• Pros

• As little cars go, it feels well-put-together. Though the emphasis is on little. Good mileage. We averaged about 30 MPG.
• Handles well, and it’s fun to drive around town. That’s probably its biggest advantage among its competitors. If you’re looking for zippy handling in a very small car, start here.
• Added bonus: For a car of this size, it’s pretty stable on the highway.
• Fairly nice interior, with a good array of upscale options, including heated seats, heated side mirrors, and modern electronics.
• Improved fit, finish, and dashboard materials over prior years. Nice exterior styling.

• Cons

Acceleration is only adequate. Very noisy on the highway. Both road and drivetrain noise are awful at highways speed, with a terrible differential whine. We found ourselves going slower, just to cut down on the noise.
• Stick shift is just five-speed, and we found it to be a little sloppy. Reverse was often hard to find.
• While there’s adequate leg room up front, the cockpit feels narrow up there. And the seats are not especially comfortable for our body types. The thigh bolsters were fatiguing, after a while. We found it very hard reach the adjustments, too.
• Back seat room is very limited. And front passengers will have to scoot their seats up towards the windshield to allow real adults to sit back there.
• Visibility out the back of the hatchback version we tested was poor.
• There’s a display screen on the center console, but it’s small and hard to read.

Get the Car Talk Newsletter