The world is awash with superminis, clever city cars and other small offerings. Many are terrific, but surprisingly few work well in combination with an automatic gearbox. However, we’ve picked out the top five that make a perfect combination of small car, auto box.

1. Hyundai i10

We know this is a good car, after all it won the 2016 City Car of the Year in the What Car? awards. The basic vehicle is extremely sound and comes well equipped – you get air con, electrically adjustable heated door mirrors, stability control and much more. Performance is good and, for under £11k, it represents good value. The four-speed auto uses more fuel and emits more than the manual version but otherwise it’s really useful. It’s good in town but also works smoothly when in faster traffic.

Top choice: 1.2 SE auto

2. Audi A1

The A1 is quite a bit of money for not a lot of metal, but what you get is high quality and the price is softened by very solid residuals. The cabin is very well appointed and the Sport trim gives you plenty of equipment. The S-line trim means you’re getting a very firm ride, so we’d go for S trim – which is handy as you can’t get the auto box with the entry SE trim.

The 1.4 TFSI is a great engine anyway and it works really well with the S Tronic twin-clutch auto box. This is a sophisticated pairing.

Top choice: 1.4 TFSI Sport S Tronic

3. Ford Fiesta

The Ford Fiesta is a great all-rounder, and the Powershift auto transmission works well, but only with some engines. It seems to work particularly well with the 1.0-litre Ecoboost petrol engine. Put them together and you have a really great combination. Naturally, you don’t lose any of the admirable handling and ride either.

The only downside is that this combination puts the price north of £15k if you want it in the preferred Zetec trim, so you’ll need to don your negotiating trousers before a visit to the dealership.

Top choice: 1.0 litre Ecoboost Powershift

4. Renault Clio

Another small car that, with an auto box, seems to be expensive. Part of this is that you can only get the auto gearbox with a relatively high level of trim in the Clio. You’ll need Dynamique MediaNav spec to combine the small diesel engine with the automatic transmission. However, two points. One, that makes a terrific combination and actually makes this Clio one of the best, and, two, you should be able to haggle down to a price about £1500 less than the £17k list price.

Top choice: Dynamique MediaNav 90 dCi EDC auto

5. Smart Fortwo

If you spend a lot of time trying to keep your pulse down in congested city traffic, then a Smart Fortwo can be a help. It’s tiny, it has the best turning circle in its class, and you can drive it with a practical dual-clutch auto transmission.

Add all that together and you get a really sorted weapon for the city, but you’ve also got a relatively high price. We think the best combination would be the Fortwo with the 900cc engine in Passion trim, although that is still £12,715.