggest because sizes vary so little across the class. Most of them have become small but competent all-rounders.Ĭity cars are smaller than superminis and are built to a certain length, width and height. In the past, buying a ‘city car’ actually meant buying a slightly flimsy-feeling car that was only suitable for driving around town, but these days they can easily cope with longer journeys too.