Which small car?

VW Polo, Seat Ibiza or Skoda Fabia.

Maybe worth a look, and you can get an Ibiza with the 1.8T engine...

"Johannes" wrote

Which small car behaves

None of them.

If you want a car that behaves like a big car, then buy a big car. Like my Rover 825 for example.

Any short car will be less stable at speed than a longer car. Simple aerodynamics. You could increase stability by adding toe in, but then your cornering ability is reduced.

So my camper is more stable than a Formula One car?

I think we'll have "all other things being equal" in there, shall we?

Could electronic systems make a small car feel like a big car? Maybe something for future models. But then there are already active suspension systems.

If you went for a full steer and fly by wire type system, or even a very clever ESP system, I'm sure you could. But I expect the likes of ESP (ie, brake based) would cost too much in fuel consumption. The other thing is that aerodynamics make a big difference to how much the car is blown around by side winds, and some small cars will be better than others in this respect.

And the other thing is that Puntos used to have massively over assisted steering, which makes motorway driving a bit odd - most cars reduce the assistance far more at speed.

The trend of building taller small cars doesn't help here.

I think the assisted steering is speed dependent. The car was very nimble in city traffic, here it felt easier than a large car. Clutch an brake feel was very good. Even driving position was good, and I'm 6'1". However, long distance driving was a major difference to my Saab 9000; in the Saab, you enjoy the trip, while in the Punto, you're happy when you have reached your destination.

The Toyota Prius is probably the most dangerous thing I've ever driven in a side wind.

The VW Lupo GTi is pretty good on a long run, if driven solo.

Seconded. I've looked for years for a small car that is good on the motorway. I've always ended up with Xantias and Mondeos. I've tried all versions of the Punto and didn't like them at all.. The best "smaller" cars I've had on a motorway havr been a Citroen ZX TD and a Pug 306 TD. Neither are much bigger, if any than a modern Punto.

My criteria for "good on the motorway" = easy 85mph cruise,yes, illegal, but most of my motorway driving is done in the middle of the night when there's no traffic. I also want 35+ mpg at that speed not much tyre or engine noise.

Mike P