Vauxhall Agila

The Vauxhall Agila is a slightly re-skinned version of the Suzuki SX4, built at the same factory. So it’s a spacious, compact, boxy thing with a cheep’n’cheery cabin. You do not desire it.

• Comfort

  Half a step up in size and refinement from the likes of the Hyundai i10 and Toyota Aygo, the tall Agila has the space to rival the Yaris and Micra, and the engines are decently quiet too. A tall driving position and good view out gives a sense of reassurance to the nervous.

  

• Performance

  The Fiat 1.3 diesel goes well, but it's an expensive option. So that leaves the 1.0 three-cylinder, which is slow to accelerate but can almost crack the ton, and a 1.2 which does the job pretty effectively. It doesn't have much Agila to shove along, so 86bhp is sufficient. You can even have an auto if you want to confine yourself to old-biddy-city.

  

• Cool

  Wrong shape, wrong badge. It's an appliance, and not even a Zanussi.

  

• Quality

  The cabin is made of cheap materials but they're well shaped so the sense of well-being inside is quite decent for the market. Reliability is good, and we trust the Suzuki factory in Hungary.

  

• Handling

  It's no track star obviously, but the steering is light and body roll and understeer kept under fairly tight control unless you're really pasting it. For pootling around town, it's zippy and fun.

  

• Practicality

  Few cars this small can get the people in so comfortably. The cabin has plenty of storage slots and a split-fold seat is standard. It's all pretty well thought-through. Main problem comes from that pertly truncated tail: when all seats are in use, the boot's a shoebox.

  

• Running costs

  Low insurance, servicing, fuel and tax. This is why people buy new mini-cars isn't it? The Agila delivers on all counts.