1. Hyundai InsterTrade up to the Hyundai Inster Elegance for added range and leg room Who knows – you could even get another €5,000 knocked off the already-tempting price of the dinky little Inster if you’re a rural dweller and have a sufficiently old car to trade in, thanks to the Government’s new scrappage scheme. Here’s the thing, though – the Inster’s apparently tempting price point of €19,595 doesn’t quite tell the full story. For that money, you only get the small battery, with 330km of official range, and you don’t get the sliding back seats which are critical to unlock the Inster’s all-round practicality. So you’ll need to trade up to a €23,095 Elegance model, with its 370km range and the extra legroom in the back. Once you do that, the Inster is one of the most delightful cars around. 2. Fiat Grande PandaWith unusual visual features such as pixelated headlights, the Fiat Grande Panda makes a big first impression Fiat has made a much better fist of creating a small, cheap, but cheerful car than its cousins at Citroen, whose C3 uses the same basic bucket of mechanical and electric bits-and-pieces. The Grande Panda looks cooler, thanks to those pixelated headlights and the 1980s-style graphics on the side. The optional bamboo wood trim for the cabin (Pandas love bamboo) really lifts the otherwise dowdy interior. It’s not a total riot to drive and is too noisy too much of the time. But it’s great around town, roomy for family life and ultimately, it feels like you’re getting a little more than what you paid for. The electric version ducks under €25,000 (it starts at €22,995), but you’ll have to bargain a few hundred euro off the price of a hybrid to get it under our notional budget. Wild card: MG 4 UrbanThe MG 4 Urban is efficient, smooth and spacious This MG 4 Urban is a mite on the quiet side – visually and aurally – for a car we’re recommending as a wild card. However, in this case it’s more about something you simply might not have thought of. You might not have thought that the more affordable (starting at €22,995) MG 4 Urban would actually be bigger and longer and more practical than the existing MG 4, but here we are. It’s no ball of fire to drive, but it’s efficient, smooth and refined – and there’s loads of space inside. Slow-witted touchscreen apart, it’s hard to beat.