Compact cars that were big news
Compact and city cars are often overlooked in favour of more glamorous models, but they are usually the backbone of car makers’ ranges.
Here we are looking at some of the best small classic cars that we think deserve their spot in the limelight for providing drivers with dependable, enjoyable means of getting about town.
We’ve listed them in alphabetical order.
1. AMC Gremlin
The AMC Gremlin was conceived long before the fuel crisis of the 1970s and ever-stricter emissions regulations in the US.
As a result, the Gremlin arrived in 1970 to be right on trend and it gave AMC the drop on Chevrolet and Ford, which didn’t launch their compact cars until the following year.
The US term ‘subcompact’ was relative compared to other markets, because the Gremlin still had a 96in wheelbase and was offered with engines ranging from a four-cylinder 2-litre to 5-litre V8.
This spread of motors helped AMC shift 671,475 Gremlins across 13 years of production in the US and then Mexico.
2. Audi A2
Launched in late 1999, the Audi A2 was a revelation in the way it was built and how it was packaged. Not since the original Mini had a car offered so much interior room within such a small exterior.
This was due to the A2’s tall-sided styling, which featured a stubby nose that came with a small panel to access vital servicing such as the oil dipstick and washer-fluid filler.
To make the A2 efficient, Audi used aluminium for the main shell and body panels to keep weight to 830kg, and it has contributed to a high survival rate.
Engines were 1.4- and 1.6-litre petrols, and a 1.4-litre turbodiesel. There was also a 1.2-litre turbodiesel for some markets known as the 3L, because it used just three litres of fuel to cover 100km.
3. Austin A40 Farina
The A35 might have the cuter looks, but Austin’s A40 Farina makes for a better all-round city car.
This is thanks to more interior space and, from 1962, a larger 1091cc engine for added pep.
The Farina name came from the Italian company that styled the A40, which was the first of Austin’s crisp-lined models for the 1960s.
The A40 Farina was also an early pioneer of the hatchback body in the Countryman model, which had a split tailgate to make it even more practical than the standard saloon version.
4. BMW 600
Taking its styling cues from the tiny Isetta, the BMW 600 was the German car maker’s answer to the Fiat 500.
The front-opening door of the Isetta remained to give access to the front cabin, but the longer, larger 600 also had a single side rear door for greater practicality.
As with the Isetta, the 600 used a BMW motorcycle-derived engine, in this case a 582cc flat-twin.
Along with four wheels in the corners, the 600 was decent to drive, but the arrival of the Mini in 1959 put an end to this BMW’s ambitions of making a serious mark in the small-car sector.
5. Bond Bug
Tom Karen’s sideways take on a modern small sports car did not worry MG or Triumph, but the three-wheeler Bug made a good city car thanks to its tiny dimensions.
It could seat two and offered open-top motoring along with a semblance of reasonable weather protection.
Light weight meant the Bond’s 700cc Reliant engine didn’t have a lot to push, though performance was still more of the adequate variety than truly fun.
Even so, the front-hinged canopy made it distinctive and fun to nip about town in.
6. Chevrolet Vega
‘Subcompact’ was the class where the Chevrolet Vega competed against the AMC Gremlin and Ford Pinto. Offered in saloon, hatch, estate and van versions, the Vega went on to sell more than two million units in its life span between late 1970 and 1977.
It was an impressive sales feat for a car that went from conception to showroom inside three years, though this did also tell in some of the Vega’s build quality.
More than half a million Vegas were recalled to address issues with the rear axle and the throttle, and the car’s aluminium engine also gained a reputation for developing leaks.
7. Citroën AX
While the 2CV was a very French take on the compact car, the Citroën AX was an unashamedly conventional car in its engineering.
The AX had a front-mounted transverse engine driving the front wheels and the overall layout was clearly modelled on the Mini.
It proved to be very popular. Part of the reason why is the AX was very lightweight, so it was good to drive even with modest engine power.
It also handled nimbly and offered decent space for four, plus luggage accessed through a hatch. Citroën was keen on the AX, too, because it shifted 2.4 million of them and it returned a healthy profit.
8. Daihatsu Charade
The Daihatsu Charade more-than proved that Japanese car makers had worked out how to make brilliant small cars by the 1980s.
Its clean lines and five-door bodyshell made the Austin Metro look dowdy, while good handling furthered the Daihatsu’s appeal.
The Charade reached its peak with the fizzing GTti model of 1987, which whizzed from 0-62mph in just 7.7 secs. Lesser models made for equally good city transport and later versions had much better ride comfort.
9. Fiat 600
Predating the iconic Nuova 500, the 600 was launched in 1955 and should have been the more popular model, thanks to its greater cabin space and better refinement.
However, the looks and lower price of the 500 helped it sell more than three times as many as its 600 sibling.
Even so, the 600 makes for a fine city car, because many reckon it handles and rides better than a 500.
The bigger body makes it easier to fit in the family, plus the later 767cc engine in the 600D offers just enough oomph to head beyond the city limits.
10. Fiat Panda
The Fiat Panda was a brilliantly simple small car for the 1980s.
Its boxy shape made it cheaper to produce and all of the glass used low-cost flat panes, including the windscreen with its single wiper. The interior was just as pared-back, but it all added to the Panda’s utilitarian appeal.
Fiat conceded to spend a bit more on the Panda’s rear suspension, which was upgraded in 1986. At the same time, the zestier FIRE range of engines was fitted to improve performance and economy.
With few other changes, this first-generation Panda remained in production until 2003, with almost 4.5 million of them made.
11. Ford Anglia 105E
The Anglia name had been serving Ford well since 1939 and the arrival of the new 105E in 1959 gave the Blue Oval a car to counter the new Mini.
While the Anglia was very traditional compared with the Mini, with its front-engine, rear-drive layout, the Ford was good to drive and catered to conservative buyers’ tastes.
Even so, Ford did push the boundaries with the Anglia’s reverse-slope rear window, though this didn’t impact on passenger space or luggage capacity.
The estate model offered more space and the 123E version from 1962 had a more powerful 1172cc motor. In every form, the Anglia made for a thoroughly modern and enjoyable small car.
12. Ford Fiesta
Ford was late to join the supermini revolution, but when it unleashed the Fiesta in 1976 the competition had a lot to worry about.
Its sharp styling, roomy cabin and good handling were all more than a match for anything else out there, including the Volkswagen Polo.
Ford was also quick off the mark to offer customers a wide range of trims and options so they could personalise their Fiesta.
This included sporty models like the S and XR2, which contributed to approximately 1.75 million first-generation Fiestas rolling off the production lines in Germany, Spain and the UK.
13. Hillman Imp
It’s easy to dwell on the negatives when considering the Hillman Imp. After all, it was undermined by poor build quality and arriving after the radical Mini had been launched.
Look at the other side of the Imp coin, though, and you find a very fine city car.
The Imp’s engine is a free-revving pearl, while the gearchange is snappily accurate. It also handles well and is more practical than its traditional three-box shape suggests, thanks to an opening rear glass hatch.
Little wonder the classic Imp inspires just as much fierce loyalty among owners as the Mini does.
14. Honda City
The name said it all about this compact Honda, though it had to be renamed Jazz in the UK because Austin-Rover already had dibs on the City name in that market. Opel also claimed the name in European markets.
Regardless of what title it went by, this tiny Honda was perfectly formed and ideally suited to nipping around town. Given the car was originally developed with Tokyo traffic in mind, that wasn’t a surprise.
What did raise an eyebrow was how much space Honda found within the City’s tiny footprint. It could seat four people and still have room for bags in the boot.
There was also an efficient 1.2-litre petrol engine, and Honda fitted a turbocharger to this to create the Japan-only City Turbo that could cover 0-62mph in 8.6 secs.
15. Mercedes-Benz A-Class
The A-Class was like nothing else Mercedes-Benz had built before and took the company into the whole new territory of compact cars.
Demonstrating a huge amount of innovative design, the first A-Class occupied about the same amount of road space as a Ford Fiesta, yet offered cabin room more akin to a C-Class.
This was achieved with a sandwich-floor construction, where the engine lay partially within this double floorpan.
The infamous Elk Test incident spurred Mercedes to fit ESP stability control to all A-Class models and the mini-Mercedes soon became hugely popular.
By the time this first generation went off sale in 2004, around 1.4 million had been sold and swelled the company’s coffers.
16. Mini
One of the most influential cars of all time, the 1959 Mini set the template for most city and small cars that followed.
By placing the engine across the car and driving the front wheels, it freed up a huge amount of room for people and baggage.
An unintended consequence of the wheel-at-each-corner layout and suspension design was superb handling.
This was soon exploited to broaden the Mini range with the Cooper variants, while the Mini was later offered in many other forms, such as the Riley Elf and Wolseley Hornet luxury models. There were also the Moke, a van and pick-up, and an estate.
All were excellent city cars due to their small size and manoeuvrability. It meant the Mini lasted until 2000 in its fundamentally original form.
17. Morris Minor
The Morris Minor was, and still is, a car that excels in the urban mêlée thanks to its supple suspension, good turning circle and spacious interior.
Launched as a two-door saloon or open-top Tourer in 1948, a four-door saloon was added to the line-up in 1950. This was followed by a facelift in 1952 and the Traveller estate in 1953 complete with structural wooden framework for the rear body.
While not as outright ingenious as designer Alec Issigonis’ later Mini, the Minor was another enduring design thanks to its keen talents as a simple, likeable small car.
18. Nash Rambler
Nash needed something different from the big three domestic car makers in the US and discovered just the thing with the compact Rambler.
By going small when others were making their cars ever larger, Nash found it could offer the same style but with less weight for better economy and lower running costs.
The Rambler came with a 2.8-litre straight-six engine, which was small by US standards at the car’s 1950 launch.
Nash also pitched the price low and included plenty of standard equipment, which helped the Rambler appeal to buyers through to the end of its production life in 1955.
19. Nissan Figaro
The Nissan Figaro was an instant classic, not for its Micra mechanical base, but because there was such a clamour to own one when it was launched.
It was built for the Japanese domestic market and buyers had to enter a lottery to own one such was demand when the car went on sale in 1991.
Initially, Nissan thought it would sell 8000 of the retro-styled Figaros, but ended up building 20,000.
Many of these cars have now been exported around the world and the Figaro is a bona fide classic car that just happens to be a very useful city car, thanks to those humble Nissan Micra bits under the curvy body that make it easy to drive and cheap to run.
20. Peugeot 205
More than 2.7 million drivers gave the Peugeot 205 the thumbs up when it was new, and it’s easy to see why the French supermini was such a success.
For starters, its styling gave the 205 an easy flair most of its rivals couldn’t come close to. There was also plenty of interior space and supple suspension to take care of urban potholes.
With a wide range of trims and engines, there was a 205 to suit almost everyone, including the brilliant GTI hot-hatch versions.
Perhaps the only real problem with the now-classic 205 was that every small Peugeot since has been compared to this car and found wanting in some way or another.
21. Renault 5
The Renault 4 was in production for longer and sold in greater numbers than the 5, but it’s arguably the 5 that is the more important model.
It brought Renault slap-bang into the hotly contested supermini market of the 1970s and ’80s, and the 5’s influence over Renault design is still felt today.
Another reason the 5 deserves its place among the small-car greats is how good it is to drive.
Even with the engine slung ahead of the front wheels, it grips determinedly and leans comically without any fear of tipping over.
It also deals easily with bumpy roads and provides more than ample cabin room for four, plus the plastic bumpers are ideal for dealing with Parisian parking methods.
22. Suzuki SC100
Suzuki’s SC100 started out in life as a kei car, built to meet strict size and capacity rules for use in Japanese cities.
This made it ideal for driving in towns around the world, but the SC100 really came into its own when Suzuki fitted a larger 970cc engine for increased performance in the Whizzkid, as it’s known.
This faster model might not have worried hot hatches of the period, but its small size and buzzy nature made it feel much quicker. It was also plenty fast and nimble enough to put a smile on any city commuter’s face.
23. Toyota Starlet
It’s a measure of how good the second-generation Toyota Starlet was that it’s become something of a cult classic car in recent years.
Not the most inspiring to look at, what made the Starlet interesting in period and now is its front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout when most other compact cars had switched to front-drive.
Another unusual feature for this Starlet when it was launched in 1978 was a five-speed manual gearbox, when most others made do with four gears.
It all added up to a surprisingly fun small car that belied its dull looks.
24. Volkswagen Beetle
One of the most popular small cars ever made, the Volkswagen Beetle has also been built in more countries and factories than most.
Its simple nature and dependability helped to make it a sales hit, especially when it found a foothold in the US in the early 1950s.
Volkswagen was also successful at subtly updating the Beetle just enough to keep it relevant and appealing to customers, even if its performance and sophistication were easily outdone by rivals by the time the 1970s rolled around and VW launched its Polo.
25. Volkswagen Polo
Volkswagen made a quantum leap when it launched the Polo in 1975, ushering in a small car that encapsulated all the latest thinking compared to the by-then already aged Beetle.
Neat styling by Bertone, front-wheel drive and water-cooled engines made the Polo every inch the smaller, more city-friendly sibling to the Golf that had arrived the year before.
One of the Polo’s main strengths was its quality, which put the competition in the shade. It set this German small car on a path to being the standard by which others were judged for durability, for many years to follow.
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