Hyundai Getz

Our verdict

A surprisingly capable little thing that heralded Hyundai's rebirth as a company to be taken slightly more seriously. It's not half as crap as you'd expect, but it's still cheap as chips.

Comfort

The Getz is one of this new breed of simple Asian fair that doesn't try to dress up its economy shopper ethic in some pseudo-luxury package. Clean, intuitive, sensible stuff. You get what you pay for now. No more, no less.

Performance

Three engines to choose from, all of them far more concerned with economy than poke, which is how it should be. The diesel is a £10k bit of kit though, which defeats the point of this sort of budget motoring.

Cool

The Getz is better than people give it credit for. It's also cheap and different. Oddly, this really is quite cool. Just don't tell anyone we said so.

Quality

A classic case of well-built, functional motoring, the Getz doesn't feel high quality, but it's not going to fall apart in side or go wrong mechanically in a hurry.

Handling

The Getz is so light that it feels remarkably responsive on the road. The steering isn't perfect, but for a car designed primarily for zipping about town it's hard to fault in this department.

Practicality

Hyundai has pulled an unexpected blinder on this one. It's a tiny car, but with lots of headroom thanks to that high roof line and a huge boot made all the more capacious by folding rear seats.

Running costs

Cheap to start with and with excellent economy from the smallest of its petrol engines, this is a genuinely sound place to put your money. High levels of standard kit also mean residual value should be strong.