Top 5 reasons to get a small hatchback in the Philippines

Don’t underestimate the small hatchback. These cars may be tiny, but even the smallest of cars can make the biggest of differences, especially in the city where streets are crowded and traffic is rampant. Driving comfort isn’t just about the suspension quality, but it is also about how easy your car is to drive. While big cars often offer you a great ride and a good sense of security, going too big may come with a few drawbacks that you may not want to bring with you on your daily drive. As such, here are five reasons why small hatchbacks are awesome, and perfect for daily drives. 

It’s in the name, and it’s a big selling point for these small hatchbacks. A small and light car can be an asset especially when the roads are tight and traffic is almost always assured. Squeezing through narrow streets, easily finding parking in a parallel slot, and crawling through traffic are much easier if you can fit in gaps and you don’t have to worry about clipping a fender on something. Small cars fit into places that bigger vehicles can’t, and drivers often find small cars to be easy things to drive. 

Most hatchbacks of this size tend to be on the narrow side of things and they’re often some of the easiest cars to drive because of their dimensions. On top of that, we’ve noticed that the vast majority of small hatchbacks of great visibility. While most don’t offer a commanding or tall view of the road, save for the Suzuki S-Presso, most have adequate visibility for you to easily place and point the automobile where you want it to go. 

The small size means a light body, and these hatchbacks are among the lightest things on the road. With weights now standing at about 1,000 kg more or less, the steering feel in most cars in the segment is often light. Handling these cars is almost literally child’s play where even the most novice of drivers can get behind the wheel and almost never break a sweat. 

On top of that, small hatchbacks are also incredibly nimble and are capable of darting through corners and quickly switching directions. On more spirited drives, you will likely be within the confines of the speed limit, but with the agility of these vehicles, special mention to the Honda Brio, you will likely be smiling ear to ear if you do decide to drive on a twisty road. 

One thing that we’ve noticed over the years is that manufacturers have been getting smarter with their space. One of the cars that we were most impressed with was the Toyota Wigo, and its ridiculous amount of rear passenger space and its wide and accommodating rear cargo area (for a small hatchback that is). 

With that being said, don’t underestimate the space that you can get in a small hatchback. While some of them are a little cramped, others can offer subcompact levels of rear passenger space. To top it all off, if you don’t need to fill up the rear seats, you can fold them flat and expand your cargo area even further. 

If you have experience with driving bigger cars, you will note that the bigger you go, the lower your fuel economy rating will be. We’re seeing hybrid cars populate the ranks of top fuel economy tests in the country, but small hatchbacks often don’t need to try when they get their high fuel efficiency scores.

Suzuki, in particular, comes to mind whenever we talk about fuel efficiency, and the Celerio was able to achieve 18 km/L in the city. That’s just about as much as a parallel hybrid vehicle nowadays, but lightness and small displacement is pretty much a perfect formula to get high fuel efficiency figures. 

One of the biggest reasons why small hatchbacks are among the most popular models Filipinos buy is because of its light price tag. Other cars already hit the seven-figure mark and that includes subcompact sedans and crossovers. Small hatchbacks, on the other hand, still haven’t hit the P1,000,000 and remain a premier choice for budget-conscious buyers who are looking to save money when buying a car and to save money while driving and maintaining a car. 

It’s also important to remember that you will have to pay for the maintenance of your automobile while you have it. As such, you’ll be pleased to know that small tires are cheap, fuel tanks are small, engines are compact and require less oil, and architectures in small cars are usually simple and easy to fix. All of the small things add up to a ton of savings compared to a more full-sized car, so consider that as well if you’re looking for your next daily driver.