Luxury Small Cars

[Blib]

swisstoni said:

What I'm talking about is all the stuff you expect on a barge (leather, satnav, aircon, soft close this, bluetooth that, etc, etc) in hatchback or similar format.

I use a Fiat 500 twin air convertible for driving around London. It has all of the options that you list other than sat-nav. But, with the likes of Waze I see no point in speccing sat-nav. The 500 attracts zero road tax and zero congestion charge - the latter only until next year, however.

It does the job perfectly, IMO.

[smn159]

swisstoni said:

Are there such things?
I've been considering a s/h daily runabout but don't want to feel like I'm in a utility vehicle. I suppose Mini is the obvious answer but I don't like em that much tbh.

Evoque? It's about 60cm longer than a Mini

[Sump]

No such thing as small and luxury.

[AndyLB]

I'm going to say my answer to a lot of threads - E46 compact.

Mine has leather, a/c, cruise, auto dip mirror, etc.

Not sure if it qualifies as truly small but nice examples can be picked up well under £2k and very practical due to the hatch.

[Bill]

thelawnet1 said:

swisstoni said:

What I'm talking about is all the stuff you expect on a barge (leather, satnav, aircon, soft close this, bluetooth that, etc, etc) in hatchback or similar format.

You'll get most of that on Ford Focus now.

But proper luxury comes from a large unstressed engine and decent ride quality due to a longer wheelbase.

[jontbone]

[300bhp/ton]

swisstoni said:

What I'm talking about is all the stuff you expect on a barge (leather, satnav, aircon, soft close this, bluetooth that, etc, etc) in hatchback or similar format.

I'm not sure how many of them are luxury vs just modern technology. For instance, I think the new MX-5 would tick just about all of those boxes, as could the new smart ForFour. But I'd call neither of them luxury.

On the flip side, I'd firmly claim a 1980's 4.0 litre XJ6 Sovereign as a luxury car, but it'll have almost none of the items you want.

[300bhp/ton]

smn159 said:

swisstoni said:

Are there such things?
I've been considering a s/h daily runabout but don't want to feel like I'm in a utility vehicle. I suppose Mini is the obvious answer but I don't like em that much tbh.

Evoque? It's about 60cm longer than a Mini

But a lot wider. Was quite surprised, so I snapped this photo at lunch time.

Look how much the Evoque sticks out over the parking bay. The car in front of it is a Honda Civic. Both cars are parked the same distance from the curb.

[300bhp/ton]

Bill said:

But proper luxury comes from a large unstressed engine and decent ride quality due to a longer wheelbase.

Well if it's wheelbase you want, then you simply won't get a long wheelbase in a short car. So that probably fully answers the op's question.

[GroundEffect]

It's a market thing.

Small car = economy = lower trim
Medium car = family/junior exec = mid trim
Large car = executive = top trim

Not many things break that mold and because very few people are willing to spend a large amount of money on a small car due to the above perceived 'hierarchy'.

Small cars (sub-B and B class) have awful profit margins therefore to add extra nice-ness, they'd need to add a lot of cost to the sticker price.

[RicksAlfas]

My wife had an Alfa 147 Lusso which had leather, dual climate control, cruise control, puddle lights in the doors and so on.
I thought it was very well equipped for a small hatch.

[Fittster]

A small car can be packed with gadgets but that only one element of luxury. Adding ride comfort and low NVH to a small car is difficult

[Superhoop]

Quite a lot of high spec, new B segment cars have most of your list of requirements i.e. navigation, Bluetooth, DAB, remote locking, A/C etc..

Certainly cars like the Fiesta, Mazda2, Fiat 500 have all of them available - Not sure they'll have the same noise levels of a bigger "luxury" car though, a s smaller generally means less sound deadening etc.. so there will be more wind noise, tyre noise on a small car.

[jontysafe]

bristolracer said:

Austin allegro Vanden Plas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4OxwDxXg5Q

Bat none of your le de dah audis or mercs have wood veneer picnic tables fitted in the back.

I like your style, it's just what I was thinking!

[crofty1984]

RicksAlfas said:

My wife had an Alfa 147 Lusso which had leather, dual climate control, cruise control, puddle lights in the doors and so on.
I thought it was very well equipped for a small hatch.

I was going to say 147 Lusso. Mine was too. I guess with a bigger engine they'd even count as refined (I had the 1.6 twin spark).

[sealtt]

Maybe an Evoque? Still not that luxury, but reasonably small (as Range Rovers go...) and not too bad.

But no, not many luxury small cars that I've come across personally.

thelawnet1 said:

Mercedes SLK (considerably smaller than an A-Class).

Also Z4, TT.

These cars are a very long way off luxury though... driving a TT cabrio sounds like someone's left the front windscreen open, even with the roof up, and the SLK is very underwhelming in terms of interior quality.

[MrBarry123]

A spec'd up 3-door Mini would surely suffice?

[Uncle John]

crofty1984 said:

RicksAlfas said:

My wife had an Alfa 147 Lusso which had leather, dual climate control, cruise control, puddle lights in the doors and so on.
I thought it was very well equipped for a small hatch.

I was going to say 147 Lusso. Mine was too. I guess with a bigger engine they'd even count as refined (I had the 1.6 twin spark).

Yep my 147 Lusso has heated seats and mirrors, an armrest (Love an armrest!) as well as the above, and the leather is decent thick leather which is hard to come by these days.

[GreatGranny]

Something like the new Auris Hybrid in top spec would be a good choice IMO.
I know it won't be everybodys choice but it's a smallish car, auto, refined especially in town on electric power. Has all the toys you need and has a solid feel to it.

[BuzzBravado]

tomsugden said:

This is what someone has specced on mine. The only thing missing was cruise control, and I had that fitted.

PG3 Advanced Key 390.00 GBP
6Q5 Aluminium gear knob 130.00 GBP
4L6 Auto-dimming rear-view mirror 120.00 GBP
9VK BOSE® surround sound system 690.00 GBP
PAF Door mirrors - heated and folding 125.00 GBP
N3M Fine Nappa leather with S1 embossing 650.00 GBP
0TD Front and rear floor mats 60.00 GBP
6E3 Front centre armrest 125.00 GBP
4A3 Heated front seats 215.00 GBP
8N7 High-beam assist 100.00 GBP
UG4 Hill hold assist 65.00 GBP
3FB Open sky panoramic sunroof 695.00 GBP
7X4 Parking system plus, front and rear 595.00 GBP
4KF Privacy glass 290.00 GBP
WST quattro® exterior styling package 1,245.00 GBP
2PF 3-spoke leather S1 multi-function flat-bottomed steering wheel 250.00 GBP
QE1 Storage package 110.00 GBP
Q4Q Super sports seats 600.00 GBP
WB4 Technology package 1,495.00 GBP
CV1 18” x 7.5J ‘5 parallel spoke star S design’ matt black alloy wheels with 225/35
R18 tyres. Only with quattro® exterior styling package

Thats £7950 worth of extras, in a A1. Good effort!