The 10 Best and Worst Cars For City Driving

Whether you commute into the dense urban jungle every day for work or play, dealing with congestion, gridlock and restrictive parking situations can be extremely stressful. Choosing the right city car can help you avoid the frustration of navigating on congested city roads.

The turning radius — measured as the outer radius of a circle that the car would make with the steering wheel cranked all the way — is one of the most important numbers to look at when shopping for a good city car. “It’s a measure of the car’s maneuverability, and how easy it is to park,” said Gabriel Shenhar, senior auto test engineer for Consumer Reports.


The footprint of a car — its overall length and width — is also especially important.  The bigger the car, the harder it will be to manage on roads crammed with double-parked vehicles and loading/unloading trucks.  This may be one of the rare occasions where bigger is actually not better.

Because you will probably be getting in and out of the vehicle frequently, ease of ingress and egress is another top consideration. “It’s nice to have something that’s a little more upright, where you don’t have to duck down to get in,” Shenhar adds.  Especially if you’re sandwiched between two cars in a compact parking area, this can be crucial.

Outward visibility — how well you can see cars ahead as well as those next to you — is also an important qualifier for a city car, but it can depend on the size of the driver and the positioning of the seats. This is something that you will need to check when shopping for a car and taking it for a test drive.

Many of the more luxurious vehicles are actually not the best choices for city driving. That is, if you are the one behind the wheel. The majestic Maybach is a car best enjoyed from the rear passenger compartment, thanks to its massive turning circle. For peace of mind, designate one of your vehicles a city car. You’ll minimize your frustration as a road-raging urban warrior while making fewer compromises with the other cars that you love.

So what should you be looking for in a city car? Ride comfort at low speeds is important. You’ll want to pick a car that’s compliant enough to soak up potholes and pavement patchwork without sacrificing handling control. The weight of the vehicle is something you should consider as the lighter vehicles tend to be more nimble on the roads.

Many of the compact car-based SUVs are good for the city “because their footprint isn’t that large, ingress/egress is easy and visibility is great,” Shenhar says.

Our lists of the 10 Best and 10 Worst Cars for City Driving include only vehicles covered by ForbesAutos.com. All vehicles are from the 2005 model year, unless indicated otherwise. For the 10 Best list we placed the most weight on those cars with the smallest overall footprint (length and width) and turning radius.  For the 10 Worst list we arranged vehicles according to their manufacturer-supplied specifications for turning circle and overall footprint.  We also took into account the recommendations from Consumer Reports to compile our 2005 model year list of the worst cars for city driving. Again, these lists are based on the driving, not rear-seat riding, experience. If you are shopping for a vehicle in which you will be driven, these lists will not apply to you.

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