Size isn't everything in the new-car market. In fact, small cars are in high demand. And while vehicles officially classified as small cars are getting bigger (they're bigger than some ''medium'' cars of two or three decades ago), there's a new breed of baby city cars appearing beneath.

Enter the Volkswagen Up, the most affordable VW in a quarter of a century. It's also the smallest from a brand that's experienced huge sales growth to now be a top-10 player.

At 3540 millimetres long and 1641 millimetres wide, the Up is almost a metre shorter than the country's best-selling small car, the Mazda3. It comfortably undercuts the Toyota Yaris city car (3885mm long, 1695mm wide) but is 845mm longer than the smallest car on the market, the Smart.