ALL THE SMALL THINGS

Word is there's no such thing as a decent, small, simple, reasonably priced car these days. Allow TopGear to investigate

- OLLIE KEW

Ford’s definitive, generation-spanning supermini casts a shadow tonight, but doom-mongering reports suggest more household names won’t survive the end of the decade. Time to swim in the current small-car talent pool.

Instead of slavishly matching up bang-on rivals, we’ve amassed an eclectic mixture to give you the broadest possible picture of what’s out there: from the brand new through the recently facelifted to established favourites. The bargain basement, the normcore, the Taste the Difference premium. There are manuals and autos, hybrids and turbos. And prices spanning a 10-grand spread. If (like me) these cars are about 12 grand in your head, it’s time to recalibrate.

I’m drawn to the Clio, because it’s another stalwart badge and gorgeous. I question the wisdom of festooning the front corners with extra lights—this is targeted at both extremes of the customer spectrum, not famed for parking accurately—but the tapered nose, glittering grille and swollen flanks easily win Renault the beauty tiara.

Inside, the winning smile fades. Like the Mini, this is essentially a heavy facelift of a car that’s been around for over a decade, and this Clio platform has always felt cramped. The jutting centre console, modelled on Pride Rock from The Lion King, is just as unyielding. Could do with some soft-touch padding to reduce the impact swelling on your left knee. The instrument and centre-screen graphics are clear but dated, and Renault still chooses where its media and cruise-control switchgear lives by loading it into an NBA T-shirt cannon.