NO matter what you drive, life in the city has always been tough and with every passing day, things seem to get just that little bit tougher.
But many manufacturers have done their bit to attempt to make things a bit easier for motorists, with city slickers from the likes of Volkswagen, Skoda, Suzuki, Kia and Hyundai helping do their bit.
Some years back, Toyota, Citroen and Peugeot joined forces to kick-start a city car revolution with their Aygo, C1 and 107 models respectively, a trio built to much the same exterior design but with interior detailing left to each marque's own individual taste.
Now the second-generation of these models are appearing in showrooms with Citroen and Toyota retaining their C1 and Aygo names and the Peugeot moving on with their 108.
Although each car will again be built on the same prduction line at Kolin in the Czech Republic, this time round each of the three partners have put their own ideas of what a city car should look like to the test.
Peugeot have aimed their new baby firmly at the female market, with a selection of highly-colourful exterior colours matched with vibrant seat covers and a range of exterior stickers and interior flashes in order for the owner to personalise their new 108 in much the same way MINI owners have been doing for years.
The 108 comes with the choice of two three-cylinder petrol engines. First there's a 68bhp one-litre Toyota unit mated to either a five-speed manual gearbox or a self-shifting semi-automatic gearbox, while there's also the choice of Peugeot's own punchier 80bhp 1.2-litre Puretech unit.
Both engines are well up for the job of whizzing around heavy city traffic, and the great news is that both emit less than 100g/km CO2 meaning there's no road tax to pay.
The smaller three-pot engine is basically the same as that fitted to the outgoing model but with extra refinements and tweaks that make it smoother and more economical, giving it an official fuel consumption figure of 68.9mpg.
The five-speed gearbox is pretty smooth, while the gear ratios have been adjusted to give the car more zip on faster out-of-town dual-carriageways where it can keep up with the flow when pushed along.
The larger engine, however, does have that extra oomph, meaning it doesn't have to be worked quite as hard, thus giving a quieter ride under acceleration, while another positive is that fuel consumption is not compromised, with official figures showing 65.7mpg on the combined cycle.
For a small city car, there's plenty of grip and little body roll to spoil the journey, although with all small cars, our poorly surfaced roads can cause the 108 to be buffeted around a bit.
Out on the hoof, the steering is light yet reassuring, while its tight turning circle makes for parking into those tighter spaces something of a breeze.
The new Peugeot comes with anti-lock brakes, electronic brake-force distribution, stability control and an array of airbags all fitted as standard.
LED daytime running lamps, hill start assist, Isofix seat fixing points and tyre pressure monitoring system all feature through the model range, while higher spec models get a seven-inch colour touch screen which projects a mirror image of an occupant's own smartphone onto it.
This allows drivers or passengers to play their own music, read their own messages or access a range of apps, including satellite navigation programmes such as TomTom or Google Maps.
Peugeot reckon that Active spec models priced from £9,495 and which come complete with electric front windows, air-conditioning, 15-inch steel wheels and the above-mentioned colour screen, will be the top-seller of the range.
However, higher spec Allure and Feline models, starting at £10,995, add goodies such as colour reversing camera, keyless entry, speed-limiter, foglights, electric and heated door mirrors and alloys, including a proper spare wheel to the list.
With their main focus now on raising quality, things have stepped up a gear in recent times for Peugeot, and the launch of the new 108 will go towards adding extra flair and colour to the famous French marque.