TOP 100 CARS 2014: TOP 10 SUPERMINIS

SUPERMINIS ROCK. Drive a really good one and you may find yourself considering anything bigger or more expensive as pointlessly profligate. They weren’t always this way, though. Twenty years ago there were no supercool shopping cars made by premium brands such as BMW’s Mini and Audi. And those that did exist — the Ford Fiestas and Renault Clios of their era — were noisy and uncomfortable.

How have they become so good? One reason is that for years it was not superminis but family cars that were consistently the bestselling vehicles, attracting the biggest slice of manufacturers’ investment. Now superminis outsell family cars so more money than ever is being pumped into their development.

As buyers downsize and search for cheaper motoring in the face of rising costs expect the popularity of these cheap-to-buy and cheap-to-drive runarounds to rise further, attracting even more innovation.

1 MINI HATCHBACK

Look in the hot hatchback and coupé section and you’ll see that the Ford Fiesta ST sits higher up the charts than the Mini Cooper S. But here the roles reverse. The reason is simple: away from the tyre-burning world of hot hatches, the rest of the Mini range is in a different league from its rivals and the car must now stand as the most desirable small hatchback of its time.

Clarkson says ... "Even if you’re a 22-year-old girl who works in a nail salon you are buying a Mini because deep down you know its predecessor won the Monte Carlo rally three times"

The Hatch has all the talents you expect in a Mini: BMW build-quality and a funky interior, and the lowered-powered versions are genuinely fun to drive, in some ways more so than the Cooper S, thanks to a new range of characterful three-cylinder 1.2 and 1.5-litre engines. These can generate astonishing numbers, such as those of the mid-range Cooper: top speed of 130mph, less than eight seconds to 62mph and more than 60mpg. This latest Mini also has superb ride quality — something its predecessor lacked. In short, it’s all the pleasure of the old Mini, with none of the pain.

• Price: £13,750-£20,050
• Our pick: Cooper, £15,300
• Engine: 1499cc, 3 cylinders, turbo
• Acceleration: 0-62mph: 7.9sec
• Top speed:130mph
• Fuel | CO2: 62.8mpg | 105g/km

Browse the Minis for sale on driving.co.uk

2 FORD FIESTA

Six years after it first went on sale, the latest Fiesta is still vying for the top spot. There are two reasons for this longevity: the sound design it was given when launched in 2008 and a process of continual improvement ever since. This is the affordable car with an answer to everything. It’s good-looking enough to make a fashion statement yet is sufficiently functional to fulfil its primary purpose of being a shopping car. Its brilliant 1-litre engine gives superb performance and fuel economy.

• Price: £9,995-£19,250
• Our pick: Fiesta 1.0T EcoBoost 100PS stop-start 5dr, £15,545
• Engine: 999cc, 3 cylinders, turbo
• Acceleration: 0-62mph: 11.2sec
• Top speed: 112mph
• Fuel | CO2: 65.7mpg | 99g/km

Browse the Ford Fiestas for sale on driving.co.uk

3 DACIA SANDERO

How can we ignore a car that costs less than some manufacturers charge to put fancy brakes on their vehicles? Quite easily, if the Dacia Sandero were as bad a car as used to emerge from eastern Europe. The factory might be Romanian but the car is entirely credible. Don’t expect any frills — even a radio is an option on the entry-level Access model — but you will get a well-built car with five doors and good space inside. It’s no rocket ship but if you just want simple, honest, cost-effective transport, Britain’s cheapest car is also one of its best.

• Price: £5,995-£10,345
• Our pick: Sandero Ambiance TCe90, £7,595
• Engine: 898cc, 3 cylinders, turbo
• Acceleration: 0-62mph: 11.1sec
• Top speed: 109mph
• Fuel | CO2: 56.5mpg | 116g/km

Browse the Dacia Sanderos for sale on driving.co.uk

4 VOLKSWAGEN POLO

The VW Polo is the world’s most sensible car. The ride comfort is good, there is precious little noise on the move, there’s enough space for four adults plus some luggage and it is frugal to own and run. All these things are endearing traits in a supermini.

The reason it falls behind the Dacia is that it’s not great value for money. Also, a Fiesta is better to drive and the Mini puts a smile on its owner’s face in a way that no Polo could ever manage. But if none of that matters to you, this is probably the most obvious choice of any small car on sale.

• Price: £11,100-£19,715
• Our pick: Polo 1.2 TSI 90 SE 5dr, £14,360
• Engine: 1197cc, 4 cylinders, turbo
• Acceleration: 0-62mph: 10.8sec
• Top speed: 114mph
• Fuel | CO2: 60.1mpg | 107g/km

Browse the VW Polos for sale on driving.co.uk

5 VAUXHALL CORSA

First, a word of caution about which new Corsa not to buy: many of the cheaper versions of this popular small car will come with suspension and steering that are distinctly lacklustre when deliveries start early next year. Other versions, including the more expensive Limited Edition and SRi VX-Line, will have sport suspension and steering, and they’re great. Make sure you find out which one yours has before buying.

All Corsas offer decent build quality and have more space inside than a Mini or Fiesta.

• Price: £8,995-£16,235
• Our pick: Corsa 1.0 115PS ecoFlex SRi VX-Line stop-start 3dr, £14,460
• Engine: 998cc, 3 cylinders, turbo
• Acceleration: 0-62mph: 10.3sec
• Top speed: 121mph
• Fuel | CO2: 57.6mpg | 114g/km

Browse the Vauxhall Corsas for sale on driving.co.uk

6 TOYOTA YARIS

Price: £10,995-£17,695

For Relatively spacious; cheap to run; five-year warranty

Against Lacks the fun driving experience of a Mini or Fiesta and the quality of a Polo

Browse the Toyota Yaris for sale on driving.co.uk

7 CITROËN DS3

Price: £12,865-£23,220

For Funky styling; fun to personalise; supple ride comfort

Against Only available as a three-door; not as good to drive or as well made as a Mini

Browse the Citroen DS3 for sale on driving.co.uk

8 PEUGEOT 208

Price: £9,995-£19,750

For Good looks; quite frugal

Against Rear seats are cramped; poor location of dial above steering wheel

Browse the Peugeot 208s for sale on driving.co.uk

9 AUDI A1

Price: £14,115-£25,635

For Great looks; classy interior,; good choice of engines

Against It sits on a Polo platform; very expensive; cramped cabin

10 SUZUKI SWIFT

Price: £10,799-£16,439

For Stands out from the crowd; peppy engines; fun to drive

Against Drab interior design; not much space inside; quite expensive

Mid-Sized Trucks Are Back at Last

Much to the chagrin of we who love them, mid-sized pickups have been one of the most neglected parts of the automotive world. Ford killed off the Ranger a few years back. Chrysler axed the Dakota. And when GM quit making the Chevy Colorado/GM Canyon duo in 2012, the field became so moribund that the remaining players, Toyota and Nissan, felt little need to improve their Tacomas and Frontiers.

Things were bad. But a flicker of hope appeared when GM said it would bring back the Colorado and Canyon for 2015. This week we hopped into these new trucks, and man, they are excellent.

Smartly, General Motors addressed the main problems that saw medium-sized trucks lose their market share. As more people's lives because increasingly urbanized, the thinking goes, they no longer had room for a truck and turned to crossovers and SUVs. So GM made the Colorado/Canyon a full foot and a half shorter than the full-size Chevy Silverado, and six inches narrower, making the new trucks considerably easier to park and maneuver.

A lot of drivers also didn't want to drive something that rode so high, especially if they had a hard time climbing in and out of it. The Colorado and Canyon sit at crossover height, which is a much easier sell these days.

And then there's fuel economy, another reason mid-size sales had stalled. As automakers pumped R&D into improving their money-making full-size trucks, giving them better transmissions and cutting their weight, the mpg of those trucks became just as good as the mid-size pickups left on the market, the Tacoma and Frontier. Why buy a smaller truck when a bigger one gets the same mileage?

MERCEDES-BENZ S-CLASS SALOON REVIEW

For The Mercedes S-Class combines a very comfortable ride with composed handling, while the cabin is sumptuous and refinement is exceptional.

2016 Mercedes-Benz E-Class E 350

What is it?: 

The plug-in hybrid version of the new Mercedes E-Class, which will be the first petrol-powered version to arrive in the UK, touching down before the end of the year. The E 350 e uses the combination of a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an electric motor to deliver a combined peak output of 281bhp and what Mercedes predicts will be official fuel consumption of 134mpg and CO2 emissions of 49g/km.

2016 Ford Fiesta ST M-Sport Edition

What is it?:

Just possibly the Fiesta RS Ford seems unwilling to give us, having seemingly satisfied itself with the ST200 announced at Geneva. And who better to build it than Malcolm Wilson's M-Sport, well-versed in unleashing the rally potential in Fords with its WRC-spec Focuses and Fiestas. Bringing this experience to the road, the M-Sport Fiesta is sold as a complete car and comes with upgrades sourced from the firm's motorsport partners.

The £21,600 entry-level car is based on a £17,645 Fiesta ST-1 in either Frozen White or, for an additional £245, Spirit Blue. It comes fitted with the fully warrantied Mountune upgrade kit that boosts power from the standard 'steady state' 179bhp to 197bhp; on overboost this increases from 197bhp to 212bhp. Included in the package is a Quaife limited-slip differential similar to the one fitted to the original Focus RS.

You also get 17in OZ Superturismo wheels, a prominent WRC-style rear wing, an M-Sport graphics package and a selection of branded interior trim including steering wheel, seats, mats and gearknob. Look under the sun visor and you'll see Malcolm Wilson's signature, the man himself ready to put his name to the car.

Not enough? Further options include a handling kit based on Eibach springs and custom-tuned Bilstein dampers and an Alcon brake kit with Goodridge hoses. You can also upgrade to a Pipercross/M-Sport induction kit (no performance gains claimed but it sounds good) and a louder backbox built by Chris Tullet Exhausts, the same company that supplies exhaust systems for M-Sport's WRC cars.

What's it like?: 

Like a Fiesta ST but more so - which can only be a good thing.

M-Sport's close relationship with Ford means it understands the Fiesta better than most, so the modifications are sympathetic to the car's spirit and enhance it without losing the character we already love so much. Our test car was fitted with the optional Bilstein/Eibach handling kit, the springs lowering the car by around 20mm.

Around town it's not shy, but then nor is the standard car. Where the investment shows is at higher speeds and on lumpy roads where M-Sport's rally experience begins to tell. Where the standard dampers can get a little ragged in extreme situations, the Bilsteins control rebound much more effectively, keeping the wheels planted on the ground without dialling out that trademark agility.

Meanwhile, the Quaife differential is only too keen to make the most of that celebrated keenness. With the tyres' contact patch more constant, there's improved traction, the M-Sport encouraging earlier and earlier throttle application and pulling itself through the turn, where the standard car scrabbles and relies on its electronic aids.

Unlike some powerful diff-equipped front-wheel drive cars, the Fiesta's pretty civilised under hard, straight-line acceleration too, with just the gentlest tug of the wheel over split-grip surfaces. Fun and confidence-inspiring up to the limit and exploitable and adjustable for those willing to drive slightly beyond it, M-Sport simply unleashes more of what we like in an already stellar package.

Should I buy one?: 

One of the most appealing qualities of the Fiesta ST package is its affordability, the £17,645 starting price for the ST-1 undercuts most rivals by a couple of thousand pounds, and it's also more fun and involving to drive. The £21,600 price of the M-Sport car puts it on equal terms with the Peugeot 208 GTI by Peugeot Sport (also equipped with a limited-slip diff) and much-improved Clio Renaultsport Trophy, which comes with a standard-fit double-clutch automatic gearbox.

Depending on how you crunch your numbers you could consider this a 'free' upgrade compared with rivals; the resulting Fiesta is a much more potent car, although perhaps a little more basic inside. The kind of enthusiasts attracted to this car will care more about the driving experience, though, and in that sense the M-Sport makes good on its rally breeding, combining old-school hot hatch thrills with modern safety, performance and usability.

The more in-your-face elements of the styling and interior package have a whiff of aftermarket about them, but in terms of the way it drives the M-Sport Fiesta has the feel of a factory product. If you love your fast Fords, it has performance, and provenance, that no other tuner can match.

Dan Trent

Ford Fiesta ST M-Sport Edition

Location Lake District; On Sale Now; Price £21,600 (M-Sport package based on Fiesta ST-1 Mountune before options); Engine 4-cyl 1,595cc, turbocharged, petrol; Power 212bhp* at 6000rpm;Torque 236lb ft* at 3000rpm; Gearbox 6-speed manual; Kerb weight1163kg; Top speed 137mph; 0-62mph 6.4sec; Economy 47.9mpg (combined); CO2/tax band 139g/km, 22%

MERCEDES-MAYBACH E-CLASS

 Called the Mercedes-Maybach E-Class, the pictures clearly illustrate a stretch version of the company’s medium-sized luxury sedan.

2016 Maserati Levante review

This is Maserati’s first SUV, and quite a departure for a company that has traditionally made glamorous coupes, cabriolets and luxury sporting saloons. This, however, is the era of the SUV, with more and more customers choosing them for their raised seating, air of safety, their usefulness and the more exciting image that they project.

TOYOTA FORTUNER TRD SPORTIVO REVIEW

Toyota South Africa will introduce the all-new Fortuner into the local market in a matter of weeks. This popular model has, however, been available in other markets for some time already.

In Thailand, Toyota has already launched a more sporty version of this large SUV, dubbed the Toyota Fortuner TRD Sportivo.