The small car is your best buy if it suits your lifestyle. They're the most affordable cars to buy and you suffer less depreciation - the biggest motoring cost. In most cases they're all the car you need. Many small cars have grown over the years making satisfaction more likely. Running costs are usually low.

There are over 30 small cars for sale in the UK. Most have smart, chic or funky styling and great street cred'. Many have surprisingly spacious interiors. The great small cars are more fun to drive with secure handling and road-holding.

The small car is the most economical car, with the most efficient cars for emissions. You won't find much difference in small car fuel consumption, vehicle excise duty or car insurance groups for comparable engines.

A small car for sale in the UK can have big differences in the cost to buy new and size. The trick is to find the small car best for your budget and purpose, not forgetting safety. The top small cars are achieving 5-star Euro NCAP rating - at a cost.

The green cars tend to be the city cars. These town cars are around 3.5m in length near the size of the original mini car. A big advantage with little cars is it's easier to find a parking space. These tiny cars are sometimes the only cars small enough to fit in a garage. Most city cars are sold as small cheap cars and because they're the most efficient cars with low emissions some have no Vehicle Excise Duty - road tax - costs.

There have been significant developments in small cars automatic transmission to the extent some automatic small cars appear to be the best fuel efficient cars and the most eco friendly cars. An auto city car also makes town driving easier.

The cheapest small cars are made by Chevrolet, Hyundai and Kia. The best city car is the more expensive Fiat 500 because it's 5-star Euro NCAP rated. It also has better performance options. Something like a Ford Ka are considered good first cars.

Small cars began to grow in the 90s to super mini size around 3.75m which were great small cars. Today there are only a few cars this size like the Micra and Mini.

A new small car today is more likely to be near 4m in length. 2011 small cars mostly seem to have reconfigured their engines recently for improved economy and emissions.

One trap people fall into when they buy small cars is to look for the best economical car. The problem is many small cars rank closely for mpg. The DVLA point out these are lab' figures and there may be no significant difference when driving on real roads.

If you're considering small diesel cars thinking they're the highest mpg car calculate if the saving you make given your mileage is greater than the added price of buying a small diesel car. Generally you have to be a high mileage driver because in many cases it takes near 50,000 miles before pay-back and some are not even viable.

Another point to look out for is thinking because the Fiesta, Corsa and Polo are in the top 10 best new car sellers list it's proof they're the best small cars. The new car market is distorted by fleet sales, marketing, production volumes and self registration. It also doesn't account for the fact used car sales are 3 times greater than new.

If you look at second hand small cars plus the long list of loyal customers some have built over the years by my calculations the rankings change. The Mini becomes the best used small car though not the most affordable small car. The Clio leap frogs the Polo and cars like the Ka, Micra, Yaris, Ibiza, Fabia and 207 become very strong contenders.

My own experience is if website page visits are votes then the 500, 107, C1, Aygo, Swift, Mazda2 and Jazz are also considered to be great small cars. The Picanto and i10 are also popular as the smallest cheapest cars.

It's probably too early to know what buyers will make of new small car models like the A1, DS3 and Juke. But you can see when it comes to what's the best small car to buy nearly every one is worth considering and comparing.

Once you've made comparisons what small car is the best and which small car is the one for you might simply be the one you like and can also get the best deal on.

One feature you must compare with small cars is motor car insurance costs.

You can no longer think small car, small insurance costs. Car insurance groups have changed as has small car performance and age is an important factor.

A motorist over 50 may think they have no worries insuring a small car. Whilst it's true insurers are keen to sign up this low risk market don't assume this automatically means cheap car insurance for over 50s.

The small car sector has always been the first consideration for car insurance for young drivers. However most 1.2 engines once car insurance group 2 under the old system are not group 4 under the new 1 to 50 groups - some are now group 8. To add to the problem car manufacturers are improving economy and emissions by ironically increasing power outputs and therefore insurance premiums.

Both young and more mature motorists are faced with the frustrations of collecting as many direct online car insurance quotes as possible to find affordable car insurance quotes. Finding cheap insurance quotes takes time and effort and it's easy to be confused by the different packages, promotions, car insurance companies and prices.

I can only say it is worthwhile to directly compare the market for yourself. Some quotes can be four times higher than the cheapest car insurance. Big differences could pay for a whole years fuel or even the total interest charges in a finance agreement for a small car. As they say, go compare.

Finally insist ESP/ESC is included in the spec and price and look for advanced fuel saving technologies - auto stop/start, reduced roll resistance tyres etc - being standard not an added cost option.

To help you find the best small cars for sale in the UK we compare car make, model, body, engine & transmissions. Plus car dimensions, performance, fuel economy, and CO2 emissions figures. Also safety & security features, including car insurance groups

We've also got a few fun comparisons:

How does a super-sized small car compare with a medium/small car?

Super-size small car vs medium/large family saloon

What are the differences between a small car and an SUV/4x4?

Small Car Comparison Charts

More car comparisons:

A 2010 Guide on all Small Car Fuel Economy, CO2 Emissions & Performance

Small MPV Car Comparisons the best known are the Jazz, Modus and Agila.

Medium Small Cars including the Golf, Focus, 308, and Astra.

Medium Size Cars like the Passat, 3-Series, Mondeo and Insignia.

Large Executive and Luxury Cars Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus, Mercedes.

Family Estates There's a huge choice of over 30 estate cars compared for you.

MPV Comparisons Scenic, Picassa, Zafira, Espace, Galaxy, for example.

SUVs & 4x4s Compared New crossover entrants are changing this sector.

Sports Cars, Coupes & Convertibles Compared A surprising 34 cars in this category.

What Everyone Needs To Know About Car Insurance Find out more about car insurance. Not least because it may save you hundreds of pounds every year.

How To Buy A Car Here are 7-formulas which are easy to remember, easy to understand and quickly mastered. In other words, THEY WORK. They could save you thousands of pounds.