Forget supercars and SUVs, tiny city cars are capturing the public's imagination

I’m wary of self-proclaimed automotive ‘experts’ – especially those who’ve insisted for years that motor shows, small cars, petrol and diesel are all dead. Such events, products and fuels are very much alive. And will be for years, if not decades.

Last week’s British Motor Show (BMS) helped prove the point – as if proof is needed – that car exhibitions, preferably those with accompanying side shows and test drive facilities for real-world buyers, can still be a huge hit with forward-thinking vehicle makers, hard-working dealers and the great motoring public.

Scores of thousands of car drivers (plus their adult and child passengers) rocked up at BMS and seemed to love it. I know because I spent most of that week living close to the venue in Farnborough, Hants, where I played a modest part in its build-up, prior to attending all three public days as an exhibitor, observer and occasional speaker. 

It was a long, indulgent weekend for diesel diehards, EVangelists, hybrid and hydrogen heroes, LPG lovers, petrolheads and solar supporters. We all unashamedly celebrated cars, car culture, some of the world’s bravest drivers, live music, you name it. Untold millions of pounds’ worth of ancient and modern vehicles (a handful never before seen in Britain) were observed, warmly received and appreciated. 

Among them were a few all-new cars that I persuaded young, hungry manufacturers such as BYD, Chery and Aion to deliver to my little stand at the show. Not sure what impressed me most – the almost premium feel and look of the Chinese cars, or the fact that senior people from each of the three firms bothered to turn up and get stuck in.

But it was a trio of modest sub-four-metre cars that attracted most of the attention on the stand – and possibly in the entire Hall 1 ‘showroom’ where all the factory-fresh cars were parked up. Most photographed by far of the fleet I ordered in was the Fiat Topolino quadricycle with a glorious paint job (Verde Vita) and a ridiculously reasonable price tag of £8,995 – not much more than an all-new bicycle launched a few days ago. Honest.

Teenagers and young adults swarmed around the funky, little but loveable, £19k Honda Super-N. If there’s any justice in the automotive world, this boxy ‘city car’ that also happens to happily and legally trundle along at 70mph on motorways will provide my favourite Japanese manufacturer with the sales boost it needs in Britain.

Surprisingly, its slightly larger, similarly priced arch-rival – the Renault Twingo – attracted more of a 30-something to middle/old-age crowd. Had there been a Renault sales exec nearby, I’m sure that they could have taken firm orders.

Motor shows, petrol and diesel, small cars finished? Nothing could be further from the truth. But what do I know? I’m not a member of the self-proclaimed ‘automotive expert’ club.

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