Suzuki Alto - Paris motor show - 2008

Striding to the front of our 'Dull but Worthy' Paris show category comes the Suzuki Alto.

We've known about the Indian-built A-segment car - and close relative of the Nissan Pixo - for a while, but now we've got some firm information on the drivetrain and othersuch bits and pieces that confirm our initial suspicions: dull but worthy.

The Alto gets a Euro 5-complimant one-litre petrol engine, a three-cylinder effort nicked from the Splash that'll return 62.7mpg and just 103g/km of CO2 - agonisingly close to the free road tax threshold of 100g/km. Maybe if you promise to drive it really, really carefully they'll give you a free tax disc.

Be warned, though, it's not the quickest around. Even with the manual gearbox, it'll take 14 seconds to reach 60mph and top out at 96mph, while the automatic transmission will have you waiting 17 seconds to reach the magic six-zero. That's really quite slow.

That said, we reckon the Alto's bug-eyed charm and eminent sensibility will see it sell well when it reaches the UK in the spring of next year.

Not so sure about that pink paintjob, though...