Best used small car for 2020

Small passenger cars are the all-rounders of the automotive world, delivering roominess that’s adequate for most buyers, in a package that will slip easily into tight parking spots.

Yet small cars are often very comfortable and refined vehicles for open-road touring as well, and they’re a practical product equally at home in the suburbs and dealing with heavily congested commuter traffic.

While small cars are generally affordable and represent good value, raising the sights higher than just the mainstream $20,000 hatchbacks and sedans reveals a vast selection of vehicles available in this market segment – everything from hot hatches and mini muscle cars to pre-shrunk luxury cars and high-tech, fuel-sipping hybrids.

For the 2020 carsales Best Used Car Awards, proudly presented by Bingle, the year in review is 2014, when small car sales amounted to nearly a quarter share of the entire market.

The lustre was beginning to wear off larger vehicles, and light cars were felt to be compromised by their price and packaging.

But small cars were soldiering on in the face of the SUV onslaught.

Although small cars have lost a lot of ground to SUVs since then, they remain a popular choice in the used car market for buyers who just don’t see the need for the family wagon of the 21st century.

As with other market segments in the spotlight for Best Used Cars, the small passenger car winner and two honourable mentions were decided by a score out of 50 from RedBook and individual scores out of 10 from each of the five judges.

And in 2020, the carsales best used small car is the 2014...

A back-to-back win for the Mazda3 Maxx hatch highlights the Japanese manufacturer’s continuing focus on driving dynamics, comfort and fuel-saving SKYACTIV technology.

Sitting in the lower end of the product range, but not right at entry level, the Mazda3 Maxx showed Aussie consumers what was possible in small car refinement at a price that wouldn’t break the bank.

The Mazda’s score was 90.3, comprising 45.3 points awarded by RedBook and a further aggregate of 45 points from the five judges.

Priced at $24,990 when new, the 2.0-litre Mazda3 Maxx hatchback with automatic transmission is still valued at $14,200 as a used car in average condition, according to market analysis by RedBook.

“Good-looking, reliable and efficient with segment-leading cost to own. Even better is one with an optional safety pack,” says Ross Booth, RedBook data services director.

You can read more about the Mazda3 Maxx in our launch review.

In his summation of the Mazda3 for the local launch early in 2014, carsales managing editor Marton Pettendy wrote: “The new Mazda3 cements its position as the best-handling Japanese-made small car, thanks to a sporty chassis and steering that’s as crisp and natural as the European-made Golf, Ford Focus and Honda Civic hatch, even if it’s louder and perhaps less compliant than the Volkswagen.”

Find a used Mazda3 on carsales

Scored 44.5 from RedBook this year and 40.0 points from the judges for a total of 84.5
RedBook value: $12,236

“Well-designed, value for money with a bit of fun thrown in to attract younger buyers” – Cliff Chambers, carsales used-car buying expert

“Great Euro design, great value with lots of specs, good hard-wearing interior” – Ross Booth, RedBook data services director

Scored 41.4 points from RedBook and 34 points from the judges for a total of 75.4
RedBook value: $14,000

“All the virtues of the Golf 7 in a handy wagon for those who don’t want an SUV” – Ken Gratton, carsales technical editor

“Deceptively spacious, practical and a bit different from the mainstream” – Cliff Chambers, carsales used-car buying expert

What makes a car eligible for carsales Best Used Car Awards?
• Less than six years old
• Standard side-curtain airbags
• Standard Bluetooth
• Standard electronic stability control (mandated for 2014)
• Standard reversing camera for SUVs

How did RedBook weight the categories for scoring?
• 10 per cent for resale
• 10 per cent for ANCAP rating
• 20 per cent for cost of ownership
• Five per cent for service intervals
• Five per cent for number of days for vehicle to sell

Read all about carsales Best Used Cars for 2020 here.