The demise of the small car

The Toyota Aygo and it's related counter parts, the Peugeot 108 & Citroen C1, all discontinued. The Renault Twingo and the Ford Ka, gone. The VW Up! Once current orders are fulfilled, that's it. It's platform sharing cousins, the Skoda Citigo and SEAT Mii, culled a couple of years back. Those still in production, Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto etc, once they see out their current lifecycles, they won't be replaced. Those that will survive, the Fiat Panda, Suzuki Ignis (maybe) will inevitably get bigger and only be considered small due to the fact that anything of less size will no longer exist. The aforementioned Aygo has already gone that route, with the Aygo X. Whilst still not a massive car, it's noticeably larger and therefore heavier than it's late namesake.

This demise of the small A-Segment car saddens me, because it's a genre of car that I have a lot of affection for. Small cars are a joy to drive and for little outlay, in both purchase price and running costs.

Their inherent lack of weight, means firing one down a road can be a riot. Small, dinky wheels and tyres allow a car to move around at sane speeds. You can ring out every inch of performance, whilst staying within the law; and what is probably more beneficial, the lack of fuel consumption.

The use of the brake pedal almost becomes optional, meaning wear and tear of parts is reduced and when you do get through consumables, their cheap and easy to replace.

I once owned a Daihatsu Cuore. Wonderful little thing. I've never had so much fun in a car for so little outlay. I drove it everywhere flat-out and it used so little fuel, I thought for a time that the fuel gauge might be broken.

It wasn't, but when the fuel light did come on, I'd fill the tank and discover it had a capacity of 30 litres. Who knew physics allowed such a small volume of fuel to last six weeks?! This kind of care-free, frivolous motoring is now becoming a thing of the past. Who's to blame?

Well it's hard to blame the manufacturers. Legislation for both safety and emissions makes the development and production of small cars unviable. They'd have to start selling A-Segment cars for 35-grand, which in turn would push-up the price of everything else in the model hierarchy, just to justify their existence. That then would push the problem towards the consumer. However, is it the consumer who is to blame as much as Government legislation?

Manufacturers could continue to build small cars at an affordable price, if the sales numbers were there, but sadly, they're not. The sales of A-Segment cars has, on average, dropped by 30% in the last 5 years, whist cross-overs and SUVs have seen the opposite trend. People want bigger cars, and why is that? Bigger cars are less fun to drive, they're awkward to use in urban environments. They're heavier and therefore more expensive to run and own. They chew through consumables faster and are much less efficient, whether they run on electricity or dinosaur-juice.

Is it the preconceived idea that bigger cars are safer? They're certainly not safer to those outside of the vehicle. Mass is mass and there is no way of cheating the laws of physics. If a bigger, heavier car hits something or someone, the consequences are going to be worse.

Also, small cars are safe and have been for some time. Renault were winning awards for safety with their small hatchbacks and city cars as far back as 20-years-ago. So, is it image. Bigger is better? Bigger means more successful. Bigger means I spent more money, ergo, I'm 'considerably richer than you'.

It's a strange dilemma. We're living in times where we're supposed to be less wasteful, strive for efficiency, be kinder to the world and each other. Yet the realm of personal transport seems to heading in the opposite direction.

Maybe we should forgo the car altogether. Jesus did I just type that? I'm losing my mind due to not being able to find a VW Lupo in the classifieds.

Someone bring Alec Issigonis back from the dead, ASAP.