City cars such as Mirage generally aren't tasked with people moving, so while there is plenty of room in the front for driver and passenger, space in the rear row of seating is challenging to say the least although still par for the course for the category. Mirage does offer some versatility here with a split-fold rear seat to increase the load area, but then so do most of the competitors in this class.
Always difficult to understand is the inclusion of a space-saver spare wheel where realistically the wheels on these small vehicles are not dimensionally challenging, and a full-size spare wheel could be accommodated within the wheel well in the boot. Nissan Micra was the only vehicle in the category that provided a full-size spare wheel this year.
To round off Mirage's appealing and competitive package is the most important aspect of motoring: a five-star ANCAP safety rating. This rating has always been more difficult to achieve for this class of vehicle, and significantly Mirage was the only five-star rated car in the finalist group.
Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, you couldn't really separate any of the five cars in this category on their environment credentials: Mirage and three others scored perfect 10s, and even then the other one still notched up nine points.
Affordable to buy, zippy, easy to drive, easy to park and with great fuel economy, Mirage leads the field again this year.
Second: Suzuki Celerio
Suzuki has been known for economical, reliable, cost-competitive vehicles for a very long time, so Celerio fills the brief and philosophy that Suzuki is very familiar with.
Following on from its Alto predecessor, Celerio brings a little more refinement to the overall drive experience, an attribute traditionally not high on the list for this class of vehicle. And this is where Celerio showed is strength, with a best-in-class score for handling and an equal best for ride.
The tiny 1.0L 3cyl engine is the smallest in our field and relies on unassisted induction to generate its modest 50kW of power. But what Celerio lacks in engine capacity it certainly makes up for with its claimed fuel consumption of only 4.7L/100kmh.
Celerio only has four seating positions, however city cars that can seat five would require passengers to be on the younger side of teenage, because three adults across the back seat in this vehicle class puts it somewhere between ultra-cosy and impossible on the comfort scale.
Celerio also comes with a space-saver spare wheel. All in all, Celerio provides zippy, economical performance backed up by unfussed driving attributes for those who need a vehicle for urban commuting. And nothing else comes anywhere near it on price, which is a huge plus in this budget category.
Third: Nissan Micra ST
Nissan's Micra enjoyed an equipment refresh in early 2015 and trimmed its range to two variants, ST and Ti, with a notable standard feature addition of cruise control to the entry-level ST.
It's questionable whether cruise control might be a well-used feature in this class but more and more people want it. Power windows are offered in the rear now and another noteworthy inclusion is a full-size matching spare wheel, which all up accounts for Micra's high standard features score. In fact, Micra is ahead overall in the Design and Function criteria for this group, and also fares pretty well with the On The Road scores.
Micra ST also comes with an optional 4spd automatic for an additional $1800, with the Ti variant only coming in automatic and getting a further serve of goodies such as alloy wheels, reversing camera and satellite navigation to name a few.
Micra has always been a great car to drive in the city and urban areas, easy to manoeuvre and park and has a generally nimble feeling in this environment.
Price-wise Micra struggles to compete with Mirage and Celerio but third spot on the podium is still a worthy result. Micra is certainly a vehicle to keep on the shopping list if this category interests you, and you can afford a little more on the spend.
