2013 Holden Barina Spark, Mitsubishi Mirage, Nissan Micra, Suzuki Alto And Volkswagen Up! Comparison Review
2013 TMR SUB-LIGHT HATCHBACK COMPARISON REVIEW
Models Tested: Holden Barina Spark CD, Mitsubishi Mirage ES, Nissan Micra ST, Suzuki Alto GL and Volkswagen Up!
Photos: John Wilson and Rene Mitchell-Pitman.
OVERVIEW
$15,000 or less: what’ll it get you? Sure, there’s the second-hand market, but what if you’re looking at something brand-spanking new?
At this money, your options are relatively slim. There are just ten models that retail for less than $15k.
While both the Toyota Yaris and Honda Jazz occupy the same ‘light car’ category (and with base models that scrape in at $14,990), we’ve opted to put the cheapest and smallest of the light car category - the tiny sub-light ‘city cars’ - under the microscope.
(We’ve excluded the Chery J1 and J3 which lack stability control and are not available nationwide, and also the Proton S16 that - like the Chery - is a desperately unpopular choice.)
With that in mind, we teamed up with Motoring.com.au to put the Holden Barina Spark CD, Mitsubishi Mirage ES, Nissan Micra ST, Suzuki Alto GL and the three-door Volkswagen Up! through a head-to-head comparison.