Best in class
Fiat 500x
The Fiat is the newest entrant in this burgeoning class, but it's an exceptionally good one. It wipes away memories of under-developed, underwhelming Fiats of old with a high-class interior, attractive styling and an underlying current of practicality. It's not, perhaps, the best in class to drive but its road manners are better than decent, and it's well priced, with a cluster of differing engines and specifications hovering around the €25k mark. Can't contemplate owning a Fiat? Then why not side-grade (like an upgrade, but sideways) into the impressive but divisively-style Jeep Renegade? Same mechanical package in a more overtly rugged vehicle. Best one: 500x Cross 1.6 Multijet for €25,450
Also consider
Renault Captur
The best-selling car in its class and it’s not hard to see why. After all, beauty tends to be thin on the ground when it comes to small SUVs, so the Captur’s clean lines give it an immediate advantage over most of the competition. 1.5 dCi diesel is a good, and long-lived engine, and gives decent performance but townies should give the revvy litte 900cc turbo triple tCe engine a good, long look before deciding. Shame that the cabin feels a little too cheap in places, but there are some nice high-end options available.
Opel Mokka
The Mokka doesn’t do a lot to stand out in the segment – it’s compact, neatly styled (second only to the Captur in that regard, we reckon) and reasonably spacious. There’s nothing to actually scream and shout about, about it but it’s one of those cars that slowly worms its way into your affections. It’s nice to drive, the new 1.6 diesel engine is extremely good and the cabin looks and feels like a high-quality piece of work. Not outstanding then, but really rather satisfying.
Worth waiting for
Honda HR-V
Honda was, with the original HR-V of the late nineties, one of the pioneers of the compact crossover segment, but it seemed to forget all that and drop what had been a successful model just as the whole market was starting to catch fire. So the new HR-V, due later this summer, has a lot of catching up to do. It looks pretty sharp though, and Honda’s form of late (with the updated Civic and CR-V) has been exceptionally good, so expectations are high for this one. Launches: Late summer 2015
Underrated
Suzuki Vitara
Rather like the HR-V, the original Grand Vitara was in on the ground floor of the small 4x4 boom. In fact, so far ahead of its time was it that the old GV probably laid the foundations and poured the concrete for that floor. New version ditches the Grand appellation but it’s a nice thing – unusually rugged and mud-capable by the standards of the class, and well priced too. Can it recapture the old Vitara magic?