Market Watch: These Small Used Cars Supply Big Fun

We’re wired to believe that newer is always better. With the relentless onslaught of tech penetrating the automotive world, it seems like we’re already leaning on a new horizon, where yesterday’s innovation seems irrelevant in tomorrow’s world.

New, often linked to products that are bigger and faster, often tend to be heavier, larger and resultantly more costly. Chinese brands might have the formula to manufacture vehicles competitively, but the path towards electrification hasn’t addressed both elephants in the room - size and weight.

Sure, a 600bhp, 2 plus-tonne AWD EV could defy physics, but imagine the day when engineers crack the code to make batteries and motors lighter and smaller. An option to make cars more compact can then become a reality.

Which is why some compact ICE cars we reckon still represent peak engineering. Chassis development and engine tuning are not perfected overnight. While we acknowledge that ICE-powered cars are living on borrowed time, there’s still room to celebrate and understand why we love driving in the first place.

2023 Daihatsu Copen GR Sport 660 (A)

The 2nd-gen Copen commenced production less than a year after the popular 1st-gen’s discontinuation. Length (3,395mm) and width (1,475mm) remained as compact as before to meet kei car regulations, while curb weight increased to 870kg for the CVT variant. In GR Sport trim it receives a front brace, new shock absorbers and retuned suspension.

BBS rims and Recaro bucket seats form part of the package. If these still don’t appeal to you, a road tax figure of S$300+ annually might grab your attention.

2011 Volkswagen Polo GTI DSG

180hp and 250Nm will not sound like much today, but that’s the output VW managed to squeeze out of a 1.4-litre, twincharged (turbocharger and supercharger) unit in 2010. The Mk5 Polo GTI didn’t receive the acclaim it should have - its achievement was superseded by the Mk5 and 6 Golf GTI. Even the Mk5 Golf GT with a similar twincharged motor proved more popular in Singapore.

With less than 1,200kg to shift a hatch less than 4 metres long, no wonder it sprints to 100km/h in a respectable 6.9 seconds. Paired with a 7-speed DSG, it’ll pop and bang like most VW Group force fed motors, and return a combined fuel consumption of 17km/l.

2023 Suzuki Jimny

For a car that’s shorter than a Mazda2, we’d be swayed to believe that the Jimny can only deliver the bare essentials. But it has defied expectations since the 70s, built with kei car classification in mind and more importantly, won our hearts. It wears both rugged and cute effortlessly, and in this 1.5-litre GLX trim sports larger bumpers and flared fenders.

Bear in mind that it’s still a proper off-roader - ladder frame chassis matched to a 3-link rigid axle suspension ideal for rough and tough duties. And it only weighs a sliver more than a tonne!

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