With the way James May talks about the Dacia Sandero, you'd think it was loved all over Britain. However, that's not really the case. Let's check out how it does in this comprehensive cheap car comparison from Fifth Gear, where it faces newer rivals like the Kia Picanto, as well as the refined but aging VW Up!.
These types of small cars are often seen as badly made, underpowered or boring, so it's nice to check the segment out from time to time. The UK review team gathered six interesting contenders here, which is no easy task.
There's also quite a few curve balls between them. For example, a refreshed version of the Chinese-made MG3 is not something you hear about everyday. And from Italy, we have a Panda Cross, the mountain goat of the Mediteranean, which is also pretty old, but a James May favorite.
After out time with it, we're rooting for the little Toyota Aygo city car. It was a lot of fun to drive, but that's because we treated like a small delivery van or cheap airport rental... which it kind of is. Unexpected level of refinement define the VW Up!, though. Even though it's really old, we always knew it was the one to beat in the segment.
The Sandero is one of the first to be eliminated due to its rough construction and driving characteristics. The MG3 also doesn't make it because of its 1.5-liter engine being too big. Since when is that a bad thing!
So it's between the Kia and VW. Can you guess the outcome? Before you watch the videos, tell us if you know of any other contenders. We'd point out the £9,325 Hyundai i10, which has a huge truck and similar levels of refinement to the Up!.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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