Recommend me a small car

Related to the failing an MoT thread, I now need to by a new car.
Needs are:
Small
Reliable
£10k ish
3 or 4 years old.
Not French.

First thought is Kia Picanto or Hyundai i10. I have a Kia and like it, and the Hyundai has a similar shape and warranty.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Suzuki Swift, purchased ours second hand 8 years ago, very happy with it. Would buy again.

All of the above, but bought on the condition of car and attitude of owner.
Is this a serviced and cared for car?

I would also add Auris, Corolla and Prius to the list.

Yaris

there’s not many 3 year old cars under £10k. I’d go with whichever of the hyundai and kia have the longer warranty. They’re pretty underwhelming motors on the motorway but will keep going

A Fiesta, assuming its within budget.

Yaris
Swift
Aigo
Kia Picanto/Venga
Hyundai i10/20
Seat Mii/VW Up!/Skoda Citigo
Driven all of them, they’re all fine little cars, there’s one issue with the Venga, where the interior boot light can stay on if the hatch isn’t shut firmly, which can result in a flat battery. I had lots of experience of that happening! Easily solved, by making sure it’s shut properly, or  locating the switch and sticking some packing to the contact area. Otherwise the Venga’s a great car. I really liked the Aigo as well, it’s better styled than its Citrôen and Peugeot siblings, and I think better assembled, the interior is pretty much identical otherwise. The semi-auto is fun if you put it into Sport and use the paddles, but it’s a bit of a screamer, the little motor needs a bit of encouragement, shall we say. The other blokes I worked with moaned about them, but I thought they were fun, and nicely compact.
The VAG siblings are all good to drive, and not too big, and surprisingly nippy, I had 105mph out of a Citigo, according to my satnav, overtaking a Disco on the M5 near Portishead once, I was in a bit of a hurry…

The Smart fourtwo is great and surprisingly comfortable on long runs, but it is only a two-seater, obviously. Like all small cars, they’re a bit susceptible to side winds on exposed sections of road, like motorways, especially if you’re overtaking big trucks – you have to anticipate the car lurching sideways as soon as you pass the truck, but once you know it’s going to happen, it’s easy to control.

You can get a small EV for that money, or a little more – but depending on your mileage you could save the difference in fuel if you can charge at home.

Yaris or Jazz. 10/10 will buy again

(we actually have a Jazz and have had a Yaris. It’s been brilliant and we love it. Also have a planet destroying CRV)

Aygo, but don’t dismiss the ‘french’ versions (Citroen C1, Pug 108) as they’re Japanese engineering and only French in styling and trim.

Mazda 2 or Suzuki Swift.

Fiesta, if you can avoid the first gen 1.0 ecoboost engine, else a Seat Ibiza would be my pick.

I also quite like the Honda Jazz if you need to transport bikes as they’re like a tardis inside.

I took on my wife’s VW Polo Bluemotion when she got an electric car via work and my commute was getting expensive in my Focus Sport, it will never win a drag race, but i can get 62-66mpg on the stop/start drive to work and bike in boot with front wheel off

i agree fiesta – i love them ive had about five of them, nothing goes wrong – a yaris is another option

May not be a popular choice but the new shape Corsa is quite a nice little car. The 100bhp turbo petrol engine is quite sprightly. You might struggle to pick one up for less than £10k but you may well find one for not too much more. I would also consider the Fiesta too but not driven one for a while. Mrs BC has one of the new shape Corsa’s and loves it.

My OH had an Up! for a while, it was a great little car aside from having an astonishingly bad auto gearbox. I’d have one again so long as it was a manual and not poverty-spec.

Kia Picanto/Venga Hyundai i10/20

Had both picanto and venga. Kia petrol engines seem disappointing mpg-wise, but otherwise no complaints.

Hyundai i20 is similar to the Kia Rio, the Venga is Hyundai ix20. Kia has longer warranty but only 12 months breakdown cover

I could stand a bike upright in the back of the Venga, front wheel off; there’s a magic two-level boot floor

Will £10k get you a 3yr old car? It didn’t when we looked about 6 months ago

I bought a 108 its been a nice car for my needs.

They are no better or worse built than the aygo. They are out of the same place with the same parts.

But you’ll be getting poverty spec for 3 year old less than 10k these days.

It’s not as small a car as you think. Can still get 2 adults and 2 children in seats in it. Even at 6ft 2 I don’t need the seat all the way back. It just has a microscopic boot.

they’re Japanese engineering and only French in styling and trim.

Yes Japanese as in everything on it is – tiny light and susceptible to rust. Mines 7 years old now it’s not faired too badly compared to a 7 year old car from here….but it spent 5 years in Oxford first.

Fiat Panda
I looked after my sister in law’s 11plate that she’d had for 11years. It needed an alternator and a stone went through the Aircon condenser but otherwise was v.reliable. I didn’t mind working on it (general servicing and timing belt)

She drove to the Spanish border and back every year on her own without issues.

Between a C1 and a Fiat 500 hybrid I’d have the Fiat every time. Still gutless but the hybrid system makes every acceleration a hoot.

Something Jap or Korean.

Nissan Micra?  The newer models, dare I say it, look kinda cool!

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309212224027?sort=relevance&advertising-location=at_cars&make=Nissan&model=Micra&postcode=hd6%203pd&price-from=5500&price-to=10000&year-from=2019&fromsra