These are some of the lightest cars on sale
Citroen Ami. Pictures: PA
Modern cars are getting heavier, often caused by their increasing on-board technology and safety equipment.
A lighter car makes it more fun to drive, but it improves fuel economy and reduces overall running costs.
There are a handful of small, light and efficient cars on the new car market that offer lots of character while being easy to own and run.
Here is our list of the lightest new cars on sale in Ireland
It’s more of a quadricycle, but the Citreon Ami is the cheapest electric vehicle in Ireland – priced from just €9,990.
The Ami weighs just 425kg, due to its completely plastic body shell and lack of any real equipment.
Under the bonnet, there is a tiny 5.5kWh battery pack and an electric motor that produces just 8bhp. Citroen claims the vehicle can travel up to 74km on trips between the plug.
The Ami only has a top speed of 30mph, making it best suited to town driving, though parking is a breeze due to its tiny dimensions.
It’s not the most comfortable vehicle in the world, and practicality is a compromise with limited storage features. However, the Ami does represent cheap and easy urban electric motoring.
The Kia Picanto is one of the best city cars on the market, and that’s because it represents excellent value for money.
It weighs just 985kg with the entry-level 1.0-litre three-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine that develops just 62bhp.
Its lack of weight makes the car great fun to drive, with corners taken in its stride, and it can hold its own on the motorway, too.
The basic ‘2’ specification comes with everything you need, such as alloy wheels, air conditioning, four electric windows, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Plus, all Picantos come with Kia’s seven-year or 150,000km warranty, giving owners complete peace of mind.
A car that shares its underpinnings and chassis with the Picanto is the Hyundai i10.
The i10 looks good, comes with plenty of standard equipment and is great fun to drive.
In the most basic trim with the 1.0-litre three-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine, the i10 only weighs 921kg. That makes it fun and agile on the road, while returning decent fuel economy of a claimed 55.3mpg.
Just like the Picanto, the i10 comes with lots of toys as standard such as cruise control, air conditioning, 15-inch alloy wheels, rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera.
The i10 also comes with Hyundai’s five-year or 160,000km warranty, giving the customer more reassurance.
The lightest supermini on sale is Suzuki’s Swift hatchback.
It comes as standard with mild-hybrid power, attached to a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine.
In entry-level ‘Motion’ specification, the Swift only weighs 949kg, giving it a claimed fuel consumption figure of 64.2mpg.
The Swift is great fun to drive, has neat and precise steering, and there is little body roll around the corners, making the car feel like a go-kart for the road.
Its interior plastics are not the best, with a lot of hard materials used throughout, but with a starting price of €21,995, it makes the Swift one of the cheapest hybrids on sale.
Toyota’s smallest model, the Aygo X, is one of the lightest crossovers on the market.
It comes with a 1.0-litre three-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine that generates 71bhp.
The car weighs just 945kg in the entry-level ‘Pure’ specification along with a five-speed manual gearbox.
The Aygo X comes with lots of standard equipment such as 17-inch alloy wheels, electric door mirrors and a nine-inch infotainment screen.
All cars come as standard with a three-year or 100,000km warranty, however if you proceed to get your Aygo X serviced at a Toyota franchised dealer every year, its warranty extends to 15 years or 1,000,000km as part of the firm’s Relax scheme.
Another light crossover is the Suzuki Ignis which is a funky and fresh rival to the Toyota Aygo X.
Under the bonnet, the Ignis is available with a 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that develops 89bhp.
Even in flagship ‘SZ5’ trim, the car only weighs 895kg, making it one of the lightest cars on this list.
It’s good fun to drive, and you can get the car with a wide range of bright exterior and interior colour choices to make your Ignis stand out.
