Best small cars with an automatic gearbox

Yet another great supermini on this list, the Toyota Yaris is offered with an automatic gearbox as standard, but things are slightly different here.

It’s an e-CVT, which is programmed to select the most efficient gear itself. Luckily, on the surface, it works the same as a traditional automatic. 

The Yaris is priced from £22,640, which makes it one of the cheapest of its kind on sale today. Things are made even more simple with just one engine option, a 1.5-litre hybrid petrol unit.

Power – 114bhp on this Yaris – is matched with class-leading frugality, with up to 70.6mpg offered.

That’s a figure genuinely achievable in day-to-day driving. It’s no slouch, either – you’ll hit 0-62mph in 9.7sec.