Alternative review of Chevrolet Lacetti

Chevrolet's Lacetti created a very favourable impression when it rolled onto the Neary drive. I was having a bit of trouble with my not so trusty runabout, it was hammering with rain and I was late for a pressing engagement. Acting as an impromptu saviour would make any car look good but with the Lacetti it was more than that. It was also a car that I wouldn't need to hide three blocks from my appointment at quite a swish party. If I could just get the oil off my hands, I could create a small stir.

Chevrolet have long campaigned on their propensity to give you more for less and the Lacetti is no exception. It's smart in a Vauxhall Astra-ish fashion and looks very spacious indeed. Break out the tape measure and you'll discover why. The Lacetti's wheelbase is a full 2600mm long, longer than cars like the Alfa 156 and the Audi A3. Given that most cars in the Mondeo class campaign with a wheelbase of around 2670mm, you'll appreciate that the Lacetti offers a surprising amount of room for a 'compact' car. With 932mm of rear legroom and 275 litres of boot volume in the five-door Hatch version I tried, you'll not feel claustrophobic in the back of a Lacetti. Fold the rear bench down, keep a keen eye open for animal welfare types and you'll be able to swing a generously sized cat in the 1,045 litres of fresh air at your disposal in the Hatch, a figure that rises to 1,410 litres with the seats folded flat in the Station Wagon estate version.

Drop behind the steering wheel and you'll be faced with a dashboard that's quietly stylish without breaking any new ground, the four circular air vents being nicely finished with matte alloy detailing. When I booked the Lacetti, I'd initially hoped for a diesel version as I was planning to undertake a long trip to visit an old friend but there was no diesel engine available in the line-up. Black mark Chevrolet. The engines that are on offer are all tried and tested powerplants familiar to Nubira and Kalos customers. All have twin overhead camshafts driven by a toothed belt with four-valve technology. The entry-level power train in the Lacetti 1.4 generates 92 bhp, then there's a 109bhp 1.6-litre and then the 122bhp 1.8-litre engine I treated myself to in the £12,695 Sport hatch model. This has enough mumbo to provide some entertainment and can notch off the dash to 60mph in 9.3 seconds and will only run out of puff at a heady 121mph. Despite these eyebrow-raising performance statistics, its average fuel consumption is just 37.6 mpg. As an alternative to the manual five-speed transmission, an electronically-controlled adaptive four-speed automatic transmission is also offered to those opting for a 1.6-litre Hatch or a 1.8-litre Saloon.

The Chevrolet Lacetti may be a whole lot more sophisticated and better built than Chevrolets of the past but it still offers an awful lot of metal for your money. Nobody likes to be branded a cheapskate and the Lacetti will disguise your penny-pinching ways supremely well. I can imagine buying one, telling my other half it was a good couple of thousand more expensive than it actually was and blowing the supposed remainder on a visit to Bond Street. Who said that car buying at this end of the market need be dull?