INCREASING numbers of business motorists across Hampshire are discovering that small is beautiful when it comes to their company cars.

Downsizing is also likely to mean a better deal for private motorists in the county, says the AA.

As taxes on company drivers have become firmly based on the environ-mental impact of their car, lower fuel consumption and CO emissions are paramount in today's business world.

Motor manufacturers are now meeting these more frugal demands without losing the style or substance demanded by high mileage business drivers.

The latest sales figures show that sales of larger hatchbacks have fallen by almost exactly the same measure that sales of superminis have increased - almost 40,000 units in 2003 - giving superminis over a third of new registrations.

Chris Patience, head of technical policy at the AA, says: "The most popular cars in Britain have always been the small superminis, although traditionally they have been seen as local runabouts rather than company cars or serious family transport.

"Thanks to the pressure towards downsizing that confronts company drivers, superminis and small hatchbacks have become more sophisticated without sacrificing economy or value for money. They can now comfortably deal with motorway miles and bigger payloads."

All cars have grown in size by an average of 20 per cent in the last 30 years, mostly due to increased passenger protection. New standards and governmental regulation have generated crumple zones and reinforced body shells as basic requirements of car design, yet so too has the demand for more luggage and passenger space.

Chris adds: "There are still going to be times when only a larger, more powerful car will do, but where once car buyers simply associated 'bigger' with 'better' the tide is turning towards intelligently designed economical cars that are increasingly user-friendly."