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The dilemma
Judy's last three cars have been Subaru Imprezas. She'd gladly stay within the Subaru fold but the new Impreza is larger than her superseded model, which is a big problem because she's already struggling to park on her tight inner-city street and copping scrapes from careless fellow parkers. What cars combine a properly compact exterior with enough back-seat space for a couple of small children? She also encounters a shallow creek crossing on her occasional country trips, so decent ground clearance would be good, too.
The budget
Up to $30,000
The shortlist
Judy's wish for a properly compact exterior and passenger-car beating ground clearance ostensibly points her in the direction of a light-sized SUV.
Not all light SUVs, though, are massively smaller than an Impreza. Holden's Trax, Honda's HR-V, Mazda's CX-3 and Mitsubishi's ASX, for example, are all close to 4300mm in length, which isn't that much shorter than the Subaru (4420mm in hatch form). Fiat's 500X, Ford's EcoSport and Skoda's Yeti measure closer to 4200mm but still aren't the shortest candidates in the class.
So we'll focus here on the most diminutive light SUVs, all of which comfortably sneak under the 4200mm mark.
Citroen C4 Cactus, from $26,990
This Citroen is definitely on the small side for a light SUV, just 4157mm long. Its unique 'Airbump' setup on its doors and at each corner offer minimal protection in an end-to-end parking scenario and the plastic cladding down its side will prevent some of those light scrapes.
Its cabin is usefully practical and its ride/handling qualities are on the ball. Its three-cylinder petrol engine and four-pot diesel deliver good driveability and impressive thrift.
Even by Citroen standards it's a distinctive-looking thing, with heaps of potential for personalisation, and its six-year warranty/fixed-price servicing combo is the most comprehensive here.
Habitual auto buyers, though, will decry the petrol's manual-only status, while the diesel's automated manual isn't always smooth or decisive.
Its back windows only pop out, not wind down, and its 151mm ground clearance isn't much better than a regular passenger car.
Read Drive's Citroen Cactus reviews:
First drive: Citroen C4 Cactus
Road-test comparison: Citroen C4 Cactus vs Fiat 500X vs Suzuki Vitara
Renault Captur, from $23,500
This Renault has this group's shortest body (4122mm) and best ground clearance (200mm).
It's quite spacious and has a sliding rear bench, allowing you to trade off between occupant and load-lugging priorities.
It offers a choice between three or four-cylinder petrol drivetrains – both of which are frugal – and has no serious ride/handling ills.
But the base three-pot model is a glacial performer and manual-only deal. The four-potter's dual-clutch auto suffers from the off-the-line hesitation that is endemic to the breed.
It has a long warranty (five years) but this group's shortest fixed-price servicing program (three years/45,000km)
While the back seat's wind-down windows ostensibly make it more child-friendly than the Cactus, its lack of head-protecting curtain airbags is a serious oversight.
Read Drive's Renault Captur reviews:
Road test: Renault Captur TCe 90
Road-test comparison: Holden Trax vs Honda HR-V vs Mazda CX-3 vs Renault Captur
Suzuki Vitara, from $21,990
This Suzuki is longer than its rivals here (4175mm) and has this group's shortest warranty (three years).
While its fixed-price servicing program runs to five years/100,000km, it needs six-monthly/10,000km attention rather than yearly/15,000km like the French cars.
But the Vitara also has this group's most impressive ride/handling qualities. The S Turbo petrol models deliver this group's most robust performance, still-decent economy and the smoothness of a traditional (six-speed) auto.
While not this group's smallest contender it's still decidedly compact and its 180mm ride height is more than sufficient for Judy's needs.
Its back seat has more than enough space for a two-children scenario, plus the only combination of wind-down windows and curtain bags here. A wide choice of colour/trim options allows plenty of personalisation, if not as much as the Citroen.
Read Drive's Suzuki Vitara reviews:
First drive: Suzuki Vitara
Road-test comparison: Citroen C4 Cactus vs Fiat 500X vs Suzuki Vitara S Turbo
Drive recommends
The Renault has its tempting points but its gearbox-choice/driveability niggles and lack of rear curtain airbags are prominent issues.
The Citroen is a likeable thing that generally lives up to Judy's key directives. However, its gearbox niggles, unremarkable ride height and lack of wind-down rear windows are still reasons to think twice.
The Suzuki isn't quite the most compact, highest riding light SUV on the block, and could do better on the warranty/service-interval fronts. But it's compact and high-riding enough, this group's best drive and – crucially – avoids the gearbox/back-seat/safety shortcomings of its rivals. That makes it the easiest to recommend by a slender but decisive margin.
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