City Car of the Year 2024: Hyundai i10
The Hyundai i10 is the 2024 Auto Express City Car of the Year, with the Fiat 500e and Toyota Aygo X commended
The Hyundai i10 has done the double in 2024, taking City Car honours for the second year in a row. Affordable, practical, fun to drive and stylish, the compact Korean machine has all the bases covered in this corner of the market.
As ever, a key part of the Hyundai i10’s appeal is that it remains a small car that thinks big. Despite its dinky dimensions, the five-door hatchback serves up a surprising amount of family-friendly space. There’s easily enough room for four adults to travel in comfort, while the 252-litre boot rivals models from the class above for capacity.
Not only is the interior practical, it also serves up lots of premium appeal with solid build quality and enough standard kit count to embarrass models costing thousands more. Even the entry-level Advance trim gets a reversing camera, parking sensors and slick 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment, while safety tech runs to forward-collision alert and lane-keep assist.
The grown-up appeal extends to the driving experience, which combines typical small-car agility and driving fun with decent refinement and a cushioned ride. For most buyers the eager and efficient 78bhp 1.2-litre petrol is the best bet, but there’s also a characterful 1.0-litre three-cylinder in either 66bhp naturally aspirated or punchy 99bhp turbocharged guises. Either way, you’ll get the same slick five-speed manual gearbox.
The i10 also packs plenty of kerb appeal, demonstrated by the funky LED running lights set into the grille. Factor in a starting price of £16,030 and it is easy to see how this city slicker has once again carried off our small car silverware.
Our choice
Hyundai i10 1.2 Premium (£18,130)
All i10 models are well equipped, but Premium trim adds desirable luxuries such as heated seats and steering wheel, climate control and wireless phone charging. A peppy 1.0-litre three-pot is the cheapest option, but we’d splash out the extra £800 on the more powerful and refined 1.2-litre four-cylinder.
Commended
Fiat 500e
Pint-sized dimensions, nimble handling and zippy electric performance make the Fiat 500 huge fun to drive, while its retro-inspired styling helps it stand out from the crowd. Elsewhere, the classy interior makes up for in quality and kit what it lacks in space. The entry-level 24kWh battery gives a claimed range of 118 miles, while Fiat is currently offering £3,000 off all versions.
With its blend of city-car compactness and rugged off-road looks, the Toyota Aygo X is the perfect urban assault vehicle. There are plenty of customisation options, it’s good to drive, cost peanuts to run and is backed by Toyota’s legendary reliability.
You can find all the information on our New Car Awards 2024 winners and the reasons why we chose them on the pages below. Just follow the links to read more…
New Car Awards 2024: the winners
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