The small car is a smart choice

I’ve watched the automotive industry closely for over a decade and I’ve seen the trend of cars or vehicles in general getting bigger and yet families in particular are getting smaller but the stuff that we use everyday has increased. Shock – we are a consumer driven society! On the last holiday road trip I noticed more SUVs and pseudo 4WD wagons on my travels but does it mean that everyone should getting one of these things? I’ve had a Toyota Landcruiser or Prado for many years before they became popular hence ahead of the trend but I can definitely see that these large SUVs like their car counterparts fading in popularity and can see that the small car will be the next big automotive trend!

The small car is an odd automotive segment. Virtually all car brands have one in the line up but they rarely feature, that said the only main stream manufacturer that does is Suzuki and arguably MINI.  Small cars are literally small – anything about the same size as the 2016 Suzuki Swift or the global Toyota Yaris are what I would call genuinely a small car.  It is arguably just as expensive developing a small car as it is a larger car, due to economies of scale but primarily marketing. The marketing department says small is cheap, slow, compromised in safety purely due to size and most of all – entry level! Furthermore small cars are promoted for learner drivers and poor people apparently.

I beg to differ and say that the overriding factor to buying a small car is that it is a smart person’s choice. It is not the ultimate choice though as personal situations aka multiple children do require a large car. However as a primary car for a singles, couples or a second vehicle as a work or run about these little things make sense. Why would you let you child or even yourself drive a small car if is apparently unsafe?  Small cars are cheaper to buy true, but they have safety systems and ratings equal to any other larger car, they are cheaper to run, just a reliable, zippy and like any other car can be expensive if you want more performance.