Drive Car of the Year 2024 – Best Urban Car Under $30K contenders

Over the next few weeks, we'll be explaining all the categories and contenders for Drive Car of the Year 2024. Testing is currently underway, with the final winners to be announced early next year.

To be crowned the Best Urban Car Under $30K, a vehicle must provide the best combination of equipment, safety and efficiency at a sharp price in a compact yet practical body. In essence, urban new car buyers want fuss-free compact motoring with a balance of features for the price. 

This category is new for 2024, combining the best of the Micro, Light and Small passenger cars classes with Light SUVs. The target buyer is extremely budget-conscious, motivated by a sharp recommended retail price under $30,000, cheap running costs and a city-friendly compact footprint for getting into and out of tight spaces. 

Because this is a new category that has never been contested before, every car currently on sale that fits the above criteria is eligible. So, we’ve got everything from the fun and funky – and freshly updated – Fiat 500 to the sales runaways like the MG 3, Kia Cerato and Hyundai i30. 

Toyota and Mazda are popular brands in many market segments, particularly at the cheaper end of the market thanks to strong performers in the Toyota Yaris Cross mini-SUV and the Mazda 2 hatchback and CX-3 crossover. Kia has no less than four models that fit the bill in the Cerato, Picanto, Rio and Stonic, while Suzuki slips its Ignis and Swift hatchbacks in under our price ceiling. 

The only Europeans at the pointiest end of the market are the aforementioned Fiat 500 and the very impressive Volkswagen Polo, both of which prove that you can get continental traits at a low price. 

Drive’s rules require that, for a car to be eligible, it must:

Sadly, Hyundai was not able to get us the updated i30 hatch (it doesn't land until 2024), but the updated four-door sedan did launch in time and is one of the early favourites to take out this category. 

The Hyundai i30 sedan will have its work cut out for it against the Kia Cerato, which is something of a stablemate to the Hyundai i30 (Hyundai and Kia share many components) and comes with a longer warranty and sharper servicing costs. 

Equally, it’s hard to go past the myriad charms of the Toyota Yaris Cross crossover hatchback, particularly in the economical hybrid GX grade. Toyota’s ability to give consumers exactly what they need is near-legendary, and the promise of fuss-free motoring inherent in the brand is one reason it is Australia’s favourite car maker. 

Here is the list of eligible cars, drawn from the FCAI’s Passenger Micro, Passenger Light, Passenger Small and SUV Light car classes, with a retail price under $30,000. Please note that in some cases, the vehicle’s price range extends beyond the category ceiling. In these cases, only the models priced below the cap are eligible. 

The winner of the 2024 Drive Car of the Year Best Urban Car Under $30K will be announced in February 2024.

Before then, we will announce the finalists, all of which deliver on the buyer’s expectations for cost-effective urban motoring. One thing is certain: this category promises to be one of the toughest confronting our 11 experienced judges.

Read more: 

Drive Car of the Year 2024 is a go!
Drive Car of the Year Overview
Drive Car of the Year 2023 winners