Photo by Oli Woodman

Cities are growing in popularity and you can see why. With more and more opportunities for work and play, the city is fast becoming the place to be – especially if you don’t fancy the expense of commuting! But while cities often have great transport links, the thought of completely giving up your car can be daunting. Those connections might be good but do they provide a door to door service? Probably not. So, even if you are planning to reduce your car use, it might be a good idea to find a car that will suit your new needs.

Inner City and Out to Country

One of the reasons people living in cities still hang on to their cars is the desire to escape to the country at the weekends. These people aren’t just looking for something city-sized, they also need something robust enough to manage in the countryside too. The Vauxhall Corsa Griffin is a good example of the cross-over car. It’s compact enough to make city driving easier but with cruise control, an infotainment package and 16-inch black twin spoke alloy wheels it will see you safely through most situations. When you are looking at city cars, always consider how well the model will do on the motorway too.

Efficiency

Let’s face it, a lot of city driving is about sitting patiently in a traffic jam waiting for the lights to let just one car through. This means that when you choose a car, you should be looking at fuel efficiency and eco features – not just to save money, but to minimize your impact on the air quality of the city. The more efficient your city car is, the cheaper it will be to run. But do think ahead too. As more cities start to tackle low air quality with emissions taxes, electric cars are going to become more and more sought after. Zap map is great for showing you where you can park and charge electric vehicles around the UK so it’s worth looking at this before you make your investment.

Size and Agility

In the country, large cars reign with their superior suspension and ability to off-road. Big SUVs are perfect here as they can carry a lot, deal with all kinds of terrains and cope with all sorts of weather phenomena. In the city, the requirements are entirely the opposite. The roads here are well maintained and often very crowded. This means that size matters and the smaller your car is, the easier it will be to manoeuvre and park when you’re ready. Lots of the best city cars for 2018 were all about agility and until you’ve had to do a tight 3 point turn surrounded by parked cars and pedestrians, you will probably underestimate the importance of this feature! As city living is growing in popularity, the car industry is catching up by providing what people really need. While the future of cars might be uncertain, what is clear is that people will always want the freedom that personal vehicles provide.