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THIS WEEK I got a question from a reader asking about the smallest cars on the market that would be suitable for just one person. Not everybody has kids or ferries around a lot of passengers or cargo.
It seems that a lot of cars the reader once considered to be small are now in fact quite big. This is true. Cars are growing with each new iteration as manufacturers strive to meet safety regulations and offer more space to customers. Just look at how much the Volkswagen Polo has grown.
So, this week I am looking at the best compact/small/city cars on the market for those who just want something dinky for nipping around town.
Citroen C1 – from €13,595
Fun and funky, the Citroen C1 is a five-door hatch that is perfect for city dwellers. It is born of the same DNA as the Toyota Aygo (further down on the list) but has a lower price tag. This is a decent to drive car but the rear seats are a little cramped.
Fiat 500 – from €13,895
It’s cute, retro looks are a big selling point for the Fiat 500. However, it is only available as a two door and when compared to rivals, it is expensive, especially if you want a mid-spec model.
Hyundai i10 – from €12,995
The Hyundai i10 is more practical and cheaper than the Fiat 500 but it doesn’t exactly get the pulses racing in the design stakes. However, it does come with four doors which may appeal to more people.
Peugeot 108 – from €13,440
The Peugeot 108, Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo are effectively the same car with the same mechanical bits but different interior and exterior styling. They all handle and drive pretty much the same so it is more down to stylistic preference and budget when deciding between the three.
Renault Twingo - from €13,990
The Renault Twingo is a fun, funky city car with plenty of personality. This five-door hatchback looks compact but it does offer decent amounts of space inside. The suspension set-up offers a comfortable ride around the bumpy city roads.
Suzuki Celerio – from €9,995
The five-door Celerio is a practical and spacious city car with a boot that can hold between 254 and 726 litres. It also has a very competitive starting price, but this is for the base model and most people will probably want to splash out on at least the mid-spec model which starts from €11,595.
Toyota Aygo – from €14,355
The Toyota Aygo is dramatic to look at, good to drive and also remarkably spacious for the exterior dimensions. However, those good looks and spacious cabin come at a price and this is one of the more expensive cars on the list.
Volkswagen up! – from €11,995
The Volkswagen up! can be had with three or five doors (€12,495). It is a good to drive city car with a more premium feel than the other cars on this list. It also has a bit more heft to it than some of the others on the list. However, you could also opt from the SEAT Mii (from €10,900) or the Skoda Citigo (from €10,995) which use the same oily bits as the up! but just have different exterior and interior styling.
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amazon is great, should be in ireland by now.. Some items from amazon.co.uk don’t deliver here or have high shipping costs..
Use the nightline courier and they give you a N.I address so if its free UK shipping you get that part of delivery free and they also allow delivery of anything that can be sent to the UK!!
Can you explain that a little more please? I don’t really get you x x x x
Haha
That’s what I don’t understand if they can deliver to the north they can’t deliver in the south when I only live an hours drive from the border..
This.should.answer all your questions…
That’s a great idea!!
parcelmotel.com and you;re sorted when it comes to delivery to Ireland :)
^
is there an echo in here?
^^Is there an echo in here?
The desk made out of a door is now a badge of honour in Amazon. Employees who perform exceptionally well get to build their own desk from a door. When you walk around the office and see some mad looking desk, you know you’re dealing with someone who is excellent at their job.
Given the high employment and partnership ebay have with Ireland, I think you should be mor ebalanced in your coverage of online retailers
Bit ironic, having an A to Z smiley when they won’t deliver half the stuff on offer to an Irish address.
Check out Parcel Motel. They give you a UK address and deliver the parcels to you in Ireland.
Its annoying as all hell when it happens but in their defence IIRC any sale that is direct from or fulfilled by Amazon.co.uk will be delivered to Ireland. However Amazon, much like other sites like play.com also acts as a store-front for smaller sellers who are allowed to set their own shipping terms. As Amazon is only getting commission on those sales they do not dictate the sellers shipping policies
And they don’t pay tax in the UK
They also sold a book called ‘The paedophile’s guide to love and pleasure; a Child-lover’s code of conduct’. They have let their factory workers work in conditions bordering on slavery and have sacked workers, en-masse, because they attempted to unionise. I wonder if they sell a book about how they really operate.
And very little elsewhere. Boycott this behemoth. There is other smaller companies that need support.
Hope they never, ever, ever set up shop here. There wouldn’t be a bookshop left in the country. Look at what Tesco have done and continue to do to small, independent retailers.
They do deliver books here. But I agree with your sentiment. I try to shop in local bookstores when I can, but sometimes they don’t have the books I want and to order them costs twice as much as amazon. If that’s the case then I do order from amazon, but only after trawling the local shops. I actually enjoy searching the number of shops for what I’m looking for because sometimes I come across books I wouldn’t have normally seen.
Nature of progress unfortunately, everything’s going digital download. Most stores are turning into storefronts for online retailers.
I agree Thomas. And movies and music in digital format are very convenient. Some would say the same about kindle and ebooks but personally, even though I’m a total techie, still prefer printed books. I guess it may be that I spend so much time looking at a screen for work and in general!
I green thumbed you. Not because of what you said, but because you sir, have excellent taste in profile pictures.
Too late for that. They already have offices in Cork and Dublin.
Another interesting fact that many people might not know is that they are one of the worst employers in Cork, who punish you with a point system if you are genuinely sick.
On any given Monday, 5% of teachers in Ireland are “genuinely” sick.
Ive no idea what the same stats are for the self-employed, but I’d hazard a guess they are considerably lower.
Amazon’s points system disincentives absenteeism, quite frankly I don’t take issue with it.
Sure bud, I bet you’d agree with those conditions when your dying sick with the swine flu and get pointed as a result.
I heard that 40% of sick days taken by teachers are on Mondays and Fridays. Shocking.
They used neo-Nazi security guards in Germany to police an immigrant workforce.
I knew all those things. Just because the majority of your readers are brainless sheep then don’t presume that we all are.
On behalf of all sheep, Get over yourself!
Baa
I’d say you’re great craic Adam.
Have you applied to Mensa yet?
Moo
Dammit.!!!
Slow news day?
There’s always one….
I’ve never bought anything on amazon. So there you go
Thanks for the informative article, amazonpublicrelations.ie
Awesome company. I have had 3 kindles smash due to my own clumsiness and every time they have sent me new ones free of charge including delivery.
That’s because they don’t make money from the devices but the content that you will buy.
You forgot to mention how Amazon almost power most of the internet with their Amazon Web Services. Lots of popular internet services live on top of Amazon, e.g. Foursquare, Netflix etc. And that Dublin in the European home for these services with multiple Amazon data enters around the capital.
What most people don’t know
This is an interesting article about Amazon in Germany-
You can’t use your amazon.com gift card balance on amazon.co.uk which means you end up paying higher shipping costs, customs fees and duty and you’ll be waiting longer to get it.
I thought it was a river.
Given the high employment and partnership ebay have with Ireland, I think you should be more
balanced in your coverage of online retailers
Yes, we heard you the first time.
Use ParcelHotel
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