These three compact cars, Audi A1, Mini Cooper and the BMW 118i, will give you greater economy in a nifty city-car size, with a touch of class.

Audi A1 Sportback 1.5 TFSI

Audi -A1-1.0-model

Audi reckons it pioneered the segment (don’t they all?) but has certainly perfected the beautifully finished interior, which makes the A1 a compelling luxury hatchback. In another Ingolstadt tradition, the small-engined variants of its various models are often the best steers, and that’s certainly true of the charming turbo-triple A1.

Even more importantly here, it uses just 4.2L/100km, which combine with low-cost insurance and sound resale to help this $27K ‘base’ hatch to the gold.

Mini Cooper

2016-MINI-Cooper

BMW 118i

2016-BMW-118i -with -five -spoke -wheels

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